Voices Of The Blind In Marrakesh Hope To Carry A Long Way 25/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Marrakesh, Morocco – Yesterday, under a scorching sun, the World Blind Union organised an event to raise awareness about the negotiations taking place inside the Marrakesh Palais des Congrès. Behind them, in the building, negotiators have been at work for a week in an effort to agree and adopt a treaty to provide visually impaired people with a broader access to books.
New Draft Text Shows Progress On WIPO Treaty On Books For The Print-Disabled 25/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Marrakesh, Morocco – Negotiators were still hard at work here at press time trying to reach the deadline of tomorrow set by the president of the diplomatic conference, to get agreed language to a drafting committee tasked with delivering a treaty text. The treaty is intended to confer on visually impaired people a wider access to books by providing exceptions to copyrighted works in special format.
WIPO Negotiators Reach Breakthrough On “3-Step Test” In Treaty For Blind 24/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 11 Comments Marrakesh, Morocco – A breakthrough was reached over the weekend in the World Intellectual Property Organization negotiations to provide more access to visually impaired people, according to participating sources. Agreement appears to have been struck on the controversial issue of restrictions to the exceptions to copyright that the treaty is proposing to establish.
Visually Impaired, Civil Society, Industry Defend Their Stakes In Marrakesh 20/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week’s World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Diplomatic Conference, anticipated to deliver an international treaty allowing visually impaired people wider access to books, is also an arena where different stakeholders hope to influence the debate. Civil society calls for a practical treaty that really works on the ground, while industry insists that safeguards to protect the integrity of the international copyright laws be included in the treaty.
WIPO VIP Treaty: Opening Statements Lay Out Differences 20/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Displays of good intentions peppered the two first days of World Intellectual Property Organization negotiations on treaty facilitating access to books for visually impaired people. However, countries pleading for flexibility reaffirmed their previous positions. Developed countries seeking to preserve the international copyright system, and developing countries assuring that the treaty is not jeopardising this system.
New Draft Text Issued By WIPO Negotiators For Visually Impaired Treaty 19/06/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment World Intellectual Property Organization delegates this week have launched into negotiations expected to yield the first treaty creating exceptions and limitations to copyright for the benefit of visually impaired people. Many delegations have said much work remained to be done in the next ten days to breach differences. A new text was released this evening on commercial availability.
Test Of Political Flexibility In Final Lap For WIPO Treaty For The Blind 14/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Starting next week, Marrakesh, Morocco, will be the site of a two-week high level conference expected to yield a treaty facilitating the international access to books for blind and visually impaired people. Stakes are high, not only for the beneficiaries, but also for the industry worried that the copyright system might be endangered by the new treaty, introducing limitations to copyright.
To What Extent Can Global IP Rules Be Responsive To Public Interest Demands? The Case Of The Treaty For The Visually Impaired 14/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment To what extent can global intellectual property rules address in an effective manner the needs of the most vulnerable members of society? This is the key question with which member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are faced as they prepare to meet next week for a diplomatic conference, in Marrakesh, that should result in the adoption of a treaty to facilitate access to copyrighted works by visually impaired persons and persons with print disabilities.
MPAA, US Blind Federation Urge Narrow Focus In WIPO Treaty For Blind 30/05/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The US film industry and advocates for the blind joined forces today to urge World Intellectual Property Organization negotiators to keep treaty talks focussed on the core issue of making more books available to the blind and visually impaired. The joint statement appeared to be aimed at reining in stakeholders on both sides of the international debate.
Parliament Members Call For Removal Of Conditions In WIPO Treaty For Blind 22/05/2013 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Members of all political party groups in the European Parliament in a debate in Strasbourg yesterday asked the European Commission to scrap several conditions demanded by the European Union and other Western countries in the World Intellectual Property Organization negotiations for the draft treaty on copyright exceptions for the blind and visually impaired.