VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGV #0728/01 2461426
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031426Z SEP 09
FM USMISSION GENEVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9179
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

UNCLAS GENEVA 000728 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR IO, EEB 
COMMERCE FOR USPTO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KIPR WIPO
SUBJECT:  WIPO Conference on the Visually Impaired 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  WIPO held a conference on the morning of July 13 
on access to reading material for the visually impaired.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
IMPROVING ACCESS TO COPYRIGHT CONTENT 
FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) WIPO's July 13 Conference on Improving Access to Copyright 
Content for the Visually Impaired examined the needs of visually 
impaired persons (VIP) as they relate to intellectual property (IP), 
particularly in terms of how to improve timely access to 
copyright-protected content.  Affiliates of the World Blind Union 
(WBU), certain Member State representatives from Chile, Senegal and 
Canada, and the WIPO Secretariat participated as panelists.  The 
issue of improving format accessibility to copyright protected 
content by visually impaired persons emerged in recent meetings of 
the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights on 
behalf of the WBU (an observer to the SCCR) and certain developing 
countries.  The Conference set the stage for more discussions to 
occur at WIPO and at the national level. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The overall view at the Conference was that the 
proliferation of digital technologies has added a new dimension to 
the question of how to maintain a balance between the protection 
available to right owners, and the needs of reading impaired 
persons.  While the need for cooperative arrangements with 
publishers has been acknowledged by the blind community and was 
reiterated at the Conference, the visually impaired seek a binding 
international instrument exempting some users from liability is 
necessary to facilitate the movement of certain copyrighted works 
across borders (NOTE: the U.S. believes that creating such a binding 
instrument would be premature).  It has been noted by the blind 
community that more than 160 million blind or visually impaired 
people around the world stand to benefit from a more flexible 
copyright regime adapted to the technological realities of the day. 
 
WIPO to launch new VisionIP website 
----------------------------------- 
¶4.  (U) WIPO Director General, Mr. Francis Gurry announced that, in 
the framework of its visually impaired persons (VIP) initiative (an 
informal consultation process among the principal VIP stakeholders, 
including blindness groups, publishers and other copyright owners, 
and NGOs), WIPO will be launching a website - www.visionip.org - 
dedicated to attracting support, exchanging views, and disseminating 
information to all interested parties.  The goal of the website is 
to identify and facilitate practical solutions, such as encouraging 
the adoption of standardized accessible formats or building "trusted 
intermediary" relationships between VIP charities and publishers to 
encourage the production and secure distribution of content in 
accessible formats. 
 
¶5.  (U) In addition, Ambassador Swashpawan Singh, Advisor to Mr. 
Gurry on the VIP initiative, pointed out that continued progress in 
this area on special access to copyrighted materials by the blind 
depends upon the commitment and support of Member States and their 
ability to consider the interests of all stakeholders. He added that 
it is clear that without contravening the legitimate interests of 
right holders, greater quantities of copyright-protected material - 
both analog and digital -- could be made available in accessible 
formats and disseminated across multiple jurisdictions in a timely 
way, to enhance opportunities for the literacy, independence and 
productivity of VIPs.  WIPO's task is to facilitate a process that 
could lead to the desired outcomes within a reasonable time frame. 
 
Open to differing approaches 
----------------------------- 
¶6.  (U) Speaking on behalf of WIPO member states, the Permanent 
Representative of Chile to WTO, Ambassador Mario Matus; the 
Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations, 
Ambassador Babacar Carlos Mbaye; and Mr. Douglas George from the 
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada; 
expressed their openness to continuing discussion of the issue, 
particularly regarding the international exchange of adapted 
materials across different jurisdictions.  Mr. George, in 
particular, noted that a new copyright exception is not necessary to 
allow the international exchange of adapted materials.  Further, he 
mentioned that various approaches have been implemented by many 
countries to address this issue, and that any norm setting should, 
and must, allow for this a range of approaches. 
 
¶7.  (U) Mr. Chris Friend of the World Blind Union (WBU) outlined the 
needs and expectations of the visually impaired community. He was 
confident that cooperative efforts between the community and the 
publishing sector would result in more accessible materials. He 
underlined that a binding international instrument on the needs of 
the visually impaired would complement those efforts by ensuring, 
for instance, the cross-border circulation of books in accessible 
formats. For example with a binding international treaty, blind 
readers in 19 countries across Latin America would have access to 
Braille or audio books produced by the National Organization of the 
Spanish Blind (ONCE). The Francophone Africans would do the same 
with the French collections from Canada, France, Belgium and 
Luxemburg and Switzerland.  The Portuguese organizations could share 
with Brazil, Angola and Mozambique. 
 
¶8.  (U) Mr. Herman Spruijt, President, International Publishers 
Association (IPA) said that the publishing sector was willing to 
contribute its fair share in finding solutions to the important 
issue of disability access, and highlighted the complexities of 
dealing with different needs and interests of multiple stakeholders 
in a fast-moving stream of technological development.  He urged 
parties to be flexible in achieving a common goal rather than 
creating an artificial polarization.  He commended the consultative 
approach adopted by WIPO to move forward with the VIP initiative. 
 
¶9.  (U) Mr. Dipendra Manocha, Director of the New Delhi-based 
Regional Resource Centre, Digital Accessible Information System 
(DAISY) Consortium, said that standards were key to developing 
technology-based solutions to address the problem of disability 
access. He outlined the work of the Consortium in expanding access 
to works in accessible formats, particularly in the developing 
world, where about 90 percent of all VIPs reside.  Mr. Manocha said 
that while thousands of works existed in accessible formats, 
developing countries had to recreate masters at great expense 
because libraries in developed countries were unable to share their 
content with their counterparts in developing countries.  He pointed 
out the need to find policy solutions that would enable the 
widespread use of the technologies that already exist to facilitate 
access to works by VIPs. 
 
¶10.  (U) All PowerPoint Presentations and audio speeches can be 
found at: 
http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2009/vip_ge/ 
program.html 
 
GRIFFITHS#