Centre for Internet and Society

Statement of CIS on the Matter of the Treaty for the Blind

nirmita — 2013-01-28T11:14:23Z

Presented by Nirmita Narasimhan at the 19th WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva on 18th December 2009.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates of member states and friends, at the outset I would like to thank the WIPO Secretariat for processing our accreditation to the WIPO as an observer at an early juncture of the SCCR, thereby affording us an opportunity to present brief remarks on the issues being discussed here, which are of great importance to us.

My organisation, the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), is a non-profit organisation based in Bangalore, India and looks into, amongst other things, issues of copyrights and related developments and traditional knowledge as far as they affect consumer interests, especially in developing countries, in the field of Internet and society.

CIS is actively engaged in policy reform at a national level including conducting research and advocacy through national campaigns and trainings. CIS strives to work closely with the Government and other organisations in its goal towards creating an inclusive and barrier free world for persons with disabilities. In fact, it has submitted a detailed paper on the legality and need for exceptions and limitations for the blind and other print impaired persons to the Government of India to aid it in its decision making.

CIS is also engaged in a nationwide Right to Read campaign and is trying to bring together stakeholders at various levels to try and work out solutions for meeting the needs of persons with print impairments with regard to availability of reading materials.

Mr. Chairman, you may be aware that the visually impaired community of India presented a paper to the Director General in November this year setting out its needs and concerns on the issue and stated in no uncertain terms its unequivocal support for the Treaty. The same is available on http://vision.ip.org.

Today, I would like to reiterate this support by putting forward a few considerations, which I feel would be applicable to several of the developing countries around the world:

India has approximately 70-100 million persons with physical, sensory and cognitive impairments who cannot access printed materials. There are hardly any books available in accessible formats for these people.
The few accessible books which are available are being converted and distributed by non profit organisations serving the blind around the country. These organisations have very few financial, infrastructural and human resources to carry out this work and hence, are able to convert only the bare minimum of study materials such as school textbooks for children.
Persons with disabilities are hence, unable to participate as creative and productive individuals of society and are excluded from important activities of life such as education and employment. In the few cases where they are employed, the average income of a person with disability in India would not exceed 50-100 dollars per month. Hence, they are hardly in any position to buy accessible books at market rates from other countries.
India’s Copyright Act provisions do not permit conversion and sharing of books for print disabled persons. Hence, we are neither able to create our own books nor able to borrow from libraries abroad like Bookshare, which have a lot of resources that would be useful to us.

Consequently, we spend a lot of time in duplicating efforts undertaken in other countries and channelling scarce resources into work which has already been done globally.

Mr. Chairman, for us the Treaty will be most beneficial for the following reasons:

It will help to create an enabling international legal framework for cross-border sharing of accessible works. Developing countries will be able to concentrate their efforts on creating new and indigenous content, which will be beneficial to print impaired persons around the world.
The Treaty recognises the needs of persons with different kinds of print disabilities and by facilitating access to published works, will enable millions of persons to participate in social life and contribute to society.
The Treaty recognises the disparities of income of persons with disabilities in developing countries.
The Treaty will oblige countries to give operational effect to the provisions under the UNCRPD.
The Treaty recognises that there is a big market for accessible books in developing countries.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I would like to also highlight that this Treaty seeks to preserve a balance between the rights of users and the copyright holders. By opening up the markets for accessible books and facilitating cross-border exchange, the Treaty would help reduce the burden on non-profit organisations and reduce instances of piracy.

Hence, Mr. Chairman, CIS would once again strongly urge member states to recognise the merit and need for this Treaty and proceed with setting in place this international framework as soon as possible.

Download the pdf.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/CIS-Statement-on-Treaty

Statement of CIS on the Matter of the Treaty for the Blind

praskrishna — 2011-08-22T13:18:01Z

Through this paper the Centre for Internet and Society is giving its statement in the matter of the Treaty for the blind, visually impaired and other reading disabled, proposed by Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/publications/CIS-Statement-on-Treaty

Web Accessibility Policy Making: An International Perspective – A G3ict White Paper

radha — 2011-10-19T10:37:07Z

G3ict Publishes International Survey of Web Accessibility Policies White Paper by the Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore, India

With 143 countries having signed the Convention, and 74 ratified it as of today, web accessibility policy making is fast becoming a leading area of concern for governments, disabled persons organizations and organizations operating web sites for the public.

In this timely White Paper, Nirmita Narasimhan, Program Manager at the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) in Bangalore, India, provides a very valuable overview of the early policies and programs adopted by a selection of 15 ratifying countries. Packed with references and useful links, the contents of this White Paper will also be made available in the upcoming ITU-G3ict Toolkit for Policy Makers.

Link to the Press Release

Click here to download the White Paper

We would like to thank the following people who have helped preparing this White paper:

Prashanth Ramdas, Asma Tajuddin, G. Aravind ,Katie Reisner, Sucharita Narasimhan, Bama Balakrishnan, Nirmita Narasimhan

Expert Reviewers:
Axel Leblois, Donal Rice, Immaculada Placienca Porrero, Kevin Carey, Licia Sbarella, Sunil Abraham

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/g3ict-white-paper

Books shut by law blinkers

radha — 2011-04-02T14:20:16Z

An article in The Telegraph (Kolkata) by Chandrima S Bhattacharya - 6th December, 2009

Imagine a life without books. Try to imagine it, really, said Moiz Tundawala, a student at the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS). He cannot read: he has lost his eyesight slowly over the years. He can only distinguish between light and dark now. But he is one of the toppers in his class and he initiated the meeting on the “Right to Read” campaign at the NUJS last month.

The campaign aims to amend the Indian copyright law, so that Moiz and millions like him in the country have far greater access to books. Now Moiz uses JAWS, a software that reads out the text from a computer screen. Sruti Disability Rights Centre, Calcutta, organised the programme that was hosted by the NUJS and launched “Right to Read” campaign in Calcutta, after The Centre for Internet and Society from Bangalore had launched it in Chennai.

Technology has helped the visually impaired tremendously over the past decade or so. But not enough, certainly not enough people in India, which is home to the world’s largest number of blind people.

Of the 37 million people across the globe who are blind, over 15 million are Indians. One problem India faces is that such software is expensive. JAWS costs Rs 50,000 for every user. It is difficult for most to afford the software. So most use demo versions. The price also encourages piracy. And when the text is read out in English, since the software often comes from the US, the voice uses an American accent, said S.B. Patnaik, the principal of the Blind Boys’ Academy, Narendrapur, part of a panel that discussed technology as an aid to the visually impaired at the NUJS event. Many Indians find that accent difficult to follow.

The biggest problem is access to Indian texts. The Indian copyright law does not allow the conversion of all texts into formats accessible to the blind, such as in large print, audio, Braille or any electronic format. Nirmita Narasimhan of the Centre for Internet and Society said only a small percentage of Indian texts are now accessible to the visually impaired.
With her was Rahul Cherian of eBookbole, a website that encourages visually impaired and print-disabled people to connect and share books that have been converted into an accessible format.

The amendment of the copyright law is additionally important since India has already ratified the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

The UN convention broadens the definition of accessibility for disabled persons considerably compared with its definition in Indian law. The activists are also demanding a change in the Persons with Disabilities Act, which defines access only in terms of built-in environment. They want to extend the definition of access, by taking it beyond the purely physical.
The UN convention extends the idea of access to many freedoms, and not only access to information, but to freedom of speech and expression and the right to culture and the right to leisure. In other words, it requires the written word to be fully available to the visually impaired, in whatever format the user is friendly with.

“India is under the obligation to implement the UN convention, since it has ratified it,” said Rukmini Sen, who teaches at the NUJS and was part of the panel.

Link to the original article

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/books-shut-by-law-blinkers

Right to Knowledge for Persons with Print Impairment: A Proposal to Amend the Indian Copyright Regime

praskrishna — 2013-04-26T06:09:28Z

This research paper argues the need for amending Indian Copyright provisions for enabling the print impaired to gain access to published works. The paper was submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development in November to appraise it of the needs of the print disabled community. It is up for public comments and we welcome your feedback for this ongoing campaign.

As part of the Right to Read campaign and demand for a copyright amendment for print disabled persons, CIS, the Alternative Law Forum (ALF) and Inclusive Planet have come out with a research paper which sets out the case for an amendment to the Copyright Act. The paper deals exhaustively with the issue of exceptions and limitations for the print impaired and outlines case laws, legal provisions and international instruments which oblige India to make the necessary amendment. It also advises the government to support the Treaty for the Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled ("TVI") which is presently tabled before the WIPO as a desirable step towards ending the global book famine. The paper also cites some examples of working models of sharing accessible books which are available in countries abroad and to which print impaired persons in developing countries like India have no access.

The paper was submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development in the third week of November so as to ensure that the Ministry is fully appraised of the needs of the print disabled community while it is carrying out the exercise of amending the Act.

The paper was put up for public comments.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/comments-on-copyright-and-print%20impaired

A Report on National Conference on ICTs for Differently Abled / Under privileged Communities in Education, Employment & Entreprenuership 2009

praskrishna — 2011-08-26T07:41:27Z

This is a report about the National Conference on ICTs for the differently abled / under privileged communities in education, employment and entreprenuership which was held at Loyola College in Chennai from 1 to 3 December 2009.

Click here for the full report.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-national-conference-ICTs

Lawyers get socially involved: The Right to Read

radha — 2009-12-03T09:49:08Z

Thursday, 03 December 2009 by Tanuj Kalia (www.legallyindia.com)

"Imagine life without books, without having anything to read. Wouldn't it get suffocating?" asks Moiz Tundawala, a visually impaired student at NUJS Kolkata.

A number of engaged lawyers have been working hard to address the suffocation by trying to make books accessible to all in the Right to Read campaign.

"Just place yourself in the shoes of the print disabled and try evaluating," posits Tundawala. "Why deprive them of a fair opportunity to participate in society especially when you have the technology to make things easier?"

By contrast the situation as it stands today in India is simple: if you can not read printed text for whatever reason, most books will remain forever closed to you.

Pesky laws

And while technology is making headway towards accessibility it stumbles upon myriad legal roadblocks.

The biggest spoilsport is the India Copyright Act, which does not explicitly permit the conversion of books into accessible formats without breaching their copyrights.

Three organisations active in the field have now joined hands to launch the Right to Read campaign in India, following the eponymous global campaign by the World Blind Union. The Indian campaign is supported by social enterprise Inclusive Planet with its first product BookBolé, the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) and the non-profit organisation Daisy Forum of India.

And throughout lawyers have been vital in getting the campaign off the ground.

"We believe that the right to read is a fundamental right and persons with disabilities should be able to enjoy this right just like any other person," says CIS programme manager Nirmita Narasimhan. She is an LLB graduate of Campus Law Centre, Delhi University and has years of experience in working in the courts and with intellectual property (IP).

"Nearly 70 million print disabled Indians are being deprived of this right because they are unable to read in the same manner as other persons," she continues. "This goes against our constitutional guarantees of rights to equality and non-discrimination."

The movement does not restrict itself to the blind and visually impaired and the Right to Read campaigners are quick to point out that the term print disabled is a wider term and includes persons who have dyslexia, learning disabilities and persons who due to physical disability are unable to hold books or turn pages.

The campaign therefore aspires to reach to all those who do not have access to knowledge due to the non-availability of books in accessible formats.

Technology's outer limits

Inclusive Planet's co-founder and policy head Rahul Cherian is also the founder and managing partner of IndoJuris Law Offices.

He and Narasimhan co-wrote a letter to the IPR Division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

In it they explained why formats like audio files and Braille cannot fully address the issue of accessibility and what should be done about it.

"Audio files have to be played serially and navigation is severely limited. In the case of Braille, the printing costs are expensive and reading a Braille book is up to 4 times slower than a normal book," they wrote.

"Moreover, Braille is extremely difficult to learn if you lose sight at a later age, and persons using Braille can communicate only with others who know Braille. Braille cannot be used by persons with other print impairments such as dyslexia or persons with physical disabilities".

Perhaps more innovative technologies are necessary but technology also has some serious limitations, such as not being able to cater to India's multilingual needs, points out Narasimhan.

Tundawala's first-hand experience with technology is instructive.

"Audio brings in the human element," he says, "but a lot depends on the reader. Some are naturally good readers, some others are not. Listening to monotonous voices is not at all enjoyable."

Cost is a big hurdle too. "A wonderful device that is in the markets in places like the US is the portable reader. It is a hand held device and comes with a camera with OCR (Optical Charachter Recognition) and TTS (Text To Speech) installed on it. How I wish to get hold of it. But this comes at a whopping two thousand dollars", says Tundawala.

Even screen reading software that converts the text on screen to speech such as JAWS for Windows comes at a mind-boggling fifty thousand rupees.

The co-founder and CEO of Inclusive Planet Sachin Malhan, who is perhaps best-known for starting up the CLAT preparation service Law School Tutorials after a stint in a law firm, defends technology.

"Any large solution will have imperfections," says Malhan, "but one must keep in mind how small these obstacles are when compared with the opportunities."

Being Good: the subtle art of Dharma

Issues of cost and accessibility are serious. Inclusive Planet, which is run as a for-profit social organisation, will face the challenge of making its first product BookBolé pay for itself.

Cherian is optimistic. "The cost of printing, stocking and distributing books which is huge in regular books is virtually nil in our model," he says.

"We are in the process of convincing a few publishers about the possibility of tapping into the needs of the millions in need of books in accessible formats. The World Blind Union has given the phrase 'Same day. Same price' for books to be made available to the print disabled and we want to live up to it."

And going by the magnitude of response BookBolé has been able to generate it already sounds like a success story.

Cherian told Legally India that Inclusive Planet has five new products and projects lined up for the disabled. Two among these will cater exclusively to needs of the visually impaired and according to Cherian will truly revolutionize the ecosystem for the visually impaired, making their world happier and more inclusive.

Tundawala, however, disagrees with this approach and argues: "If we start selling technology through the market mechanism, it may not serve the needs of the vast multitude."

Legal Samaritans

The Right to Read has journeyed well and is picking up momentum with legal activists forming the vanguard.

"The prominent people behind our freedom struggle were lawyers so the legal community owes a special responsibility in this case to help bring about a change for the better," insists Tundawala. "Their support will give a sense of hope to millions of individuals that the people who know the law empathise with them and think the way they do about this problem."

For Cherian help from the corporate sector has made life easier. "None of this would have been possible without the collaboration of corporate lawyers. Corporate lawyers have helped in the legal research and strategy."

Delhi Chalo!

The Indian campaign, which was launched in September, is also closely allied to the global debate and involves many issues and organisations.

"We are actively involved in The Treaty for the Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled presently tabled before the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) at the WIPO and are working with the World Blind Union to help from an India level," explains Nirmita.

She adds that earlier this month they also organised a meeting with the Director General of WIPO in Delhi and submitted a statement document on behalf of the Indian visually impaired community.

And the Right to Read, explains Cherian, will soon be taken up to India's Human Resources Development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal.

"We plan to organise 4 more road shows in different cities, culminating with a large event in Delhi," he says.

"We will also be submitting a research paper to the HRD Ministry on the constitutional, domestic and international law compulsions that require the amendment of the copyright act for the benefit of persons with disability."

Sign the Declaration and express your support at the Right to Read campaign website. If you needed any other incentive, today is World Disability Day.

Link to the original article

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/lawyers-get-socially-involved

The disabled also grapple with copyright issues

radha — 2009-12-03T09:34:58Z

An article in The Hindu by Deepa Kurup - 03rd December, 2009

Go beyond Braille to include e-formats in amendment, they tell Government

MOVING AHEAD: Making books legally available in e-format will fuel technology-enabled learning among the blind.

BANGALORE: Young management executive Hari Raghavan, who is visually impaired, runs into a moral obstacle every time he wishes to read a contemporary novel or a management textbook protected under copyright. For, the Indian Copyright Act (1957) does not explicitly allow for conversion and distribution of reading material in alternative formats persons with disability can access.

While a proposed draft amendment to the Act includes a clause that allows for “specialised formats” such as Braille and sign language, it nevertheless ignores the needs of a large section of the disabled. Rights groups are currently lobbying for equal access for people like Mr. Raghavan and others with medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, dyslexia, multiple sclerosis or paralysis. The amendment is legally discriminatory as it requires these people to apply for licences to the Copyright Board, which will finalise licence terms and royalties, explains Rahul Cherian, a copyright lawyer working with Inclusive Planet, a non-governmental organisation working in this sector.

'Use technology’
Mr. Raghavan’s dilemma is precisely what drives the need to modify this clause. An IBM employee set to receive the Empowerment of People with Disability 2009 Award from President Pratibha Patil on Thursday, his blindness was a “deteriorating condition” so he never took to Braille. “Like me, a significant number of the ‘late blind’ use computers and e-formats to read. Making books legally available in e-formats is critical as it will fuel greater technology-enabled learning among the blind,” he says.

In a country where less than 0.5 per cent of printed material is available in e-format, it is imperative that the law makes it easier to access copyrighted works, Mr. Cherian explains. His Right to Read campaign, in association with Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society, attempts to address these very issues. “Why should a person with cerebral palsy who cannot hold a book or a dyslexic person having trouble reading print not be treated on a par with someone who uses Braille?” he asks.

Onscreen keyboard
For instance, 26-year-old Deepa Narasimhan suffers from spinal muscular dystrophy. Her condition does not allow her to hold a book or flip through its pages. However she can read text on her computer using an onscreen keyboard. This self-taught graphic designer says in this “technological world” such legislation could change the way she looks at making copies of books. “If there was a legal and easy way for us to get a book converted, it would make a world of difference,” she says. At present she has to scan every page of a textbook for her correspondence course. “I find it difficult to make people understand why I need everything in an e-format. Recognising my condition legally and making a provision for us would really broaden our horizon.”

Link to the original article

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/the-disabled-also-grapple-with-copyright-issues

DFI and Cambridge University Press join hands for getting print access to the "print impaired"

radha — 2011-08-17T08:45:27Z

Cambridge University Press has given permission for books published in India by them to be converted into other accessible formats such as in DAISY, says Dr. Sam Taraporevala, Director, Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged in this blog.

Print access is a major area that the DAISY Forum of India (DFI) is working towards. Two of the many member organizations of DFI, The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) and the Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC) approached the India office of Cambridge University Press, one of the major publishers in India. The rationale behind contacting publishers is to explain to them the need to have accessible copies of the printed word for the print disabled and obtain their permission for converting their books into such accessible formats such as in DAISY.

XRCVC interacted with Mr. Anil Kumar Pandey, General Manager for Western India of Cambridge University Press, Nirmita Narasimhan of CIS contacted Mr. Manas Saikia, Managing Director of Cambridge University Press, India. Both of them were very open to this idea of accessibility and thereby began a collaborative effort from both the Cambridge University Press in India and the DFI.

Mr. Saikia strengthened his support to the cause by not only giving permission for books published in India by Cambridge University Press but also offering to obtain for DFI the global permission of Cambridge University Press books. Ms. Anita Parkash, Legal and IP Manager, Asia of the Singapore office of Cambridge University Press also endorsed this stand. She reinforced the positive response given by Mr. Saikia and agreed for collaboration with the XRCVC to work out a system which would be in the best interests of the stakeholders. Having worked out the final draft of this agreement, she offered to get it duly endorsed from the United Kingdom office of the Cambridge University Press.

This brought together Mr. Gordon Johnson, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University Press, Mr. Manas Saikia and Mr. Anil Kumar Pandey to the XRCVC on 23rd November, 2009 to sign the agreement with DFI. Dr. Sam Taraporevala, Director of XRCVC on behalf of DFI signed this agreement in the presence of Mr. Ketan Kothari who represented Sightsavers International, one of XRCVC’s partners in its “print access” quest. This we are sure has marked the beginning of a long and continuing association between DFI and Cambridge University Press for championing the cause of making the printed word accessible to the print disabled across India.

Coverage in The Bookseller

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/dfi-and-cambridge-university-press

Right to Read Campaign - Kolkata

radha — 2011-11-08T15:39:13Z

A report on the nationwide Right to Read campaign which had its second road show at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata on 7th November, 2009 from 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.

The Problem

Millions of Indians are unable to read printed material due to disabilities. Technologies are in place which can help them read printed matter if the material gets converted into alternate formats such as large print, audio, Braille or other electronic formats. Whereas the Constitution of India declares “right to read” a fundamental right, the provisions of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 does not permit conversion of books into accessible formats for the benefit of persons with print impairment, as a result of which a “book famine” is created. International conventions to which India is a signatory to specifically requires it to amend its copyright laws for the benefit of persons with disabilities and make available information and materials to persons with disabilities on an equal basis as others.

Publishers too do not make books available in accessible formats as a result of which less than 0.5 per cent of books are available in accessible formats in India. As a result, persons with print impairments get excluded from the education system and this has a big impact on their career choices.

The Campaign

To solve this problem, the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 should be amended to permit the conversion and distribution of materials in all formats for making it accessible for persons with print impairment. Hence, the Daisy Forum of India, The Centre for Internet & Society and Bookbole have taken the initiative to be part of the global “Right to Read” campaign launched by the World Blind Union.

The ‘Right to Read’ campaign seeks to:

Accelerate change in the copyright law;
Raise public awareness on the issue of access to reading for the print-impaired; and
Gather Indian support for the Treaty for the Blind proposed by the World Blind Union at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

In West Bengal, this campaign was initiated by Campaigners for Inclusion (a volunteer initiative by CRY and Sruti Disability Rights Centre) and hosted by the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS).

The Programme

A meeting was held at the National University of Juridical Sciences on 7th November from 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. The Chief Guest of the meeting was Dr. Suranjan Das, Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta. Other dignitaries present at the meeting were Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager, The Centre for Internet & Society and Rahul Cherian, Co-Founder, Inclusive Planet and Book Bole.

A lively panel discussion followed. The speakers included Ms. Chandrima Bhattacharya, Senior Assistant Editor, The Telegraph, Mr. S.B. Pattnayak, Principal, Ramakrishna Mission, Narendrapur, Dr. S.S. Roy, Chairman, National Children’s Computer Society and Dr. Rukmini Sen, Assistant Professor, (Social Sciences), WBNUJS.

A skit on this issue was presented by the Campaigners for Inclusion and a musical programme by Sayoni Palit, a visually impaired student of the Bachelor of Music, enthralled the audience.

The meeting was attended by 120 people including members of Blind Persons Association, National Association for Blind, Welfare Society for the Blind, Behala Blind School, Lighthouse for the Blind, Society for Visually Handicapped, National Institute for the Blind, Louis Braille Memorial School, Noble Mission of Calcutta and Mentaid along with several college students and teachers.

A signature campaign on the petition to amend the Copyright Act started in Kolkata on that day. Sruti Disability Rights Centre has taken the initiative to organize more awareness meetings, particularly in different colleges as well as at the Kolkata Book Fair in the coming months.

Media Coverage

Radio channels like Gyan Bharati organized a talk show on this issue besides announcing about the programme on its channel for one week. Red FM was the official radio partner and gave ample coverage to this event. One English newspaper and one Urdu newspaper covered this news.

Times of India - 7th Nov 2009

KOLKATA: For the 12 lakh-odd visually-challenged and dyslexic persons in the state, access to good Indian literature in Braille or audio format is a challenge. Obtaining copyright to convert books into special format is the biggest hindrance, say activists working for disability rights.

"Even the National Library does not have any Braille or audio books. Authorities argue that the number of such special books is too less to create full-fledged sections," said Shampa Sengupta of Sruti. When it comes to audio-version, the scenario is worse, says Lina Bardhan from Noble Mission that works with the mentally challenged.

City Braille publishers say legal formalities prove to be an obstacle."We believe that as a humanitarian gesture, the Copyright Act of 1957 should be relaxed for books meant for the differently-abled," said Amiyo Biswas of Blind Persons' Association, one of the three Braille publishers in the city.

In April 2008, UK-based Sight Savers International urged the UN to sign a treaty so that persons with disabilities can access books and documents easily.

Now, Center for Internet Society (CIS) has carried out campaigns in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. On Saturday, a seminar will be held in Kolkata. "We want to organize a pan-India movement and amend the Copyright Act to establish the right to read," said CIS programme manager Nirmita Narasimhan.

Click here for the original article

Coverage in the November Issue of: CBR Forum - E- News Bulletin

Photos

VIDOES

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/right-to-read-campaign-kolkata

Copyright Access for the Disabled and Collaborative IP Policy

radha — 2011-04-02T14:27:01Z

A blog post on SPICY IP by Shamnad Basheer, November 18, 2009

In previous p osts, we covered the Right to Read Campaign, a campaign aimed at increasing access to copyrighted works for the print impaired. As many of you know, most works of literature, science and the arts are practically out of bounds for the disabled, unless converted to readable formats such as Braille or digitized and accessed via expensive screen reader software such as JAWS.

Recently, this campaign, the brainchild of CIS and Inclusive Planet, came home to us at NUJS, Kolkata and I was amazed to see the bonding between these children of a lesser god and their struggle to transform society into a more inclusive one. NUJS was particularly fortunate to host this campaign that day, as we have a student (Moiz Tundawalla, who ranks in the top 5 of his class) as well as a faculty member, Dr TV Sudhakar, who are visually impaired.

As part of the campaign, a group of us including Rahul Cherian of Inclusive Planet (and the brain behind Bookbole, one of the most innovative solutions yet catering to the needs of the visually impaired), Sunil Abraham and Nirmita Narasimhan of CIS and Lawrence Liang of ALF began working on a copyright defence that would enable the conversion of copyrighted works to more accessible formats for the disabled..formats that would enable them to enjoy such works as comfortably as the others.

Such a provision is critical, given that hardly 0.5% of all published books are accessible by the print impaired. Further, given the constitutional mandate that each one of us shall have the right to life under Article 21 (which includes the right to education and the right to read) and the right not to be discriminated against (under Article 14), the State is under a positive obligation to provide accessible works to the disabled and thereby help them lead better lives.

The Government Copyright Proposal

This is not to suggest that the Indian government lacks sensitivity on this count. Indeed, it is commendable that as far as back as 2006, the government proposed the introduction of Section 52 (1) (za) to the Copyright Act, 1957 to resolve the issue.

The proposed Section 52 (1) (za) states that the following act shall not constitute an infringement of copyright: “reproduction, issue of copies or communication to the public of any work in a format, including sign language, specially designed (emphasis added) only for the use of persons suffering from a visual, aural or other disability that prevents their enjoyment of such works in their normal format.”

While this is a great start, this draft suffers from some serious limitations:

Firstly, it restricts permissible formats to those “specially designed” for persons with disabilities. In practical terms, this means that only Braille and sign language is permitted. As many of you may know, Braille is extremely expensive to print and distribute and is not portable. Moreover persons with low vision, dyslexics, people with paralysis, cerebral palsy etc. cannot use Braille and require alternate formats.
Given recent technological developments and the burgeoning of audio formats and electronic formats that are now used by a large number of visually impaired persons, the exception ought to cover such formats as well... formats that do not strictly constitute "formats specially designed for the disabled". Indeed, any creation of a digitized version of a copyrighted work would enable access by the visually impaired (provided they have tools such as screen reading software on their respective computers).
We understand that the Indian government wishes to ensure that the defence is availed of only by the disabled and not by others, who may free ride on such an exception. While limiting the exception to “formats specially designed for the disabled” may help achieve this objective, it seriously limits the scope of access by the disabled in this technological day and age, as explained above. Rather than limit the kinds of formats that could be created, we propose that the government restrict access of works created under the aegis of this exception to only people with disabilities. One way to do this is by insisting on reliable certificates that confirm one's status as "differently-abled".
Secondly, the proposed amendment fails to ensure that software and other intellectual property protected tools required to create accessible formats and enable persons with disabilities to access such formats are available at a reasonable cost. Illustratively, the most widely used screen reading software, JAWS, is licensed at a whooping Rs 50,000!
Thirdly, the proposed amendment must provide wording to the effect that if content owners apply any technology circumvention measures or DRM locks to digital content, they must make available such content to persons with disabilities. Without such provision, the production of talking books or the use of screen reading software for the benefit of the visually impaired will be restricted if the owner of a digital work has prohibited such use of his work.

Thankfully India does not have any specific protection for anti-circumvention measures and DRM as yet. However, we're not sure if the government plans to introduce such a protection via the recent copyright amendment bill that is likely to be introduced in Parliament in December. Unfortunately, the bill is still secret and will be made available for public viewing only after it is introduced in Parliament.

Our Copyright Proposal
We've therefore proposed a more liberal and meaningful exception as below:

Section 52 (1) (za) (i): The doing of any act, the primary objective of which is to enable persons with disabilities to access copyrighted works as comfortably and flexibly as a person without a disability.
Such acts shall include, without limitation, the making of any accessible format of a work, reproducing such work/format, adapting such work/format, making available such work/format, lending such works/formats etc. and the provision of any facility that is primarily designed to enable any of the acts contemplated above.
Provided that if any entity wishes to undertake any of the above activities on a for profit basis, it shall pay such remuneration to copyright owners as may be prescribed by the Copyright Board from time to time. For the purpose of determining remuneration, the Copyright Board shall take into consideration the need to ensure that works are accessible and available at prices that are affordable, taking into account disparities of incomes for persons who are disabled.
Provided that if any software or other tool that is covered by any intellectual property right is necessary to create accessible formats or to enable access to such formats, or to enable disabled persons to access any work in any manner as contemplated above, such intellectual property protected software or tool shall be licensed at an affordable price, to be determined by the Copyright Board.
Provided that if any works are protected by technology circumvention measures or subject to DRM limitations that restrict access to the work in any way, the owner of copyright shall grant access to any person who wishes to secure such access for the primary purpose of doing any act contemplated within any of the provisions above.
Provided that the exemption or other benefits envisaged under this section can be availed of only when reasonable measures have been taken to ensure that the end beneficiary is a person with a disability.
Provided that if any act done in good faith in pursuance of any of the above provisions falls outside the ambit of such provision, such act shall not be enjoined by an injunction, whether temporary or permanent, but shall be made compensable by payment of a reasonable royalty to be determined by the Copyright Board.
This provision shall override any conflicting provision in any other legislation, regulation or rule in force in India, only to the extent of such conflict.
Section 52 (1) (za) (ii): For the purpose of Section 52 (1) (za) (i) "accessible format" means any format or form which gives a disabled person access to the work as flexibly and comfortably as a person without a disability, and shall include, but not be limited to, large print, with different typefaces and sizes all being permitted according to need, Braille, audio recordings, digital copies compatible with screen readers or refreshable Braille and audiovisual works with audio and or text description.

The above section draws from a provision recommended by the World Blind Union and supported by countries such as Brazil and NGO's such as KEI.

Readers will note that the above exception not only caters to the visually impaired, but any differently-abled person who is unable to access copyrighted works as comfortably as others. Illustratively, without the subtitling of audio-visual material, a hearing-impaired persons is unable to enjoy movies, TV programs and other audio-visual material.

CLIPP and Collaborative IP Policy Making

Readers may recollect an initiative called CLIPP (Collaborative Innovation in IP Policy), that we touched upon sometime back, but never really got around to implementing. We are still in the process of designing an appropriate IT architecture to support this endeavour, which will greatly aid transparency and public participation around IP law making in this country.

Till such time as we unleash this specialised architecture, we're trying to see if we can make do with the blogger format. Indeed, if our experiment around the parallel imports provision is anything to go by, where our posts elicited around 50 odd comments that helped suggest ways in which to interpret (and perhaps reword section 107A), there is no reason why the blogger format itself should not suffice.

Leaving comments on posts is fairly easy. You scroll down to the bottom of the post, hit the "post a comment" button and either sign in with your gmail account or click on the "anonymous" tab to post a comment anonymously. You could also chose any other online identity. For those that are averse to using the comments section at the end of this blog post, please free to email me at shamnad[at]gmail.com.

I hope all of you can take some time out to help this worthy cause by inspecting the suggested provision with a fine tooth comb and recommending ways to improve it. I understand that we have many sophisticated copyright experts on our subscriber list ..and I do hope that you will lend your minds and hearts to this cause. Needless to state, a mere copyright provision by itself is not enough--but it will certainly go some way in ensuring that we provide a better and more "inclusive" tomorrow for these children of a lesser god.

ps: Venky Hariharan, a leading open source advocate has referred me to Orca, an open source screen reader software, freely downloadable.

Link to the original blogspot

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/copyright-access-for-the-disabled-and-collaborative-ip-policy

ICT, transaction cost and development: The flip side

radha — 2013-02-05T08:56:35Z

A presentation by Prof. Pradoshnath at CIS, Bangalore on Nov 25th, 2009 from 3.30pm to 5pm

Abstract

The main observation is that the connectivity matters if and only if it connects the right way. The danger of being at the flip side looms large, if connected wrong way.

The conclusion is based on a rigorous theoretical understanding of the role of network technology in general and ICT in particular for augmenting the process of social and economic transformation. The theoretical framework also allows us to discover the danger of flip side of the network technology, and tells us that it is not always hunky-dory between ICT (or any network technology for that matter) and social and economic backwardness. Colonial plundering was possible through the adoption of network technologies in colonies.

ICT is believed to contribute to economic development by reducing the transaction and information cost associated with any economic activities. Transaction cost arises when transactions are made away from the market. There are two streams of arguments here; one, that suggests minimisation of transaction cost as means towards economic efficiency, and the other that considers the act of transactions away from the market is actually the process of value creation of a capitalist enterprise. We argue that both the arguments can be synchronised by partitioning the transaction costs in two broad components of production activities, namely, production (the value creation component, where in lies profit) and procurement. It is in the latter component where transaction cost can be minimised for efficiency, whereas in case of former transaction cost is created by a value creating capitalist enterprise. In reality both the processes are concurrent, and one complements the other.

It is this comprehensive perspective that enables us a fresh look at the ongoing programmes, and, therefore a general observation that ICTisation in less developed economies in effect make market operations friendlier for the capitalist ventures or inroads in the marginal economies, and create new varieties of distortions in the system. We call this distortion – the flip side of ICTisation, because in the absence of factors that enable make use of connectivity for economic and social gains, the marginalised population of a marginal economy runs the risk of falling in to a new dynamics of exploitation.

Profile of Prof. Pradosh Nath

An economist working on issues related to applications of science and technology for social and economic development. He is a scientist at National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), New Delhi. At present affiliated to the Centre for Culture Media and Governance, Jamia Millia University, New Delhi as Senior Research Fellow, ICSSR, New Delhi. His present research interest is in the area of application of ICT for social and economic development of the marginal economies. He has published widely in both national and international journals. He has co-authored two books and edited another. He has worked as consultant for IDRC, Canada, WAITRO, Copenhagen, Denmark, and ITU, Geneva. He has been the coordinator of the WAITRO sponsored international programme on ‘Knowledge management for R&D organisation’ conducted in different countries in Asia and Africa.

Videos

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/ict-transaction-cost-and-development-the-flip-side

Reading For All

radha — 2011-04-02T14:26:41Z

Right To Read campaign has begun in India to voice the needs of the disabled to gain access to books - an article by Lubna Salim in Kolkata Mirror - Saturday, November 14, 2009

This year marks the beginning of the countrywide Right to Read campaign. As part of this campaign there will be road shows in the four metros and then these will be held in the different cities. Actors Nandita Das and Amir Khan and veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai are supporting the campaign.

The events of the campaign will include presentations, debates as well as demonstrations. There will be book reading sessions along with stalls whereby different accessibility tools shall be demonstrated. After the success of the first road show of this campaign in Loyola College, Chennai, the second one road was held in Kolkata. The venue for the Kolkata chapter of the Right To Read campaign was NUJS.

“As a visually impaired person I can identify with the goals of the campaign. I have suffered a lot having no access to books and other reading materials. Lack of access tends to make you so dependent on others,” says Moiz Tundawala, 5th year law student, NUJS.

Innumerable Indians are not able to read various printed materials due to their disabilities. Today there are technologies which can help such people to read print, once the materials are converted into alternate formats. These formats could be big print, audio and Braille or any sort of electronic format.

“Just try imagining life without books, without anything to read! Making reading materials available in accessible formats may go a long way in improving the life conditions of the print disabled and also help to make our society more accommodative, more inclusive. It is unfair to deprive some people of such a basic entitlement for no fault of theirs,” adds Moiz.

Our Indian Constitution guarantees its citizens “Right to read” as one fundamental right. But the copyright system does not allow us to convert books into accessible formats for the advantage of people who have print impairment. This leads to the creation of a “book famine”.

The international conventions to which India happens to be a party require it to revise its copyright laws. This will enable persons with the disabilities to avail of information plus material on the same basis as they are available to the others.

Moiz says, “People must endorse this campaign because it will give some people who have to struggle everyday for print access some hope that there are others who understand their concerns and think the same way as they do.”

Link to the original article

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/reading-for-all

UN Official pledges support to tackle Copyright Challenges for the Visually Impaired

radha — 2011-04-02T14:34:04Z

Article on the UN News Centre - New York, Nov 11 2009 6:10PM

The head of the United Nations agency entrusted with protecting intellectual property rights has pledged support for efforts to improve access to copyright-protected works for the world’s blind or visually impaired persons.
“Let me assure you that this is a priority area for the World Intellectual Property Organization (<"http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2009/article_0048.html">WIPO),” Director General Francis Gurry told participants at a conference in New Delhi today.

According to the agency, over 314 million blind or visually impaired people worldwide stand to benefit from a more flexible copyright regime adapted to current technological realities.

Individuals with reading impairment often need to convert information into Braille, large print, audio, electronic and other formats using assistive technologies. It is estimated that only 5 per cent of published books in developed countries are converted into formats accessible to the reading impaired. In India this number is even lower, at only 0.5 per cent, impeding educational and employment opportunities for the country’s nearly 70 million reading impaired citizens.

“While, today, sighted individuals enjoy unprecedented access to copyright-protected content, in some contexts, social, economic, technological and legal factors, including the operation of copyright protection systems, can combine to seriously impede access to such works by the blind or other reading impaired persons,” WIPO stated in a news release.
The agency added that the widespread use of digital technologies, in particular, has led to discussions on how to maintain a balance between the protection available to copyright owners, and the needs of specific user groups, such as reading impaired persons.

Mr. Gurry noted that innovation and affordability are key considerations when addressing the specific requirements of the visually impaired in developing countries.

He called for joining forces with UN partners, including the World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/">WHO) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO), to make best use of the expertise and skills that are available and move forward on these important questions.

For more details go to UN News Centre

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/un-official-pledges-support

WIPO Director General Pledges Support for India’s Visually Impaired Community

radha — 2011-04-02T14:34:21Z

An article in the WIPO website on the “Right to Read of persons with print disabilities and copyright challenges” organized by the VIP community in cooperation with the Government of India in New Delhi on November 11, 2009.

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry met representatives of India’s visually impaired (VIP) community at a conference on the “Right to Read of persons with print disabilities and copyright challenges” organized by the VIP community in cooperation with the Government of India in New Delhi on November 11, 2009, and reaffirmed WIPO’s commitment to supporting international attempts to improve access to copyright protected works by visually impaired persons (VIPs). “Let me assure you that this is a priority area for the World Intellectual Property Organization,” Mr. Gurry said.

More than 314 million blind or visually impaired people around the world stand to benefit from a more flexible copyright regime adapted to current technological realities. Individuals with reading impairment often need to convert information into Braille, large print, audio, electronic and other formats using assistive technologies. It is estimated that only 5% of published books in developed countries are converted into formats accessible to the reading impaired. In India, however, only 0.5% of works are published in accessible formats. This has an adverse impact on the educational and employment opportunities of the country’s nearly 70 million reading impaired citizens.

While, today, sighted individuals enjoy unprecedented access to copyright-protected content, in some contexts, social, economic, technological and legal factors, including the operation of copyright protection systems, can combine to seriously impede access to such works by the blind or other reading impaired persons. Widespread use of digital technologies, in particular, has prompted reconsideration of the question of how to maintain a balance between the protection available to copyright owners, and the needs of specific user groups, such as reading impaired persons. During the meeting, members of the Indian VIP community endorsed WIPO’s role in steering the VIP Initiative at the international level. Mr. Gurry reaffirmed his personal commitment to the specific needs of this community, particularly in developing and least-developed countries: He said innovation and affordability are key considerations when addressing the specific requirements of the VIP in developing countries.

To move forward on these questions, Mr. Gurry noted, we will need to take join ranks with UN partners, namely the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), among others, to make best use of the expertise and skills that are available. The ITU for example, is particularly well placed to provide important technological inputs in the field of telephony and communications and to foster public-private partnerships in this area.

Mr. Gurry welcomed India’s readiness to test the prototype guidelines for trusted intermediaries recently adopted by the WIPO Stakeholders’ Platform. The Director General said that WIPO was ready to explore options to support training/capacity building activities in India for VIPs within the framework of the VIP initiative.

The New Delhi meeting reviewed a series of operational arrangements that could enable fast track access to certain copyright-protected works, particularly educational materials, in local Indian languages. It also focused on the need to incorporate the necessary flexibilities in the Indian Copyright Act 1957 for the benefit of print impaired persons.
Representatives of key organizations such as the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (NIVH), the Regional Resource Centre of the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY), the Centre for Internet and Society and the Federation of Publishers’ & Booksellers’ Associations in India presented their views and concerns on the subject. The meeting was opened to a larger audience of authors, publishers, collective management organizations and librarians, among others. India’s former Ambassador of India to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Swashpawan Singh, honorary advisor on the VIP Initiative to the Director General of WIPO, also participated in the discussions.

Background

In its May 2008 session, the WIPO’s Standing Committee for Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) acknowledged the special needs of VIPs and stressed the importance of dealing, without delay and with appropriate deliberation, with the needs of the blind, visually impaired, and other reading-disabled persons, including discussions at the national and international level on possible ways and means of facilitating and enhancing access to protected works.

In this context, WIPO is currently hosting a global Stakeholders’ platform to explore the specific needs, and concerns, of both copyright owners and reading impaired persons. The aim of the platform is to explore and identify possible operational arrangements to make published works available in accessible formats to the VIP community and within a reasonable time frame. The Platform has recognized the importance of building trust among all parties and has agreed on a first set of principles to facilitate the cross border transfer of published works to print-disabled people, particularly among charities. A draft treaty on the visually impaired persons and for other people with reading disabilities was put forward by the delegations of Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay in May 2009. This, together with other possible proposals and contributions by the members of the SCCR, will be discussed at the 19th Session of the SCCR in December 2009, with a view to establishing a multilateral legal framework in the field of limitations and exceptions for the benefit of VIPs.

Link to the original article

Link to Related News

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/wipo-director-general-pledges-support

Centre for Internet and Society

Statement of CIS on the Matter of the Treaty for the Blind

Statement of CIS on the Matter of the Treaty for the Blind

Web Accessibility Policy Making: An International Perspective – A G3ict White Paper

Books shut by law blinkers

Right to Knowledge for Persons with Print Impairment: A Proposal to Amend the Indian Copyright Regime

A Report on National Conference on ICTs for Differently Abled / Under privileged Communities in Education, Employment & Entreprenuership 2009

Lawyers get socially involved: The Right to Read

Pesky laws

Technology's outer limits

Being Good: the subtle art of Dharma

Legal Samaritans

Delhi Chalo!

The disabled also grapple with copyright issues

DFI and Cambridge University Press join hands for getting print access to the "print impaired"

Right to Read Campaign - Kolkata

The Problem

The Campaign

The Programme

Media Coverage

Times of India - 7th Nov 2009

Photos

Copyright Access for the Disabled and Collaborative IP Policy

ICT, transaction cost and development: The flip side

Abstract

Profile of Prof. Pradosh Nath

Reading For All

UN Official pledges support to tackle Copyright Challenges for the Visually Impaired

WIPO Director General Pledges Support for India’s Visually Impaired Community

Background