[A2k] EFF statement at WIPO SCCR on Treaty for Visually Impaired

[Gwen Hinze]

As delivered today.

STATEMENT OF THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION TO 19th SESSION OF
WIPO STANDING COMMITTEE ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
December 14-18, 2009

Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to share the views of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation and our 13000 members. We support
negotiations on the proposed Treaty for Exceptions and Limitations for
the Visually Impaired as the first part of a work plan on copyright
exceptions and limitations discussed at the 16th session of this
Committee.

There is a chronic lack of material in formats accessible to the
world=92s visually impaired and print disabled citizens. In the U.S.
only 5% of published works are available in accessible formats. In
India, it is estimated to be only 0.5%. A multilateral treaty is
required to address the international policy and market failures that
have led to this situation. Experts agree that national exceptions can
be framed to comply with the Three Step Test. WIPO=92s model copyright
law has included provisions for the blind since 1983. Despite that,
only 57 of WIPO=92s 184 member states have created national exceptions
for the visually impaired. And as the Sullivan report documents, there
is considerable uncertainty about the legality of importing and
exporting accessible material across borders, restricting access to
knowledge and requiring unnecessary duplication. A treaty with
mandatory minimum exceptions and international agreement on the cross-
border transfer of accessible works is needed to provide guidance to
member states and change the status quo. National exceptions alone
cannot do so.

We support all efforts to increase the quantity of accessible material
for the visually impaired. However, voluntary licensing agreements and
improvements in technology standards can provide at best a partial
solution. It is no replacement for binding norm-setting by WIPO.
Publishers can, but frequently have not, made available accessible
copies of works because they do not perceive the visually impaired to
be an economically viable market. These are global problems requiring
an international solution. As the 1985 Joint report of the Berne Union
and the Universal Copyright Convention IGC recommended, a new
international instrument is needed to address the obstacles to the
production and dissemination of accessible material and ensure that
the scarce resources of the global visually impaired community are
used most efficiently.

Finally, we commend WIPO for commissioning studies on national
exceptions and limitations for educational purposes. We believe an
empirical survey of educators should also be undertaken to gather data
on the impact of copyright laws on their ability to provide digital
and cross-border education. Mandatory minimum exceptions and
limitations are essential to the future of cross-border education and
internationally accessible digital libraries, which are currently
constrained by divergent national laws.   Students and educators
cannot be sure they can legally use copyrighted information from
outside of their country. Libraries and knowledge providers face
uncertainty about what information they can digitize and make
available online without legal liability. Permitting minimum standards
of educational activities in national laws would provide much-needed
legal certainty.

These are real humanitarian problems that must be addressed to ensure
the ongoing legitimacy of the international copyright regime. We urge
this Committee to work together and take the opportunity before it to
address the pressing needs of the world=92s 314 million visually
impaired citizens.


Thank you for your consideration.


Gwen Hinze
International Policy Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Email: gwen@eff.org





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Gwen Hinze
International Policy Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
email:gwen@eff.org
Tel.: + 1 415 436 9333 x110

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