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Commissioner Charlie McCreevy

DG Internal Market and Services

European Commission
DG Internal Market and Services
2, Rue de Spa, B-1040 Brussels

Cc: Ms Margot Fröhlinger, Director, Directorate Knowledge-based economy


Mr Tilman Lüder, Head of Unit, Copyright and Knowledge based Economy, DG
Markt
Mr David Baervoets, Policy Officer, Unit Copyright and Knowledge based
Economy, DG Markt

Brussels, 18 May 2009

Dear Commissioner,

The TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) strongly supports the October 28,
2008 proposal by the World Blind Union (WBU) to the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR)
for a “WIPO Treaty for Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and other
Reading Disabled Persons”.

New information technologies promise to vastly expand both the number of works
available in accessible formats and the ability of vulnerable consumers, such as
people with reading disabilities, to use those works.

However, experience shows the extreme complexity and legal uncertainty of


navigating different national copyright regimes, in order to publish works and
services for the visually impaired from one country to another.

National laws on limitations and exceptions for disabled populations lack


harmonization and are often out-of-date with respect to modern information
technologies. Digital copies of copyrighted works can now be transmitted over the
Internet and distributed to disabled populations in formats that support indexed and
searchable access to works using audio, refreshable Braille and large type readers.
Some national laws do not address the new publishing platforms, which are important
to the disability community, and the current legal environment does not allow for the
export and import of works across borders. This has the consequence of severely
restricting access to copyrighted works for a very large range of persons. Because
digital technologies give new opportunities to fill the gap, these opportunities
should be fully recognised by the law at the international level.
We believe that voluntary and market-driven solutions do not provide the
proper answers to the problem. WIPO is the only forum that could guide
practices under a common framework, leading stakeholders towards genuine
accessibility of content, and inspiring the building of a positive agenda for
meaningful copyright exemptions on the foundation of social justice and human
rights.

Since 2003, the WBU has petitioned the WIPO SCCR for action to address their need
for global harmonization of limitations and exceptions for the blind, and to ensure that
accessible formats of copyrighted works that are created under such limitations
and exceptions can be exported and imported, in order to facilitate both the
global distribution of accessible works over the Internet, and investment in
services essential for this distribution.

The development of cross-border services increasing the offer of accessible works


is consistent with the European Internal Market, along with the European policy
agenda on new technologies and ICT standardization.

At recent meetings of the SCCR, WIPO facilitated discussions on the topic of


copyright limitations and exceptions, including limitations and exceptions for “blind,
visually impaired and other reading-disabled persons.” At its next meeting (May 25-
29, 2009), the SCCR will continue to consider this topic and will exchange
information and experiences in order to deepen its collective understanding of the
issues. As part of the process, the SCCR is looking to the copyright limitations and
exceptions that are currently available for the benefit of the blind, visually impaired
and other reading-disabled persons around the world, and has invited Member States
to provide supplementary information regarding their national laws and
experiences.

In order to allow interested persons to provide their views, the United States
Copyright Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office have
published a Notice of Inquiry1 seeking comment on several focused topics related to
the provision of access to copyrighted works for blind or other persons with
disabilities.

We would like to know if the European Commission has replied to the invitation
from WIPO to share information on this topic, in view of the preparation of the
next SCCR meeting. The publication of the European Green Paper on Copyright
in the Knowledge Economy showed that the Commission intended to launch the
debate of access to copyrighted works. However, the issue of copyright limitations
and exceptions applied to visually impaired persons, on the very concrete basis of
the WBU Treaty proposal, would deserve specific attention.

The TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) has issued a policy recommendation2


to the European Commission and to the US government, calling for the adoption of

1 http://www.copyright.gov/docs/sccr.
2 TACD Resolution on WIPO Negotiations on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions, with Special
Reference to the Needs of Visually Impaired Persons and Access to Orphan works, adopted July 2008
(attached).

TACD Secretariat, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, UK 2


Tel : (+44) 207 226 6663 - Fax : (+44) 207 354 0607 - http://www.tacd.org
minimum copyright limitations and exceptions, especially as concerns the needs of
the visually impaired.

While the SCCR of course is not obligated to embrace the exact proposal that has
been presented by the WBU, it does have an obligation to address their core
concerns. How can the disabled community realistically achieve “full and equal”
access to copyrighted works?

The WBU has provided the SCCR with a concrete proposal to address their
concerns. It deserves to be considered by the SCCR and discussed. In that respect,
the European Commission can play a leading role in the forthcoming WIPO
negotiations.

We call upon the European Commission to respond to the WBU with the urgency and
seriousness that the issue demands. The first step is to agree to discuss the WBU
proposal.

Sincerely,

Anne-Catherine Lorrain
Intellectual Property Project
The TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD)
80, rue d'Arlon – 1040 Bruxelles
aclorrain@consint.org
+32 2 740 28 17

Cc: Jill Johnstone, Consumer Focus, EU Co-Chair of TACD Working Group on


Intellectual Property
James Love, Knowledge Ecology International, US Co-Chair of TACD Working
Group on Intellectual Property
Julian Knott, TACD Coordinator

Attachments:
- TACD letter distributed to WIPO SCCR 17 delegates on November 3, 2008
- List of TACD members

TACD Secretariat, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, UK 3


Tel : (+44) 207 226 6663 - Fax : (+44) 207 354 0607 - http://www.tacd.org
TACD support of World Blind Union proposal for a WIPO treaty for blind,
visually impaired and other reading disabled persons.

November 3rd, 2008

Dear WIPO SCCR Delegates,

The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue is a forum of US and EU consumer


organisations which develops and agrees joint consumer policy recommendations to
the US government and European Union to promote the consumer interest in EU and
US policy making. At present, TACD’s membership includes 26 US. and 48
European consumers organizations.

TACD strongly supports the October 28, 2008 proposal by the World Blind Union
(WBU) to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee
on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) for a “WIPO Treaty for Improved Access
for Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons.”

Since 2003, the WBU has petitioned the WIPO SCCR for action to address their need
for global harmonization of limitations and exceptions for the blind, and to ensure that
accessible formats of copyrighted works that are created under such limitations and
exceptions can be exported and imported, in order to facilitate the global distribution
of accessible works over the Internet.

In the WIPO SCCR, the delegations from Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Nicaragua have
all proposed work on limitations and exceptions, asking that priority be given to
vulnerable populations.

In February 2007, WIPO published a report by Judith Sullivan, titled, “Study on


Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for the Visually Impaired.” This 233 page
report provided a strong basis for norm setting at WIPO to address the concerns of
visually impaired and other reading disabled populations.

In a resolution adopted July 2008, TACD has asked the U.S. and members of the
European Union to support work within the SCCR to address the needs of the visually
impaired. That resolution read in part:

Excerpt from Resolution on WIPO Negotiations on Copyright


Limitations and Exceptions, with Special Reference to the Needs of
Visually Impaired Persons and Access to Orphan works. TACD DOC
No. IP 05-08, JULY 2008:

The World Blind Union (WBU) has on several occasions petitioned


and provided comments to WIPO asking the SCCR to address the need
for norm setting in the area of minimum L&E, in order to improve
their access to protected works. As detailed in their several
submissions and comments to the SCCR, and discussed at length in
WIPO’s February 2007, 227 page “Study on Copyright Limitations
and Exceptions for the Visually Impaired” (SCCR/15/17), the products
and services that are needed by the visually impaired are most

TACD Secretariat, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, UK 4


Tel : (+44) 207 226 6663 - Fax : (+44) 207 354 0607 - http://www.tacd.org
effectively provided globally, across national borders. As WIPO’s
2007 study noted, “copyright legislation is territorial in nature…
Where activity is undertaken across jurisdictions, it is usually,
therefore, extremely difficult to determine with certainty what parts of
that activity are lawful and what parts are not.” The World Blind
Union reports and WIPO confirms the extreme complexity and legal
uncertainty of navigating different national copyright regimes, in order
to publish works and services for the visually impaired in one country
that are used in another country. The WBU has called for global norm
setting to create the type of harmonization and legal certainty needed
in the area of minimum L&E, in order to facilitate investment in
services that are essential for expanded access to protected works for
visually impaired persons.. .

What is true for the visually impaired is true for others groups and
industries – namely that there are areas where cross-border publishing
and innovative services cannot fully develop without greater
harmonization and legal certainty regarding minimum L&E. However,
the case for early action for the visually impaired is particularly clear,
given the extensive research already undertaken in this sector, and the
fact that it involves a highly vulnerable population.

An agreement on minimum L&E for visually impaired persons will


present challenges, but with a modicum of good will by the EC and the
US, it should be achievable. One benefit of early action to address the
concerns of the visually impaired is that it may provide a concrete
model for addressing other areas where there are compelling benefits
of harmonization of minimum L&E. But in any event, it should move
forward now.

TACD specifically calls upon the EC and US to meet with


representative of TACD and World Blind Union to discuss this issue,
and to propose, by the WIPO General Assembly in September 2008, a
concrete proposal for addressing norm setting for the minimum L&E
needed to expand investments in publishing and services for visually
impaired persons. This proposal should anticipate a draft treaty on
minimum L&E for the visually impaired be presented in the November
2008 SCCR meeting, and discussed further in the 2009 SCCR
meetings, with a goal of scheduling a diplomatic conference in early
2010.

The topic of copyright limitations and exceptions is an agenda item for the program of
the 17th SCCR meeting on November 3-7, 2008 in Geneva.

As noted in the TACD resolution and as explained in several WBU submissions to the
WIPO SCCR and in the 2007 WIPO Sullivan report (SCCR/15/7), national laws on
limitations and exceptions for disabled populations lack harmonization and are often
out-of-date as they related to modern information technologies. Digital copies of
copyrighted works can now be transmitted over the Internet and distributed to
disabled populations in formats that support indexed and searchable access to works
using audio, refreshable Braille and large type readers. Some national laws do not

TACD Secretariat, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, UK 5


Tel : (+44) 207 226 6663 - Fax : (+44) 207 354 0607 - http://www.tacd.org
address the new publishing platforms that are important to the disability community,
and the current legal environment does not allow for the export and import of works
across borders. This has the consequence of severely restricting access to copyrighted
works for 37 million blind persons, 124 million persons of low vision, and millions
more with other disabilities. The WHO estimates that 90 percent of visually impaired
persons live in developing countries, with almost no access to copyrighted works.

The WBU is deeply involved in efforts to obtain voluntary licenses for access to such
works, yet the reality is that only a tiny fraction of copyrighted works licensed for use
in available accessible formats. Using limitations and exceptions to copyrights, some
countries have created some important collections of works in accessible formats, but
cannot export those works to countries that lack such collections.

The WBU has provided the SCCR with a concrete proposal to address their concerns.
It deserves to be considered by the SCCR and discussed.

While the SCCR of course is not obligated to embrace the exact proposal that has
been presented by the WBU, it does have an obligation to address their core concerns.
How can the disabled community realistically achieve “full and equal” access to
works?

TACD urges the SCCR to respond to the WBU with the urgency and seriousness that
the issue demands. The first step is to agree to discuss the WBU proposal, and a
priority proposal in the context of a larger work program on copyright limitations and
exceptions.

Sincerely,

Anne-Catherine Lorrain
TACD Intellectual Property Working Group

TACD Secretariat, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, UK 6


Tel : (+44) 207 226 6663 - Fax : (+44) 207 354 0607 - http://www.tacd.org
TACD Members

European Union

Alliance for Social and Ecological Consumer Organisations


(ASECO)
Health Action International Europe
Osterreichische Kinderfreunde Austria
Verein für Konsumenteninformation (VKI) Austria
Test-Achats Belgium
Bulgarian National Consumers Association (BNAP) Bulgaria
Consumers Defence Association of the Czech Republic (SOS) Czech Republic
Forbrugerraadet (FBR) Denmark
European Public Health Alliance European Union
European Community of Consumer Co-operatives European Union
(EUROCOOP) European Union
European Association for the Coordination of Consumer European Union
Representation (ANEC) Finland
The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) France
Suomen Kuluttajaliitto/Finnish Consumers' Association France
Consommation, Logement et Cadre de Vie (CLCV) France
Organisation Generale des Consommateurs Germany
Union Fédérale des Consommateurs-Que Choisir Greece
Verbraucher-Zentrale Bundesverband Greece
Consumers' Association (EKPIZO) Greece
Consumers' Federation of Greece (INKA) Greece
Consumers' Protection Centre (KEPKA) Hungary
Ekato Hungary
Országos Fogyasztóvédelmi Egyesület (OFE) Ireland
Tudatos Vásárlók Egyesülete (TVE) Italy
Consumers' Association of Ireland Italy
Associazione per la Difesa e l'Orientamento dei Consumatori Italy
(ADOC) Italy
ADUSBEF Italy
Associazione Consumatori Utenti (ACU) Italy
Comitato CODACONS Italy
Comitato Consumatori Altroconsumo (CCA) Italy
Federconsumatori Italy
Movimento Consumatori Italy
Consumentenbond The Netherlands
Forbrukerradet (Consumer Council of Norway) Norway
Centro de Arbitragem de Conflictos de Consumo Portugal
Associacao Portuguesa de Direito do Consumo (APDC) Portugal
Romanian Association for Consumers Protection Romania
Slovene Consumers Association (ZPS) Slovenia
Asociacion Valenciana de Consumidores y Usuarios Spain
Confederacion Estatal de Consumidores y Usuarios (CECU) Spain
Organizacion de Consumidores y Usuarios (OCU) Spain
Union Nacional de Asociaciones Espanolas (UNAE) Spain
Union de Consumidores de Espana (UCE) Spain
Sweriges Konsumenter Sweden

TACD Secretariat, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, UK 7


Tel : (+44) 207 226 6663 - Fax : (+44) 207 354 0607 - http://www.tacd.org
Swedish Consumer Co-operatives (KF) Sweden
Sveriges Konsumenter i Samverkan Sweden
European Research into Consumer Affairs (ERICA) UK
National Consumer Council UK
Sustain UK
Which? UK

United States
American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI)
Center for Auto Safety (CAS)
Center for Digital Democracy(CDD)
Center for Food Safety (CFS)
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
Community Nutrition Institute
Consumer Action
Consumer's Choice Council (CCC)
Consumer Federation of America (CFA)
Consumers Union (CU)
Economic Justice Institute
Electronic Frontier Founddation (EFF)
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA)
National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators
(NACAA)
National Consumers League
Prevention Insitute
Privacy International
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Public Citizen
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
Public Knowledge
US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)
World Privacy Forum

TACD Secretariat, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, UK 8


Tel : (+44) 207 226 6663 - Fax : (+44) 207 354 0607 - http://www.tacd.org

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