KEI Closing statement
Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled
June 27, 2013
Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh Morocco
This was read by James Love (a video of this available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNcnx0iME1U)
Mr. President. KEI is a non-profit organization that focuses on human rights and the public interest in the governance of knowledge.
Thursday, June 27, 2013, noon Marrakesh time.
Statement by James Love
Director, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Morocco cell: +212.639.61.6030, james.love@keionline.org
In February 2013, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reached a very difficult compromise of the broader copyright issues that were blocking progress on a treaty on copyright exceptions for blind persons. As part of that compromise, the negotiators agreed to this text:
Attached is an electronic copy of a FOIA received from USPTO, of email messages sent by MPAA lobbyists to the USPTO, about the WIPO negotiations on a treaty for copyright exceptions for persons with disabilities. (Copy here). (Now with OCR, courtesy of John Miller).
The FOIA request covered:
Attached below are the current proposals on the so called “Berne Gap.”
AF Group: Any Contracting Party which is not a member of the Berne Convention or other relevant international treaties shall ensure consistent with its own legal system and practices, that accessible format copies are not reproduced, distributed or made available to non-beneficiary persons.
This was just passed out upstairs. There is now a proposal on TPMs by Australia, Switzerland, Argentina, Ecuador, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Holy See, Japan, India, African Group, Guatemala, Bangladesh, China, Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, to address TPMs with a single sentence, and it is quite good:
Proposal by Australia/Switzerland/Argentina/Ecuador/Canada/Chile/Brazil/Holy See/Japan/India/African Group/Guatemala/Bangladesh/China/Kenya/South Africa/Morocco
Today NGOs were given 3 minutes for an opening statement. This is the text I used. Jamie
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Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) is a non-profit organization concerned with human rights. KEI wishes the delegates luck on a successful outcome. We are grateful for the work by the Secretariat on this issue, from top to bottom.
We will discuss our concerns about the negotiations.
There is a disparity between the lofty language in this hall, and the efforts to narrow user rights taking place downstairs, in the closed meeting.
The Holy See delivered this statement on 18 June 2013 at the Marrakesh Diplomatic Conference on a WIPO Treaty for the Blind.
Statement by His Excellency Archbishop Silvano M. TomasiPermanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva at World Intellectual Property Organization Diplomatic Conference to Conclude a Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities Marrakech (Morocco)
18 June 2013
Mr. President,
Continue ReadingKEI position on commercial availability, Marrakesh Note 5
More more Marrakesh briefing notes: /r2r/marrakesh June 17, 2013 A handful of countries (the UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Argentina) have legislation restricting the use of exemptions where a commercial version of the work is available in an accessible format.… Continue Reading
US Chamber letter to USPTO opposes fair use, expresses “concerns” about WIPO treaty for blind
