The Centre for Internet and Society
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Comments on the Broadcast Treaty and Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/comments-on-broadcast-treaty-and-exceptions-and-limitations-for-libraries-and-archives
<b>This November at WIPO the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights was witness to a tough negotiation on the proposed Treaty providing access to copyrighted materials to visually impaired persons. In between these discussions, the SCCR also found time to have two short plenary sessions on the proposed broadcast treaty as well as working documents on exceptions for libraries and archives.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Although we were unable to make a statement at the SCCR due to logistical constraints, CIS had the following comments prepared on both these issues:</p>
<h3>Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations:</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society would like to reiterate the statement on principles provided in the 22nd SCCR by many civil society non-governmental organizations, cable casters and technology companies opposing a rights-based Broadcast Treaty. While we are encouraged by the inclusion of more suitable alternatives in many of the areas that civil society organizations had expressed concern, it is important that these alternatives be considered carefully. Some of the alternatives in the working document are not in keeping with the mandate of this Committee and we need to ensure that any new treaty provides a balanced protection to broadcast organizations.</p>
<p>We wish to enumerate a few key areas that need to be emphasized once again in this regard –</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To begin with, the definition of ‘broadcast’ itself should not be too broad. The treaty needs a clear and precise definition that limits the protection to signals and does not extend to retransmissions or transmissions over computer networks.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Similarly, it is essential that the protection granted to a broadcasting organization should be limited to broadcast signals. The current working document extends this protection to public accessibility/performance of the broadcast signal and such restrictions might not be feasible in developing and least developed countries. One alternative even extends the protection available to fixations of the broadcasts and this is entirely unacceptable in a signals based treaty. The obligations with regard to technological protection measures, if any, should also be limited to protect only those broadcasts that are lawful.</p>
<p>Limitations and exceptions to the protections granted by this treaty are also of great importance, especially so in light of the Development Agenda. These exceptions and limitations should be made mandatory and be expanded to include issues of national interest and for free-to-air broadcast signals (such as the laws governing broadcast of cricket games in India).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Lastly, as pointed out many times already, we are of the opinion that a fixed term of protection, whether 20 or 50 years, is inconsistent with the idea of a signals based approach to the treaty.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Proposed Legal Instruments on Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives and Educational, Teaching and Research Institutions and Persons with Other Disabilities:</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society would like to thank the Secretariat and the entire Committee for the hard work being put in this week at the SCCR.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">International instruments that govern exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives as well as educational, teaching and research instruments and persons with other disabilities is key to ensure a balanced global copyright system that protects both right holders and users. Such instruments will not only allow the preservation of copyrighted works, but also provide greater access to these materials, especially in developing countries.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The working documents before us cover a number of issues and we would like to address a few of them today.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">First, the three-step test. This has been a contentious issue with regard to all three instruments that are being discussed here this week. We would like to reiterate that a narrow interpretation of the three-step test should not be adopted, it is important that any and all flexibilities that can be made available to libraries and archives.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Second, libraries, archives, educational, research and teaching institutions should definitely be allowed to import and export copyrighted works and parallel trade in these works should be allowed. The language used in the current working document (SCCR/24/8) needs to be improved upon (Article 14, under 4.1 on page 12). This provision should indicate that as long as the copy of the work is lawfully produced, an educational institution, library, research organization or student is free to acquire, sell, import, export or otherwise dispose of that copy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Thirdly, we wish to emphasize once again, the importance of protecting works that are in a digital format, as well as online libraries and archives. Additionally, the transmission of these works in a digital form as well as any internet service providers engaged in facilitating access to materials under this treaty should also be granted protection.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/comments-on-broadcast-treaty-and-exceptions-and-limitations-for-libraries-and-archives'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/comments-on-broadcast-treaty-and-exceptions-and-limitations-for-libraries-and-archives</a>
</p>
No publishersmitaIntellectual Property RightsCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-12-04T23:11:34ZBlog EntryTranscripts of Discussions at WIPO SCCR 25
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr25-discussions-transcripts
<b>We are providing archival copies of the transcripts of the 25th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, which is being held in Geneva from November 19, 2012 to November 23, 2012.
</b>
<p>This is an unedited rough transcript of the discussions at SCCR 25 which is live-streamed and made available by WIPO at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.streamtext.net/player/carttranscript?Event=WIPO">http://www.streamtext.net/player/carttranscript?Event=WIPO</a> and <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=WIPO">http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=WIPO</a>. We are hosting the live-streamed text for archival purposes:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr-25-day-1-november-19-2012.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 25 Day 1, November 19, 2012</a> (Full Text)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr-25-day-2-november-20-2012.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 25 Day 2, November 20, 2012</a> (Full Text)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr-25-day-3-november-21-2012.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 25 Day 3, November 21, 2012</a> (Full Text)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr-25-day-4-november-22-2012.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 25 Day 4, November 22, 2012</a> (Full Text)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr-25-day-5-november-23-2012.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 25 Day 5, November 23, 2012</a> (Full Text)</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr25-discussions-transcripts'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr25-discussions-transcripts</a>
</p>
No publishersmitaLive BlogCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-12-05T00:58:55ZBlog EntryAn Odia Wikipedia Workshop at Academy of Media Learning
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/odia-wiki-workshop-at-aml
<b>Odia Wikipedians were invited to Academy of Media Learning (AML), Bhubaneswar for a guest lecture and a workshop on contributing to Odia Wikipedia. The event was organised by the Centre for Internet & Society on November 10, 2012. This is a report about the activities in AML.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Soon after <a href="http://facebook.com/groups/OdiaWiki">Odia Wiki community</a> got <a href="https://cis-india.org/news/orissa-diary-november-23-2012-pravuprasad-routray">felicitated by OdishaDiary.co</a> for Youth Achievement Award for their outstanding contribution for Odia language many institutions have started taking the work of the wikipedians with more seriousness. To empower the community with more activities active members took part in a discussion to start more long term projects like "education programs". In early November, a couple of meetups and workshops were organized in different institutions in Odisha. One of those institutions in <a href="http://www.aml.edu.in/">Academy of Media Learning</a>. It is a budding institution for journalism and digital media in the city of Bhubaneswar. The institute is led by the Founder-CEO of this institution <a href="http://nilambarrath.com/">Nilambar Rath</a>, a veteran journalist and news producer and Saumya Parida, Executive Editor and journalist in the Odia media circle. Subhashish Panigrahi of CIS was invited to AML along with other fellow Wikipedians for a guest lecture and workshop about "Contibution to Wikipedia and its Benefits for Students".</p>
<p>Odia wikipedians like <a href="http://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ansumang">Ansuman Giri</a>, <a href="http://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:ManXiii"><span>Manoranjan Behera</span></a> and <a href="http://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Guguly18">Diptiman Panigrahi</a> also came over for the event.</p>
<h3>Meeting with Nilambar Rath and Saumya Parida</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Prior to the lecture and workshop, wikipedians discussed about the education program with the faculty members on how it is essential to engage students in such a program. <span>Subhashish explained the older education programs for other language and the recent Odia Wikipedia Education Program initiated at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal. During this meeting Mr. Rath also suggested to include more linguists and Odia language professors in the community who would guide on standards of language, writing style and grammar as Odia Wikipedia is being accessed more on a daily basis by the main stream media. </span></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Workshop</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There were a small set of enthusiast communication students gathered for the event. Subhashish took them through a presentation explaining about Wikipedia, how people like them contribute to Wikipedia and make it grow day by day and how Odia Wikipedia was started. The participants were surprised to see Odia Wikipedia for the first time! Even being communication students and working closely with Odia media they have never came through it. After the presentation he emphasized about the reason why we are focusing on long term support programs like "education program" and how it would be beneficial for students. Students were given a small break for asking queries before a training workshop on editing Odia Wikipedia. One of the students was invited to create his user account. Wikipedians explained how to type in Odia using the typing scheme. Few of the students were invited to edit and make small changes in various articles. Going forward, students were shown Chatasabha and the facebook group page to ask queries online.</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/AMLWorkshop.png" alt="AML Workshop" class="image-inline" title="AML Workshop" /></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; ">A picture of the participants at the Odia Wikipedia workshop at Academy of Media Learning</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Picture credit: <a href="http://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:ManXiii">Manoranjan Behera</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/odia-wiki-workshop-at-aml'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/odia-wiki-workshop-at-aml</a>
</p>
No publishersubhaAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaWIPOOpenness2013-07-17T07:06:59ZBlog EntryThe Hathitrust Judgment and its impact on TVI negotiations at WIPO
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/hathitrust-judgment-and-its-impact-on-tvi-negotiations-at-wipo
<b>Those of you who have been following my earlier posts on the WIPO negotiations on the Treaty for the Visually Impaired will remember that one of the biggest concerns of the World Blind Union on the draft wording of the Treaty was with the definition of an “authorized entity” that can undertake conversion and distribution of accessible format copies.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Before the WIPO intersessionals began on October 17, 2012, the definition of “authorized entity” in the draft Treaty prescribed that only authorized entities that address the needs of beneficiary persons as one of their <b><i><span style="text-decoration: underline;">primary</span></i></b> (in brackets) activities or institutional obligations can undertake conversion and distribution of books in accessible formats. This requirement is unacceptable since it will exclude many legitimate organisations and institutions that undertake these activities but who do not address the needs of beneficiary persons as a “primary” activity or institutional obligation. Some examples of such organisations/institutions are mainstream education institutions and mainstream libraries. Delhi University which has a large number of blind students will be excluded and this is unacceptable.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The main proponents pushing for the word "primary" was the United States and the European Union while India and other developing countries wanted the word to be deleted for obvious reasons. There was a virtual deadlock in the negotiations on this particular point.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The United States was pushing for the word “primary” because under <a href="http://goo.gl/E5jlr" target="_blank">US Copyright law</a>, an authorized entity means a nonprofit organization or a governmental agency that has a <b><i><span style="text-decoration: underline;">primary mission</span></i></b> to provide specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities. Under US law there was uncertainty as to whether educational institutions and libraries would be covered under the definition of “authorized entity”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Enter the HathiTrust Judgment <a href="http://www.tc.umn.edu/~nasims/HathivAG10_10_12.pdf">http://www.tc.umn.edu/~nasims/HathivAG10_10_12.pdf</a>. The judgment, which was pronounced a few days before the October WIPO intersessionals by the New York Southern District Court, held that libraries and educational institutions fall under the definition of “authorized entities” under US law.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The US delegation to WIPO was instantly alerted about this judgment and was requested to negotiate broader wording for authorized entities under the Treaty as was now the position under US law.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At the intersessionals that concluded on October 19, as observers, we were not allowed into the room and the discussions were happening between the Member States but at the end of the intersessionals this is the proposed wording of authorized entity:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Authorized entity means an entity that is authorized or recognized by the government to provide education, instructional training, adaptive reading or information access to beneficiary persons on a non-profit basis. It also includes a government institution or non-profit organization that provides the same services to beneficiary persons as one of its primary activities or institutional obligations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As can be seen from above, this definition is broader than the previous definition since the word primary has been deleted from the main definition and it explicitly covers educational institutions and libraries. It is also interesting to note that even for profit entities that provide the above services on a non-profit basis to beneficiaries are covered.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It remains to be seen what form the definition of authorized entities will take but the HathiTrust judgment has definitely helped in the negotiation process.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The next meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights takes place in Geneva between November 19 and November 23, 2012.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Watch this space for updates. See my <a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/JpPkO">earlier posts on the WIPO negotiations</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/hathitrust-judgment-and-its-impact-on-tvi-negotiations-at-wipo'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/hathitrust-judgment-and-its-impact-on-tvi-negotiations-at-wipo</a>
</p>
No publisherRahul CherianAccessibilityAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-10-30T04:28:24ZBlog EntryWIPO General Assemblies Approve Road Map on Treaty for the Visually Impaired
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/wipo-approves-road-map-on-tv
<b>In a significant development the 50th session of Assemblies of WIPO member states reached a breakthrough decision on how to complete negotiations on a pact to improve access to copyrighted works for the many visually impaired or print disabled people around the world. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The meeting of the General Assembly which concluded on October 9, 2012 approved a <a href="http://wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=213442" title="http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=213442">road map</a> that could lead in 2013 to a historic diplomatic conference for an international treaty focused on improving access to published works for persons who are visually impaired or print disabled. The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) will hold <a href="http://wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=27382">inter-sessional meetings from October 17-19, 2012</a> to work on the text of the instrument. The <a href="http://wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=25024">SCCR will meet from November 19-23, 2012</a> and will continue discussions on the text with the objective of concluding or substantially advancing the text-based work on this topic. Member states agreed to convene an extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly in December 2012 to assess progress on the text and decide whether to convene a diplomatic conference in 2013. Some 300 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. Only a very small percentage of published books around the world are available in formats accessible to the visually impaired.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At the closing of the Assemblies, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry welcomed the "extremely constructive engagement of member states" in the work of the Organization as demonstrated in the decisions taken by the Assemblies. He underlined the progress made by member states in setting timetables for concluding negotiations on international instruments on access to copyrighted work by the visually impaired, design law and intellectual property and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore. The Chair of the WIPO General Assembly, Serbia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Uglješa Zvekić, also welcomed the positive outcome of the Assemblies which took stock of the work of the Organization and set timetables to conclude normative work in several areas. Representatives of regional groups, and individual member states, also welcomed the outcome of the Assemblies and the positive spirit among member states. Regional groups specifically underlined decisions to move forward in discussions on a treaty to facilitate access to copyrighted works by the visually impaired or print disabled.</p>
<p>For more details see <a href="http://wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2012/article_0022.html">http://wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2012/article_0022.html</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/wipo-approves-road-map-on-tv'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/wipo-approves-road-map-on-tv</a>
</p>
No publisherRahul CherianAccessibilityWIPO2012-10-11T10:34:37ZBlog EntryWIPO Treaty for the Visually Impaired — Moving from a Treaty on Paper to a Treaty that is Workable on the Ground
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/wipo-treaty-for-the-visually-impaired
<b>After many years of hard lobbying by the World Blind Union, it appears that the WIPO Treaty on limitations and exceptions for visually impaired persons/persons with print disabilities (TVI) could become a reality next year. However, due to pressure from the European Union and the United States, and their insistence on several untenable provisions, there is a real risk that the TVI could become unworkable on the ground.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The following is a list of concerns that must suitably be addressed if the TVI is to make a realistic dent in the “book famine” in which only a few per cent of books are available in accessible formats that persons with print disabilities can read.</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Definition of authorised entity to be widened.</b><br />The current definition of authorized entity prescribes that only authorized entities that address the needs of beneficiary persons as one of their primary (in brackets) activities or institutional obligations can undertake conversion and distribution of books in accessible formats. This requirement is unacceptable since it will exclude many legitimate organisations and institutions that undertake these activities but who do not address the needs of beneficiary persons as a "primary" activity or institutional obligation. Some examples of such organisations/institutions are mainstream education institutions and mainstream libraries. Delhi University which has a large number of blind students will be excluded and this is unacceptable.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Authorised entities must be required to follow simple rules and procedures when converting and distributing works in accessible formats.</b><br />As is proposed now, authorized entities could be required to follow complex rules and procedures with respect to the permitted activities. In this connection it is critical to note that:<br />
<ul>
<li>Smaller organisations will not be in a position to keep organised records. Therefore smaller organisations that serve rural or small populations must not be subject to a requirement to keep records where they do not distribute accessible formats in electronic form.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>There must be no requirements for organisations to apply Technology Protection Measures to accessible formats in electronic form.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>While organisations can inform beneficiary persons to whom they supply accessible formats that there must be no subsequent distribution to non-beneficiary persons, an organisation should have no obligation to oversee the use by the beneficiary persons they supply accessible formats to, or any responsibility for misuse by beneficiary persons they supply accessible formats to.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>There must be no requirement to share the records that organisations are required to keep with any person or entity other than in the eventuality of copyright infringement proceedings.</li>
</ul>
The rules and procedures must therefore be simplified to reflect the above.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>The exception must automatically kick in if the relevant accessible formats are not available in the market on the same day as the mainstream format.</b><br />At present there is no clarity on when the exception kicks in and the existing wording can be interpreted such that the exception may apply only after significant time has passed after the books are available in the market in the mainstream format. If a work is made available in the market in a mainstream format it is essential that beneficiary persons can enjoy the work in the relevant accessible format at the same time. Failure to do so is discriminatory towards beneficiary persons. In this connection, the TVI must expressly clarify that if the accessible format copy is not available on the same day as the mainstream format, the exception automatically applies and authorised entities and beneficiary persons can create accessible format copies on the same day that the mainstream format is commercial available. <br />This will also be an incentive for rights holders to take steps to ensure that accessible format copies are made commercially available on the same day as mainstream formats.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">“<b>Making available” to be possible through wire and wireless means.</b><br />One of the proposed changes to the TVI is the clarification that “making available” accessible format copies to the public should be as per Article 8 of the WIPO Copyright Treaty thereby expressly providing for communication to the public, by wire or wireless means, including the making available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access works from a place and at a time individually chosen by them. Given that technology is making it increasingly possible for beneficiary persons to access accessible format copies over wire and wireless means, this is clarification is very critical.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>The Authorised Entity in the exporting country must not have any obligation to verify any form of legal eligibility in the importing country</b>.<br />As per the current wording of the TVI an authorized entity in one Member State: <br />
<ul>
<li>Must, when exporting to beneficiary person in another Member State, verify whether that other Member State would permit that beneficiary person to make or import that accessible copy; and </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Can only export to an entity or organization in another Member State that the originating authorizing entity has identified as another authorized entity. </li>
</ul>
It is obvious that authorised entities in one country cannot verify the above with any degree of certainty and therefore it is impossible for authorised entities to comply with this requirement. Moreover, as in the case of all copyright exceptions and limitations, rights holders have the right to take copyright infringement action against any person or entity that operates outside, or exceeds, the exception. This requirement relating to the verification legal legibility must therefore be deleted.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Member states having the flexibility to decide whether to link exceptions to commercial availability</b>.<br />At present, the draft TVI provides Member States the flexibility to decide whether to confine permitted activities to instances where there is no commercial availability of accessible format copies. This flexibility is critical for Member States since the economic and distribution ground realities in each Member State vary widely and only a Member State can decide this issue conclusively for its own circumstances. Any attempt to change this position in the TVI must be opposed.<br />In short, barring the above issues, the Treaty appears to heading in the right direction. The upcoming intersessionals in Geneva (17-19th October 2012) to discuss the text of the Treaty will be crucial to decide the fate of the Treaty. Watch this space.</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Rahul is the founder of Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy and he advices the World Blind Union on legal issues relating to the WIPO Treaty for the Visually Impaired.<br /></i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/wipo-treaty-for-the-visually-impaired'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/wipo-treaty-for-the-visually-impaired</a>
</p>
No publisherRahul CherianAccessibilityAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-09-28T04:41:08ZBlog EntryRing Side View : Update on WIPO Negotiations on the Treaty for the Visually Impaired
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/ring-side-view
<b>As a legal advisor of the World Blind Union and part of the World Blind Union delegation to the 24th meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) that concluded on July 25, 2012 I had a ring side seat to the negotiations that happened between Member States in relation to the Treaty. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On call almost 24 x 7 to answer questions and clarify positions to Member States on aspects relating to the Treaty and the ground reality faced by the print disabled community, those were possibly the most grueling 10 days of my life.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Progress at the last 3 SCCRs was painfully slow. At the start of this SCCR on July 16 2012 the single biggest hurdle to progress on the Treaty was the stand that the African Group had taken at the earlier SCCRs with respect to a comprehensive text covering exceptions and limitations to copyright for education, libraries, archives and disabilities. See <a class="external-link" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzKnVkcW7LQ">my discussion with Jamie Love</a> from Knowledge Ecology International on this issue. It was evident that while a comprehensive text had its merits, it would be impossible to make progress on this comprehensive text because, other that for exceptions for disabilities, the issues relating to education, libraries and archives had not reached the level of maturity required to progress to a Treaty. So it was essential that exceptions for disabilities were de-linked from exceptions for education etc. This is exactly what the African Group did much to the excitement of the WBU team.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Much was left to be done over the next few days including discussion on the text of the working document which prepared by Chair after SCCR 23,<a class="external-link" href="http://wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=195021"> available here</a>. Normally, discussions on text happen at the plenary session attended by Member States as well as accredited organizations such as the World Blind Union, my organization Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy and others. This process, while adding to transparency and more participation is sometimes slow and the request of some Member States considering the urgency of the matter, discussions were taken out of plenary into a closed room round table discussion. All Member States could participate and many did. Unfortunately, accredited organizations were not invited to attend. Full credit to Member States in terms of effort put into this effort as they worked well beyond normal working hours on most days in an attempt to reach consensus on the text.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Another critical outcome we had hoped for was that there would be consensus between Member States that the instrument would be in the form of a Treaty. As the negotiations between Member States progressed it became clear that the United States and the European Union were blocking the Treaty while everybody else was pushing hard for the Treaty. The United States and the European Union were pushing for some form of non-binding instrument that would be more in the nature of a recommendation. Further coverage of this is at <a class="external-link" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/blind-treaty-2012_n_1706543.html">Huffington Post</a> and in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/jul/30/us-eu-blocking-treaty-blind-books">Guardian</a>. The drawbacks of a soft law as opposed to a Treaty is obvious in that a soft law has no binding force as opposed to a Treaty. Rumor has it that the reason for the United States not supporting the Treaty is that the publishing lobby is apparently a huge contributor to President Obama’s re-election campaign and that he could ill afford to alienate this lobby by pushing for the Treaty. The European Union’s opposition to a binding Treaty was despite a resolution adopted by the European Parliament in February 2012 <a class="external-link" href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20120216IPR38346/html/Binding-rules-to-ensure-blind-people%27s-access-to-books">calling on the European Union to support a binding Treaty</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We had hoped that SCCR 24 would close with agreement on the text, agreement that it would be a Treaty and finally that the SCCR referring the Treaty to the upcoming General Assembly in October 2012 to call for a Diplomatic Conference in 2013 to expressly agree on the Treaty.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, this was not to be. Although much progress was made on the text, the text remains incomplete, with a lot of brackets in the text on undecided points. There was no consensus that the instrument should be a treaty. And lastly there was no decision on referring the issue to a diplomatic conference.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The next steps as outlined in the conclusions to SCCR 24 are the following:</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">an inter-sessional meeting of the SCCR be held in Geneva between the 2012 General Assembly and the 25th session of the SCCR to continue work;</li>
<li>the 25th session of the SCCR will attempt to conclude or advance substantially the text of the document; and </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">that the General Assembly convene an extraordinary session to be held in December 2012 to evaluate the text from SCCR/25 and to make a decision on whether to convene a diplomatic conference in 2013. </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">SCCR 24 made more progress on this issue that any of the previous SCCRs I have attended. We are very optimistic that the Treaty will become a reality of the next 18 to 24 months with the increased pressure being exerted on the US and the European Union by the blind groups in these jurisdictions respectively. Needless to say, the Treaty will benefit developing countries the most since the majority of persons with print disabilities are in these countries. India and other developing countries are mindful of this and are pushing as hard as possible to make it happen.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>My next post will be on the pros and cons of the text that was proposed at the end of SCCR 24</i>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/ring-side-view'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/ring-side-view</a>
</p>
No publisherRahul CherianCopyrightAccessibilityAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-08-13T04:34:22ZBlog EntryUS and EU blocking treaty to give blind people access to books
https://cis-india.org/news/us-and-eu-blocking-treaty
<b>Copyright fears stall talks on books being translated into braille for blind and visually impaired people in the global south.</b>
<hr />
<p>This article by Paige McClanahan was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/jul/30/us-eu-blocking-treaty-blind-books">published</a> in the Guardian on July 30, 2012. Rahul Cherian, a Fellow at CIS is quoted.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The US and the EU are blocking a treaty that would give the world's blind and visually impaired people – 90% of whom live in the developing world – easier access to published works in formats they can use.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A "treaty for blind people" has been under discussion at the <a href="http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en">World Intellectual Property Organisation</a> (Wipo) since 2008, but negotiations have made little progress. In the latest round of talks in Geneva, which ended on Wednesday 25 July, negotiators deferred a decision on the issue once again, to the dismay of activists.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"This is not just a legal issue – for us, this is a moral issue. It's about human rights," said Teresa Hackett, programme manager at Electronic Information for Libraries, a non-profit group based in the Netherlands.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There are about 256 million visually impaired people in the developing world, <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/">according to an estimate by the World Health Organisation.</a> In many rich countries, blind people have ready access to works that have been translated into braille and other accessible formats such as audio and large-print books, although, according to the EU, only 5% of books are accessible to blind people in wealthy states.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, under existing copyright law, poorer countries can't access those translations without getting the express permission of the copyright holder. Few developing country governments have managed to do that, meaning that their blind and visually impaired populations are left with barely anything to read. The EU estimates that less than 1% of books are accessible to blind people in poorer countries.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"The Spanish organisation Once has well over 100,000 [translated] books that they would like to send to Latin American countries, but they can't simply because of this copyright barrier," said Dan Pescod of the<a href="http://www.rnib.org.uk/Pages/Home.aspx">Royal National Institute of Blind People</a>. Libraries in five Latin American countries – Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Uruguay and Chile – have fewer than 9,000 accessible books between them, he said.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A treaty at WIPO could change that. A binding agreement would mean people in the global south could get immediate access to books that have already been translated into accessible formats in other countries. A treaty would also lead to enormous cost savings, as expensive translation has to be replicated in every country that wants to produce an accessible form of a given book.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The European parliament <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20120216IPR38346/html/Binding-rules-to-ensure-blind-people%27s-access-to-books">passed a resolution in February</a> calling on the EU to support a binding treaty for the blind, but it does not appear to be having much impact. "The EU and the Americans are blocking the treaty – that's what's going on," said James Love, director of <a href="http://keionline.org/">Knowledge Ecology International</a> (KEI). "It's shameful what they're doing." He added that the administration of President Barack Obama has changed its position on the treaty over the past few years. In 2008 Obama's transition team were making positive noises, but since then the administration has become less enthusiastic.<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Europe"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Europe">Europe</a> and the US are home to some of the world's biggest publishing companies, many of which don't like the idea of an international treaty that would restrict their intellectual property rights. Observers speculate that the Obama administration may be loth to upset the publishing industry, a major campaign supporter, this late in an election year. "What we can see in the [negotiating] room is that primarily it's the business interests that dominate," said Hackett.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Activists are hoping for a legally binding treaty, but US and European delegates have been pushing for a softer "instrument" that would offer only guidelines and recommendations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"We really don't want to establish a precedent of developing a series of treaties that specifically focus on … limitations and exceptions to the rights of copyright owners," said Alan Adler of the Association of American Publishers, in an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxVcmOwBAsY">online interview with KEI</a>. Discussions are due to begin again in November, after the US election.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Despite the setback, activists insist they will keep lobbying for a binding treaty. "We in developing countries have found our voice and we are not going to back down," said Rahul Cherian, of <a href="http://www.inclusiveplanet.com/en/login?destination=node%2F241416%27">Inclusive Planet,</a> an Indian nonprofit, in a statement to Wipo delegates last week. "When people are demanding their basic rights, no power in the world is strong enough to stop them getting what they want."</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/us-and-eu-blocking-treaty'>https://cis-india.org/news/us-and-eu-blocking-treaty</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccessibilityAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-08-02T13:56:36ZNews ItemWIPO SCCR 24 Post-lunch Text (July 25, 2012)
https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-25_sccr24_post-lunch.txt
<b>This is an unedited rough transcript of the discussions at SCCR 24, which was live-streamed and made available by WIPO.</b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-25_sccr24_post-lunch.txt'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-25_sccr24_post-lunch.txt</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-07-31T12:34:00ZFileWIPO SCCR 24 Post-lunch Text (July 24, 2012)
https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-24_sccr24_post-lunch.txt
<b>This is an unedited rough transcript of the discussions at SCCR 24, which was live-streamed and made available by WIPO.</b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-24_sccr24_post-lunch.txt'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-24_sccr24_post-lunch.txt</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-07-31T12:13:25ZFileCIS's Statement at SCCR 24 on Exceptions & Limitations for Libraries and Archives
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-statement-sccr24-libraries-archives
<b>This was the statement delivered by Pranesh Prakash on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, at the 24th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights on the issue of exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives.</b>
<p>Thank you, Mr. Chair.</p>
<p>We would like to associate ourselves with the statements made by International Federation of Library Associations, Electronic Information for Libraries, Knowledge Ecology International, Conseil International des Archives, Library Copyright Alliance, Computer and Communications Industry Association, and the Canadian Library Association.</p>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society would like to commend this house for adopting SCCR/23/8 as a working document on the issue of exceptions and limitations on libraries and archives. This issue is of paramount interest the world over, and particularly in developing countries. I would like to limit my oral intervention to three quick points, and will send a longer statement in via e-mail.</p>
<p>First, we feel that this committee should pay special attention to ensuring that digital works and online libraries and archives such as the Internet Archive, also receive the same protection as brick-and-mortar libraries.</p>
<p>Second, we are concerned that we have been seeing some delegations advancing a very narrow interpretation of the three-step test. Such a narrow interpretation is not supported by leading academics, nor by practices of member states. A narrow interpretation of the three-step test must be squarely rejected. In particular, I would like to associate CIS with the strong statements by IFLA and KEI to maintain flexibilities within exceptions and limitations, instead of overly prescriptive provisions encumbered by weighty procedures and specifications.</p>
<p>We have comments about parallel trade as well, drawing from our experience and research in India, and will send those in writing.</p>
<p>Libraries and archive enhance the value of the copyrighted works that they preserve and provide to the general public. They do not erode it. Exceptions and limitations that help them actually help copyright holders. The sooner copyright holders try not to muzzle libraries, especially when it comes to out-of-commerce works, electronic copies of works, and in developing countries, the better it will be for them, their commercial interests, as well as the global public interest.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-statement-sccr24-libraries-archives'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-statement-sccr24-libraries-archives</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshAccess to KnowledgeCopyrightFair DealingsIntellectual Property RightsArchivesWIPO2012-07-25T10:54:38ZBlog EntryEU stalls treaty talks to allow copyright waiver for print disabilities
https://cis-india.org/news/eu-stalls-treaty-talks-to-allow-copyright-waiver-for-print-disabilities
<b>India and other developing countries support such a legally binding treaty, writes Priscilla Jebaraj in an article published in the Hindu on July 25, 2012. Pranesh Prakash is quoted.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The European Union is holding up a treaty to allow books and other printed works to be converted into a format accessible to the visually impaired and other print disabled people without seeking the permission of the copyright holder.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">India, and most other developing countries, strongly support such a legally binding treaty currently being negotiated at a World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) meeting in Geneva. However, non-governmental organisation sources at that summit say that the EU is stalling the treaty by placing unreasonable restrictions on how copyrighted works are to be converted, and by whom. The EU office in Delhi and Brussels did not respond to a request for comment on their position.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"[The treaty] would allow organisations working for the blind to import and export accessible works without seeking the copyright holder's permission, since very little money is spent in developing countries on converting books into accessible formats, while they are much more readily available elsewhere," according to Pranesh Prakash of the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society who is attending the summit as an NGO member. If the treaty is not finalised by Wednesday, when the meeting ends, disabled people could be forced to wait till 2014 for their next chance.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Last week, Indian delegate G.R. Raghavender pleaded with negotiators to finalise the treaty without further delay "so that we won't go back, especially the Indian delegation won't go back empty-handed, facing the 15 million blind people in India, which is almost 50 percent of the world blind population, that is 37 million."</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In fact, the treaty will benefit a much larger group of print-disabled, including those who suffer from motor disabilities which prevent them from holding a book, or learning disabilities such as dyslexia, or autism, which make it hard to read. There are approximately 70 million print-disabled people in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Accessible formats would include Braille, electronic text and audio versions of books, making Western publishers' jittery about piracy fears. Hence, some countries are demanding stringent tracking mechanisms and legal requirements that activists say will effectively block access to disabled people in developing countries — where more than 85 per cent of them live.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">"An instrument that subjects the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms by persons with visual impairments to market forces and bureaucratic practices will not work," Mr. Prakash said, in his statement to WIPO delegates. "In India, our Parliament recently passed an amendment to our copyright law that grants persons with disabilities, and those who are working for them, a strong yet simply-worded right to have equal access to copyrighted works as sighted persons."</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In fact, the EU Parliament had given its unanimous approval to the treaty in February 2012. "It would be a democratic travesty if the EU’s representatives here today posed any problems to a clear road map for a binding international treaty, especially by posing unrealistic proposals with regards to authorised entities and other issues very far from consensus positions in the WIPO and in clear contradiction with the aims of the World Blind Union," said David Hammerstein, a representative of American and European consumer organisations, making a statement at the Geneva meeting.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read the original published in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3679662.ece">Hindu</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/eu-stalls-treaty-talks-to-allow-copyright-waiver-for-print-disabilities'>https://cis-india.org/news/eu-stalls-treaty-talks-to-allow-copyright-waiver-for-print-disabilities</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaIntellectual Property RightsAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-07-25T09:37:25ZNews ItemWIPO SCCR 24 Pre-lunch Text (July 24, 2012)
https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-24-sccr-24-pre-lunch.txt
<b>This is a rough transcript of the WIPO-SCCR discussions. </b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-24-sccr-24-pre-lunch.txt'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-24-sccr-24-pre-lunch.txt</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaIntellectual Property RightsCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-07-25T03:51:38ZFileWIPO SCCR 24 Pre-lunch Text (July 23, 2012)
https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-23-sccr-24-pre-lunch.txt
<b>This is a rough transcript of the WIPO-SCCR discussions. </b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-23-sccr-24-pre-lunch.txt'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-23-sccr-24-pre-lunch.txt</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaIntellectual Property RightsCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-07-25T03:44:21ZFileTranscripts of Discussions at WIPO SCCR 24
https://cis-india.org/a2k/wipo-sccr24-discussions-transcripts
<b>We are providing archival copies of the transcripts of the 24th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, which is being held in Geneva from July 16 to 25, 2012. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This is an unedited rough transcript of the discussions at SCCR 24, which is live-streamed and made available by WIPO at <a class="external-link" href="http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=WIPO">http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=WIPO</a>. We are hosting the live-streamed text for archival purposes:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-19-sccr24-pre-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Pre-lunch Text</a> (July 19, 2012)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-19-sccr24-post-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Post-lunch Text</a> (July 19, 2012)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-20-sccr24-pre-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Pre-lunch Text</a> (July 20, 2012)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-20-sccr24-post-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Post-lunch Text</a> (July 20, 2012)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-23-sccr-24-pre-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Pre-lunch Text</a> (July 23, 2012)</li>
<li>(There was no post-lunch plenary session on July 23, 2012)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-24-sccr-24-pre-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Pre-lunch Text</a> (July 24, 2012) </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-24_sccr24_post-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Post-lunch Text</a> (July 24, 2012)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-25_sccr24_pre-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Pre-lunch Text</a> (July 25, 2012)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/2012-07-25_sccr24_post-lunch.txt" class="internal-link">WIPO SCCR 24 Post-lunch Text</a> (July 25, 2012)</li>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/wipo-sccr24-discussions-transcripts'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/wipo-sccr24-discussions-transcripts</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshIntellectual Property RightsCopyrightAccess to KnowledgeWIPO2012-07-31T12:35:43ZBlog Entry