[A2k] Federal Register Notice on facilitating access for blinds or persons with other disabilities / Vol. 74, No. 57

[Manon Ress]

13268 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 57 / Thursday, March 26, 2009 /
Notices

BILLING CODE 4510=9626=96P
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
Notice of Inquiry and Request for Comments on the Topic of
Facilitating Access to Copyrighted Works for the Blind or Persons With
Other Disabilities; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of inquiry and request for comments; notice of public
meeting.

SUMMARY: The United States Copyright Office (Copyright Office) and the
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seek comment on the
topic of facilitating access to copyrighted works for =91=91blind or
persons with other disabilities=92=92 1 in connection with a forthcoming
meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights of
the World Intellectual Property Organization. Interested parties are
invited to submit comments on the topics outlined in the supplementary
information section of this notice. The Copyright Office and USPTO
also announce a public meeting on the same topic.

DATES: Initial comments on the Notice of Inquiry and Request for
Comments are due on April 21, 2009. Reply comments are due on May 4,
2009. The public meeting will be held Monday, May 18, 2009, from 9:30
a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES:
Notice of Inquiry and Request for Comments If hand-delivered by a
private party, an original and five copies of a comment or a reply
comment should be brought to the Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright
Office, Public Information Office, Room LM=96401, 101 Independence
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The
envelope should be addressed as follows: Office of Policy and
International Affairs, U.S. Copyright Office. If delivered by a
commercial courier, an original and five copies of a comment or reply
comment must be delivered to the Congressional Courier Acceptance Site
(CCAS) located at 2nd and D Streets, NE., Washington, DC, between 8:30
a.m. and 4 p.m. The envelope should be addressed as follows: Office of
Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Copyright Office, Room LM=96403,
James Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue,SE., Washington, DC
20559. Please note that CCAS will not accept delivery by means of
overnight delivery services such as Fedex, United Parcel Service, or
DHL. If sent by mail (including overnight delivery using U.S. Postal
Service Express Mail), an original and five copies of a comment or
reply comment should be addressed to U.S. Copyright Office, Office of
Policy and International Affairs, Copyright GC/I & R, P.O. Box 70400,
Washington, DC 20024.

Public Meeting
The public meeting will be held in the Montpelier Room of the Library
of Congress, James Madison Building, 6th Floor, 101 Independence
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559. The process for submitting requests
to attend and observe or participate in the meeting, as well as the
agenda, will be published on the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office
no later than April 8, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maria Pallante, Associate Register, Policy and International Affairs,
or Michele Woods, Senior Counsel for Policy and International Affairs,
by telephone at 202=96707=961027, by facsimile at 202=96707=968366 or by
electronic mail at mpall@loc.gov or mwoo@loc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background

The United States is a Member State of the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and an active member of the Standing Committee on
Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). At recent meetings of the SCCR,
WIPO facilitated discussions on the topic of copyright limitations and
exceptions, including limitations and exceptions for =91=91blind, visually
impaired and other reading-disabled persons.=92=92 2 At its next meeting
(May 25=9629, 2009), the SCCR will continue to consider this topic,
among others, and will exchange information and experiences in order
to deepen its collective understanding of the issues. As part of the
process, the SCCR is looking to the copyright limitations and
exceptions that are currently available for the benefit of the blind,
visually impaired and other reading-disabled persons around the world,
and has invited Member States to provide supplementary information
regarding their national laws and experiences.

In preparation for the meeting, the Copyright Office and the USPTO
have been gathering relevant information. To date, the Copyright
Office and USPTO have participated in a series of informal meetings
and conference calls (primarily with stakeholders from the blind
community, but also with representatives of the library, book
publishing, software, motion picture, and nonprofit sectors) in which
multiple specific issues have been identified and a number of common
points have emerged.

On the basis of these preliminary discussions, the Copyright Office
and the USPTO understand that blind and other persons with
disabilities in the United States navigate many complex challenges
when it comes to accessing copyrighted works. Common  refrains include
delays in obtaining accessible texts (with timeliness of accessible
materials a particular problem for students at all levels),
compatibility problems between available formats and the hardware
devices employed by the reader, and inconsistencies in the quality and
accuracy of the available, reformatted works. At the international
level, the Copyright Office and the USPTO were made aware of the
existing framework through which accessible works move across borders
(i.e. through private agreement and interlibrary programs), as well as
some of the difficulties the framework presents.

Possible Actions

Through discussions with stakeholders and previous meetings of the
SCCR, the Copyright Office and USPTO are aware of some measures that
might be appropriate for action at the national or international
levels (through Member States, WIPO or other mechanisms).

Such possible actions include the following: (1) Developing
standardized accessibility formats and other technical norms; (2)
establishing trusted intermediaries to coordinate resources, eliminate
unnecessary duplication of accessible works, and ensure best
practices; (3) providing technical assistance, coordination, and
educational outreach; (4) promoting market-based solutions achieved
through private sector copyright licenses or other agreements; and (5)
developing binding or non-binding international instruments, including
a treaty that would establish minimum requirements for limitations and
exceptions for blind, visually impaired and other reading-disabled
persons. The Copyright Office and the USPTO are interested in learning
how these areas of focus might address existing difficulties with
access to copyright works, whether applied alone or in combination
with each other. Suggestions as to measures not covered above are also
welcome.


Please note that WIPO posts various documents from its meetings on its
Web site, including reports and agendas related to the  consideration
of copyright limitations and exceptions. Documents from SCCR meetings
that included consideration of this issue can be found by starting at http:=
//www.wipo.int/meetings/en/topic.jsp?group_id=3D62
  and following the link to information for each specific meeting. A
study on copyright limitations and exceptions for the visually
impaired can be found at http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?do=
c_id=3D75696
.

Subjects of Inquiry

At this time, in order to allow further opportunity for interested
persons to provide their views, the Copyright Office and the USPTO are
seeking comment on several focused topics related to the provision of
access to copyrighted works for blind and other persons with
disabilities. Unless otherwise specified, the focus of the inquiry is
the experiences of interested parties residing or doing business in
the United States. Nevertheless, parties should not feel constrained
from describing transnational experiences and situations if they are
illustrative of a problem or success.

A. Experiences of Persons Within the United States With Respect To
Accessing U.S. Works or Sharing Accessible Copies Within the United
States

In general, the Copyright Office and the USPTO seek to learn more
about the  experiences of the blind or persons with other disabilities
with respect to accessing and sharing U.S. copyrighted works within
the United States. Please reference any specific policies, practices
and projects that exist or are emerging in the education, library and
business sectors while considering the questions set forth below.

1. Applicable Statutory or Regulatory Provisions: The United States
has relevant existing limitations on exclusive rights in the Copyright
Act. Section 121 (the so-called =91=91Chafee Amendment=92=92) authorizes th=
e
reproduction of copyrighted works for blind or other persons with
disabilities under certain circumstances. Section 121(a) contains
general language providing that it is not copyright infringement =91=91for
an authorized entity to reproduce or to distribute copies or
phonorecords of a previously published, nondramatic literary work if
such copies or phonorecords are produced or distributed in specialized
formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with
disabilities.=92=92 Section 121(c) provides a specific limitation
applicable to publishers of =91=91print instructional materials for use in
elementary or secondary schools=92=92 so that they may create and
distribute electronic files consistent with the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 17 U.S.C. 21(c). Those electronic
files must use the National Instructional Material Accessibility
Standard (NIMAS). Id. How have the Chafee Amendment and related
statutory and regulatory provisions worked in practice?

2. Private Sector Initiatives: The Copyright Office and the USPTO are
aware that book publishers have been involved in the development and
implementation of Section 121 and other laws applicable to
disabilities and education. What are additional ways in which the
private sector facilitates, or plans to facilitate, access to
copyrighted works? Please identify and describe in detail any existing
business models, licensing schemes, or technological innovations that
are relevant, not only for books but for other copyrighted works,
e.g., magazines, newspapers, motion pictures, and software. To date,
what has been the result of these efforts in terms of achieving
accessible content? Do best practices exist? Turning to the nonprofit
sector, what are the activities, business models, or technology
platforms that have emerged and what has been the result to date? What
if any are the additional projects under consideration?

3. Library Programs: Libraries play an important role in providing
access to copyrighted works for the blind or persons with other
disabilities. The Library of Congress, through its National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, provides Braille and
audio materials (e.g., talking books) to eligible borrowers through
cooperating libraries in the United States. NLS also provides
interlibrary loan services to citizens of other countries through
qualified libraries or other institutions in those countries. Private
organizations, such as Bookshare, provide access to digital materials
through an online searchable library. What other sorts of libraries or
library services currently facilitate access to copyrighted works?
What physical and digital delivery methods are being used? What
initiatives have libraries taken to develop new services and to
respond to evolving needs and technologies? What coordination exists
among national and international library services?

4. Standardized Formats, Programs and Devices: In recent years,
entrepreneurs and other representatives of the blind or persons with
other disabilities have made significant progress in efforts to
upgrade and standardize the technical formats, programs and devices
that allow access to books and other text. These include the talking-
book format of DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) that is
compatible with screen readers, as well as stationary and portable
DAISY players that feature syntheticvoices, and various versions of
scanand-read software. Paper-based Braille has evolved into digital
formats that offer refreshable displays and nonlinear search
capabilities when used with applicable devices. Are there additional
innovations in use or under development today and, if so, what is
their focus? What are the impediments, and possible solutions, for
improving existing standardized formats, programs and devices,
developing new ones, and/ or facilitating their interoperability?

5. Resources: To what degree is a lack of sufficient resources a
factor in providing access to the blind or persons with other
disabilities? What governmental, private sector, nonprofit, or
philanthropic resources exist? What types of resources are most
needed? What approaches to expanding available resources are most
promising? What objectives could be met and in what time frame if
additional resources were available?

B. Experiences of Persons Within the United States With Respect To
Accessing Foreign Works or Sharing Accessible Copies of U.S. Works
With Foreign Persons

Please comment on the experiences of the blind or persons with other
disabilities with respect to accessing foreign works within the United
States, or sharing accessible copies of U.S. works with similarly-
situated persons outside the United States. What kinds of specific
policies, practices and projects exist or are emerging in the
education, library and business sectors? How do existing laws create
incentives or constrain efforts? Please describe the ways in which
technology has influenced or could assist in providing access to
foreign works or the sharing of accessible copies. What are the legal
or practical impediments to transnational access and how are they
interrelated?

C. Other Comments on Facilitating and Enhancing Access to Copyrighted
Works Please comment on the likely success of measures identified
above under the subsection entitled =91=91Possible Actions=92=92 under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. How might the measures best be leveraged,
alone or in combination, to enhance access for the blind or other
persons with disabilities? Are there additional governmental or
private sector actions that might serve the objective of enhancing
access to copyrighted works for the blind or persons with other
disabilities?

Dated: March 20, 2009.
Maria Pallante,
Associate Register for Policy & International
Affairs, U.S. Copyright Office.