Centre for Internet and Society

Print Impairment and Copyrights

radha — 2011-04-02T14:49:19Z

An article by Swaraj Paul Barooah - SPICY IP (Google groups)

There have recently been discussions by the CIS (The Center for Internet and Society) over some important issues relating to the intercourse of copyright protection and accessibility of content. Bringing up important points about the lack of access that certain categories of people have to printed material, they seek to approach the government for appropriate amendments to the present copyright laws. They have broadly defined 'print impaired’ people as those who cannot access standard printed material due not only visual impairment which composes the largest part of this group, but also other reasons such as dyslexia, paralysis, and other learning and physically challenged people. (In connection to this, readers may recall the post by Sumathi on the WIPO Treaty for the Blind being kept on hold earlier this year)

According to the WHO, there are about 314 million visually impaired people in the world, and about 70 million of these are in India (and one should keep in mind that these are just the documented statistics). Totally, there are about 400 million people in the world who suffer from some sort of print impairment. The primary problem that these people are facing is the lack of material which is suitable for their consumption. According to CIS, only 0.5% of the books in India are available in one or more alternative formats. The exclusion of easy availability of such material is effectively leading to a 3 stage process of marginalization of these people from society due to the artificial dependencies created, powerlessness as a result of this and these two together are resulting in the limiting of their capability expansion which could’ve occurred in the presence of the accessible material.

Currently, though the technology exists to transpose books into alternative formats such as braille or audio-books, which provide easier access for the print impaired, copyright laws are proving a hindrance to publishers, as this would technically constitute an infringement. The process to seek approval is a long and tedious one, which creates unnecessary barriers to access to information. As Rahul Cherian of CIS points out, there are also no national policies or action plans to ensure that these people have methods of accessing publications. He also points out in his article here that while there is no specific exception mentioned in the Copyright Act,

"Indian courts have routinely upheld the rights of persons with disability and the Supreme Court has specifically recognized that the “right to life” as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution includes right to dignity including basic necessities such as reading and writing[1] The right to education has also been recognised as a fundamental right. For print impaired persons to enjoy their fundamental rights, it is essential that they have access to material, including but not limited to educational material, in accessible formats. In this context it can be argued that the fundamental rights of Print Impaired Persons are being infringed because the Copyright Act, 1957, does not provide exceptions and limitations for the benefit of Print Impaired Persons."

Further more, India has already signed and ratified the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities wherein ensuring accessibility is one of the principle guiding points. The Bombay HC, in Ranjit Kumar Rajak Vs State Bank of India, has also read in provisions from this convention, stating it as law. You can see a further analysis of the legal framework in Rahul Cherian's article here.

A welcome initiative that CIS has taken in this regard is the Right to Read Campaign. Together with their endeavor of raising awareness of this pressing issue of lack of accessibility of material, they are also preparing a white paper giving suggestions and advice to the government as to what kind of changes should be made to the Copyright Act. As mentioned in a previous post, the required changes have been considered for the Amendment Act, but this is just hearsay and there is no specific information available as to the current proceedings of this. The campaign also is pushing for the Indian government to support the World Blind Union which is promoting the Treaty for the Blind at the WIPO.

Another great initiative which they have taken is in the form of an online platform which they have just launched. Seeking to be part of the solution as well, the site aims to provide a platform where print impaired people can upload and share their collections with other print impaired people, subject to the end user terms. The idea behind this is that since there is so much difficulty in making alternative materials available, the ones that have been made available should be made more easily available for sharing purposes. Earlier branded as Readable.in , the site is now www.BookBole.com . In the short time period that this site has been up, they have already had visitors from 54 different countries and uploads have been made in 34 different languages. In fact, there have also been requests from other countries requesting if the service could be launched in a local language.

This effort by CIS is indeed applauded by our Spicy IP team. You can also support this cause on their campaign site at http://www.righttoread.in

Link to the article in SPICY IP

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/print-impairment-and-copyrights

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

Right to Read event in Brussels

praskrishna — 2011-04-02T12:19:06Z

A 'Right to Read' event is being held at the European Parliament, Brussels on 4 May 2010.

Blind and other reading disabled people face a "book famine". In the North less than 5% of books published are available for reading disabled people. In the South the figure is less than 1%.

Most accessible books are made by specialist agencies using charitable money. At present, such agencies, operating in different countries, but with a common language, often both transcribe the same book. They cannot avoid this needless and expensive duplication by sharing one accessible file or copy. This is because, under present copyright law, reading material in Braille, or formatted digitally for reading disabled people, cannot legally cross borders. This waste of scarce resources significantly hinders access to reading for the world's 300 million visually impaired people and millions of other reading disabled people, especially the poorest.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says that disabled people have a right to read. The best way to guarantee this right is the adoption of a binding treaty that establishes limitations and exceptions to copyright for the non-commercial production and distribution of accessible books.

The World Blind Union representing over 160 million blind and partially sighted persons in 177 member countries, has now drafted a " WIPO Treaty for Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons" to combat the "book famine". It is now being considered by the World Intellectual Property Organization where it has been sponsored by Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador and Paraguay. We have invited stakeholders, experts and EU officials to discuss a way forward and to ask the EU to support a binding treaty. This conference is supported by the European Blind Union and the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue.

For further details, click here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/right-to-read-brussels

Right to Read campaign - Chennai (NDTV, Hindu)

radha — 2011-04-02T14:50:32Z

The first event was covered by NDTV Hindu and an interview with Rahul Cherian and Nirmita Narasimhan was telecast on 26th September.

Excerpts from the interview are available on the given links

Part 1

Part 2

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/right-to-read-campaign-chennai-ndtv-hindu

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

The Option To Read

radha — 2011-04-02T14:42:26Z

A blog in ‘thinkopotamus’ by Mr. Shreekumar Varma, Chief Guest, Right to Read Campaign’s first road show in Loyola College, Chennai

I was inaugurating the Right to Read Campaign's first Indian "road show" in Loyola College, Chennai, a couple of weeks ago when i realised that what we always take for granted is often a luxury or even impossibility for many others. For example, 70 ml people in India cannot access the printed word. Not because of illiteracy but due to some disability or other--- like blindness, dyslexia, etc. Click on the title of this entry to know more.

When I spoke during the event I said something that's been with me for some time. Calling people mentally challenged or visually challenged-- things like that--- tends to separate them and dump them with insurmountable disadvantage. We are becoming so politically correct in so many things today that we are losing touch with human correctness. I noticed during the event that when the blind spoke, they called themselves "blind" while the sighted called them "visually challenged". I said, in that case we should have sugar-challenged (diabetics), size-challenged, etc. When we realise that we are ALL a blend of advantage and disadvantage, ability and disability, then we can see the vulnerability in others as easily as we see it in ourselves.

I remember, exactly 20 years ago, I was "scribing" for a blind student in MCC, the college where I once studied and was at that time teaching for a year. I was writing the student's exam answers as he dictated. All at once, he stopped and said, "Sir, are you Shreekumar Varma?" Puzzled, I said yes. He told me he'd heard me speak during a programme I'd put together for All India Radio three months earlier, and now he recognised my voice! It was a revelation. The world that we cannot grasp is a bigger world than we think.

20 years later. Here I was at Loyola, kicking off a campaign. Well, I also promised them I'd do everything I could to drive the message home. And I am--- on Facebook, Twitter and "word of mouth".

Soon after that day, I contacted my editor at Harper Collins and brought her and Ms. Nirmita Narasimhan of CIS (centre for internet & society) together. The Copyright Act, unchanged since it was born (two years after me!), still makes it illegal to transform printed works into convenient forms for the disabled. I hope my Maria's Room will be read by many who can't read other books. We are still exploring ways of accomplishing this. The novel will be out in November this year, and will be a source of great satisfaction to me: the cover design is my son's, and everyone would have the option to read it.

Link to the blog

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/the-option-to-read

They fight for the visually challenged

radha — 2011-04-02T12:48:45Z

Times News Network - A report on the press conference held at the Press Club, Bangalore on 15th April, 2010.

Bangalore: The National Access Alliance (NAA) on Thursday opposed the Centre’s move to amend the Copyright Act 1957, which will prevent NGOs, educational institutions and persons with disabilities from converting reading material into audio, digital and other formats.

Nirmita Narasimhan, programming manager for the Centre for Internet and Society, on Thursday said: “Roughly, one lakh books are published every year, but only 700 are available to the blind in an accessible format. And most of these are illegally converted by NGOs. But what else can these organizations do?”

Converting texts into formats involves applying for a licence, which takes about three months; still it may take many more months for actual conversion to happen. Any student would lose a year by then, she explained.

Executive director of the centre, Sunil Abraham said: “It is important to remember that everyone is only temporarily visually-enabled. The issue affects all of us. Unlike American students, print-disabled Indians cannot freely convert their study books into MP3 format.”

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/they-fight-for-the-visually-challenged

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

What Women Want: The ability debates

praskrishna — 2011-04-02T12:08:44Z

In this article published in the Hindu, Deepa Alexander argues that the proposed amendments to the Copyright Act (1957) are restrictive and discriminatory.

The triumphs and disasters of the differently-abled in India are two ends of the spectrum. Among the 70 million disabled in our country are those who have conquered peaks, won gold at the Paralympics, and raced in Himalayan and desert car rallies. But, millions more struggle to meet daily challenges in a society that tends to portray the disabled as either heroes or victims with little or no access to their rightful resources. The proposed amendments to the Copyright Act (1957) are seen as restrictive and discriminatory, as the copyright exception, which aims at allowing persons with disability easy access to copyrighted material, applies only to certain types of disability. We spoke to activists who address these issues, not as charity or welfare but as matters of development and dignity.

Change in attitude

National Trust's programmes work on building capacity, changing patronising attitudes, building trust in the abilities of people with developmental disability and creating an equal playing field. Unfortunately, deeply entrenched attitudes continue to exclude people with disabilities. Even if an opportunity is given, it is given only once; if a person with disability fails, incapacity is assumed.

But, in the recent case of a young woman with intellectual disability who had been raped in a women's home, the Supreme Court upheld her right to ‘choose' to keep her baby, and she has proved to be a competent mother. However, the disapproval of the intelligentsia in the media is an indicator of the social prejudices people with disabilities have to live with.

Poonam Natarajan, Chairperson, National Trust (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment), New Delhi

Implement their rights

Ability Foundation's thrust is on creating an equitable society. Through our magazine Success & Ability, we spread this message at a time when service to the disabled was seen only at the physical, and not at the emotional level. Persons with disabilities need access to inclusive education, employment and public places. Being ‘accounted' in the Census 2011 will open up a plethora of possibilities. Accurate data will enable Government intervention at various levels, leading to proactive action. We need ramps for wheelchair users, audio announcements in bus / train stations for the visually-impaired, and video announcements for the hearing-impaired. Floor numbers in Braille for lifts, sign language interpreters in every hospital, police station and court of law, slip-proof flooring in malls, and large-print books in public libraries for those with low vision are the other needs. The implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities as per the United Nations convention and the Persons with Disabilities Act (PWD), in letter and spirit, is also essential.

Jaysheree Ravindran, Founder and Honorary Executive Director, Ability Foundation, Chennai

A development issue

My daughter Tamana was born with cerebral palsy. It pushed me to found an organisation in 1984 to fulfil the dreams of children with special needs and those of their parents. Therapy and counselling for children and their families is essential for optimum adult rehabilitation. Since Independence, the disabled have been categorised along with sections such as women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. While these have had powerful political lobbies, there has been no spokesperson for the disabled. The dichotomies between the Ministries of Education and Social Justice further worsen the exclusion. Most policy-makers look at disability as a welfare, not a development issue. Disability should be jointly addressed by the Ministries of Health, Women and Child Development, HRD, Social Justice and Empowerment. The definition of disability in the PWD Act does not include autism, which leaves out nearly two million autistic persons in India. Admitting disabled children in normal schools is not enough — you need to have professionally trained staff, who are sensitised. I also hope for a different curriculum for special children, even as they are being integrated in the mainstream. Better pay scales will also bring in more jobs in the disability sector.

Dr. Shyama Chona, President, Tamana, New Delhi

Public-private partnership

NGO-run establishments provide free schooling for disabled children. The Government has provided legislative intent through the Inclusive Education Act, which makes it mandatory to include all kinds of impaired children. However, Government schools that cater to the poor are generally marked by grossly inadequate infrastructure and teaching aids, so imagine the predicament of the disabled.

I would like a public-private partnership for day-care and residential institutions which provide educational and recreational service on a long-term basis. This needs to be supported by research institutions which focus on technology, communication and teaching aids. We need to benefit from global expertise, and customise them to local needs.

As Childline's primary mandate is child protection, I feel that the Government must compulsorily provide for a child protection policy in any institution that deals with disabled children, as, such children are more vulnerable to abuse.

Kajol Menon, Executive Director, Childline India Foundation, Mumbai

The copyright angle

The Centre for Internet and Society is associated with the copyright amendment movement for persons with disabilities, and is one of the founding organisations for the Indian Right to Read campaign. At present, the proposed copyright amendment is detrimental to the disability sector's needs. The exception extends only to ‘specially designed' formats such as Braille and sign language, and does not benefit the millions who have cerebral palsy, dyslexia and low vision, and the visually-impaired persons who do not know Braille. Such persons require audio, reading material with large fonts and electronic texts, which are not ‘specially designed' formats. For conversion to non-specialised formats, the amendment proposes a licensing system, which will permit only organisations working for the benefit of the disabled to undertake conversion and distribution. This will prevent educational institutions, SHGs, other NGOs and print-disabled individuals from undertaking conversion. The licensing system will also require approaching the Copyright Board for each work, which will be extremely time-consuming. The waiting period for obtaining permissions and subsequent conversion will result in students losing academic years, a violation of their right to education.

The proposed amendment violates the Constitutional guarantee of equality under Article 14 since it discriminates between those visually-impaired persons who know Braille and those print-disabled persons who do not. It is important for the nation as a whole to take the concern of persons with disabilities as a mainstream concern.

Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager, Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore

Read the original article in the Hindu

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/what-women-want

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

World Wide Web Consortium for All

praskrishna — 2011-04-02T12:08:15Z

Indian web designers have long ignored needs of people with different disabilities but a new dedicated wiki aspires to change that, writes Malvika Tegta

Mobility can also mean being able to seamlessly steer through and negotiate one’s way in a jungle of online information to get work done. Any good website should enable that.Yet, not many Indian ones do. At least not for those who can’t see or hear or operate the mouse with ease.

For them, e-mobility or e-access remains as ignored an aspect as mobility in the physical space.

And to think that all it takes to fix this is to conform to the accessibility standards laid down by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at minimal extra cost. Any good web designer should follow that. And any good government must put a policy in place to ensure that it happens, especially when it is signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disability, which warrants such action.

Intent, however, isn’t the problem. But limited awareness about how information and services can be best delivered to persons with disabilities is. And for a country with close to 70 million people with disabilities, awareness can mean the difference between booking an e-ticket and buying one from the railways counter, between living independently and relying on others for things they can easily do for themselves.

Addressing this is the recently launched 125-article-rich wiki, being executed by the Centre of Internet and Society (CIS) Bangalore and funded by the National Internet Exchange of India, New Delhi. The wiki intends to be a comprehensive resource for users, caretakers, web developers, NGOs, teachers, and members of legal communities for information on what technology — hardware and software — and related legislations offer persons with disabilities.

Web standards prescribe that a description of a graphic or a visual be added for the benefit of visually impaired persons so that any screen-reader can read it. For someone with hearing disability, sound alerts should be accompanied by visual cues, and audios tagged. For those who cannot operate the mouse and hence rely on desk keyboards or onscreen keyboards, developers should incorporate built-in shortcut keys for efficient access.

“But the W3C standards are not binding; it is something countries adopt. In India, these guidelines have been made advisory for Government websites, not mandatory,” says Nirmita Narasimhan, programme manager, CIS, who is also working on drafting the accessibility policy for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Mumbai-based disability activist Nilesh Singlit, who has been working on access audits, accessibility and inclusive design, training and research for the past 12 years, says that the standards are simple enough to be used by anyone with basic grasp of HTML. “But some specialised website designers charge high amounts to make websites disabled-friendly. Yes, there are issues of extensive testing of websites to adhere to the standards required. However, there is no relation between the cost and the end product. More awareness needs to be created to break the myth that accessible websites are expensive,” he says.

The Government of India has made accessibility of its websites advisory. But as Singlit says, if they’re anything like the current railways website — which does little for persons with disability — then it remains to be seen how effective the implementation will be.

Furthermore, the government does not proactively share information with outsiders. “How is one to approach the government unless one knows about the incentives on procurement of assistive technologies, training and awareness camps and educational awareness. Unless this research is made available, you don’t have the base to build on,” says a researcher from the field.

Read the article in DNA

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

Your Signature Could Help 70 Million Read

praskrishna — 2011-04-02T13:10:48Z

A humble signature campaign in the city intends to take on a law that prevents the print-impaired from reading. You too can join in and support the cause.

Picture this: You are on a lazy weekend getaway with easy access to a hammock, cool lemonade and your favourite book. This might sound like oh-so common bliss to you, but this scenario is off bounds for over 70 million Indians. The "print-impaired", or in other words, those who cannot read due to a disability, don't have access to nearly 99% of material printed today. A campaign is currently on in Mumbai to change the law, and your endorsement could make a difference.

"The issue facing a print-impaired person is that when you have a book in standard print, it poses a problem to read," says Dr Sam Taraporevala, Associate Professor and Head of Department, Sociology at St Xavier's College.

Changing the format of a standard book is considered illegal under the Copyright Act of 1957. The Act does not permit conversion of books into a format that can be accessible for the print-impaired (through Braille, screen readers or a digital talking book format, to name a few). To counter this issue and make books accessible to all, Dr Taraporevala (also Director of the Xavier's Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged), has launched a signature campaign.

"The advantage technology offers is that if an author or publisher wants to make his work accessible, he can do so in real time." The campaign, which is part of a global initiative by the World Blind Union (WBU), Sight Savers International and other organisations, is the first of its kind for the city. It aims at collecting 500 signatures of authors and publishers, who will be directly responsible for bringing about a change. Signing the intent form does not in any way mean that the author is handing over the rights of his book.

"There is a concern among authors about providing an accessible copy of the book, that it might lead to piracy," says Dr Taraporevala. "I don't condone piracy but it's a reality and this will not add to it significantly. Why allow injustice to prevail because of an artificial fear?"

Three hundred signatures down and 200 more to go, the race is on for the January 22 deadline. But Dr Taraporevala remains unperturbed. "We will do it. I don't know how but I want to believe anything is possible."

See the original article on Mid-Day.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/your-signature-could-help-70-million-read

Youth light up lives, one book at a time

radha — 2011-04-02T14:42:45Z

Chennaiites join a campaign to aid the visually challenged in accessing popular works of English literature THERE ARE MILLIONS OF BOOKS THAT THE VISUALLY CHALLENGED CAN'T ACCESS - an article in the Deccan Chronicle - Chennai, dated 10th Oct 2009.

Activists and students in the city have come together for a noble cause -- to ensure that the visually disabled can exercise their constitutional right to a dignified life. Since printed material is not accessible to those with visual disability and also since the copyright laws do not allow for books to be converted into Braille or audio format to enable the blind to `read', several organisations have come together to start the `Right to Read' campaign.

The campaign saw its India launch in Chennai recently, and their cause, supported by many, is simple -- to bring about amendments in the copyright laws of the country so that blind people can have access to reading material.
The organisations involved in the campaign are: the Centre for Internet and Society, DAISY Forum of India, Bookbole.com, Ability Foundation and the Loyola College in Chennai.

Students of Loyola kickstarted the campaign in the city by bringing down experts from various parts of the country and organising road shows, panel discussions and signature campaigns. Says S. Naresh, the vice president of the Students' Union of the college, "We realised that there was a need to create awareness about issues like disability and the problems faced by the blind.

And since there are many visually impaired students in our college campus itself, we decided to do something proactive at the earliest." Janaki Pillai, director, operations, of Ability foundation, an NGO which works with people with disabilities, explains, "There are millions of books available in the world but people with visu al disability do not have access to them. The copy right laws in our country do not let us reproduce books in a format that is accessible to the visually , challenged, and that makes it illegal for students to even convert a textbook into a format that can be used by the disabled. We're campaigning for this to change, and we hope that we will be able to con vince the govern ment to see our point of view." Nirmita Narasimhan, a programme manager with the Centre for Internet and Society, says, "We should be allowed to convert the books into a format which is convenient for us with out stringent copyright laws coming in our way."

Link to the article in Deccan Chronicle - Chennai (Page 24)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/youth-light-up-lives-one-book-at-a-time

Access India Meet-Up, May 2009

sachia — 2011-08-31T10:50:37Z

Meet-up of members of Access India mailing list (open to invitees only)

Access India is an informal mailing list for the visually impaired community in India, in which subscribers primarily discuss technology and various aspects of its accessibility. Although the Access India mailing list, originally started in 2002, was intended to be a forum for discussing technology-related issues for the blind, it has over the years expanded to cover a whole range of social, educational, cultural, political and other issues of significance to the visually impaired community in India. It is one of the largest mailing lists of blind persons in India and has roughly 500 members from all over the country. Members of the Access India community in various cities hold informal gatherings from time to time. An annual national meeting of Access India members is also held, where various issues affecting the community are discussed in detail.

Agenda

2 PM: Welcome address by CIS, hosts of the meet.

2:05 PM: A round of introduction by participants.

2:30 PM: Presentation by representatives from AreaPal, a Bangalore-based social networking group founded by students. areapal allows users to locate and connect with people on the basis of their area and neighborhood. It is a genuine neighbourhood networking service. Apart from that, they also provide user-generated news, events and marketplace based information about a user’s area. For further information, please visit www.areapal.com.

2:40 PM: Question time.

2:50 PM: Presentation by representatives from 3I Infotech, a company which recently launched e-Mudhra, an initiative to roll out digital signatures. The main focus of the discussion will be the accessibility of their product. For additional information, please visit http://www.e-mudhra.com/

3:00 PM: Question time.

5. 3:10 PM: Presentation by representatives from iVolunteer, an organization that matches volunteers seeking volunteering opportunities
with organizations and individuals looking for volunteers in Bangalore. To learn more about the organization, please visit www.ivolunteer.in

3:20 PM: Question time.

6. 3:30 PM: Introduction to Inclusive planet. Inclusive Planet is in the process of building the largest online portal for disabled persons in India. It is intended to be a comprehensive portal containing various resources including employment resources, educational resources, a match-making
channel, accessible books section, discussion boards, resources for medical facilities, sports and entertainment center, etc. We hope to have a
representative from Inclusive Planet demonstrate the site for us, inform us about its scope and expansion plans, and tell us about how we can contribute toward making the site totally accessible. Please visit http://www.inclusiveplanet.org/

3:50 PM: Question time.

4:00 PM: Tea followed by open discussion on technology.

4:45 PM: Vote of thanks and conclusion.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/access-india-meet-up-may-2009

National Workshop on Web Accessibility

radha — 2011-08-31T10:46:56Z

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) and Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment (SPACE) are organizing a workshop on web accessibility for web developers from the public and private sector from September 25th to 26th, 2009.

The workshop seeks to bring together practitioners from Government Departments, as well as from small and medium enterprises across the country. The primary aim of this workshop is to demonstrate the importance of creating accessible web sites and to educate the developers of government and private web sites on how to incorporate accessibility features into new as well as existing web sites.

The training comprises both theory-oriented and practical sessions. The trainers are specialists in various aspects of web accessibility. The main focus will be on WCAG 2.0 guidelines. The workshop is for persons already involved in developing web sites with good knowledge of HTML, XML, CSS, etc. In addition to training web developers in accessibility, the workshop will also serve as a platform for capacity building by training potential accessibility trainers.

The programme is supported by Kerala State IT Mission, which runs INSIGHT - ICT Centre for the differently abled in association with SPACE.

The workshop will take place at Christ Nagar International School, Kowdiar, Thiruvananthapuram, between 09:30-17:30 hours each day.

Hurry! Interested persons are requested to register immediately as seats are limited.

Candidates may register directly on the website at http://c11.space-kerala.org/webw/ OR fill the application form attached and post/ submit to SPACE office (contact@space-kerala.org, thomas@space-kerala.org)

SPACE Office Address
Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment
C-11, Elankom Gardens,
Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala, India

To download the registeration form, please click here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/announcement-of-national-workshop-on-web-accessibility