[A2k] eIFL-IFLA SCCR statement on TVI

[Teresa Hackett (eIFL)]

Thank you, Mr Chairman. As this is the first time that we take the
floor, we would like to congratulate you on your re-election. I
represent Electronic Information for Libraries and this statement is
supported by the International Federation of Library Associations.

We would like to express our support for the proposal by Brazil, Ecuador
and Paraguay relating to limitations and exceptions as an example of
norm setting activity in the field of exceptions and limitations among
those presented in document SCCR/16/2 for persons with disabilities,
libraries and archives, educational activities and to foster
technological innovations.

Maintaining the longstanding role of copyright law in society, we
believe that exceptions and limitations should be viewed as public
rights balancing the private rights to information also granted in
copyright laws. While libraries have a distinctive interest in
particular provisions such as preservation, libraries serve many people;
students and educators, scientists and researchers, professionals, the
general public, including people with reading disabilities.

We welcome the particular attention to improve access to copyright
content for blind, visually impaired and other reading disabled people.
This is not only about access, it is also an issue of human rights. The
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in particular
states that parties =93shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that
persons with disabilities=85 enjoy access to cultural materials in
accessible formats=94. We believe that this proposal would be an important
step to help make this a reality.

Because we know that the reality is different. The World Blind Union
estimates that even in the wealthiest markets, less than five per cent
of published books are accessible to persons who are blind. According to
the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 90 percent of visually
impaired persons live in developing countries with far fewer available
works.

eIFL has partnered with Bookshare, a US based not-for-profit
organisation that provides access to books for print disabled people.
Under current copyright rules, Bookshare can distribute only books
covered by license outside the US, because the US copyright exception
stops at the border. This means that less than 10% of the Bookshare
collection can be offered to eIFL member libraries in developing and
transition countries.

The author of the WIPO Study on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for
the Visually Impaired found that copyright exceptions seem to be less
common in developing countries.

Clearly, current schemes that are in place are not delivering in a
satisfactory way.

At the last session of SCCR, a stakeholders=92 platform at WIPO was
established, in order to facilitate arrangements to secure access for
disabled persons to protected works. Discussions on issues such as
technological tools and standards are important and necessary, but they
are not a substitute for an enabling legal regime. In fact, the urgent
need for such a regime is precisely because voluntary efforts have been
underway for many years without substantial progress. In the meantime,
millions of people are denied access to reading materials for education,
culture and personal development, a terrible waste of human potential
all over the world. We believe that WIPO can play an important role in
providing a solution.

Thank you, Mr Chairman.