The research essay is a study of print access for individuals who are visually impaired. It was inspired by the European Union joining the Marrakesh Treaty (also known as Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled).
The essay will begin by observing the reading habits of VI individuals, looking at the reasons they access books and the modes of access. However, in order to obtain a focused understanding, we will look at only non-educational reading. In addition, we will try to zero in on the various issues that they face when trying to access reading materials.
The main focus of the essay is the effect of the Marrakesh Treaty on copyright and intellectual property laws worldwide, outlining both the advantages and limitations of it. As a snapshot of the scenario, we will observe three of the countries that have signed the Marrakesh Treaty (India, Australia and the UK) focusing on the reforms that have been brought around to aid better access. Also, we will look at private organisations that are in the business of providing books in accessible formats.
Introduction
Around the world, an estimated 1.3 billion people live with some form of vision impairment (WHO). Which, if you consider the current world population of 7.2 billion, means that over 18% of the world’s population has some form of vision impairment and is in turn is print-disabled
According to the Copyright Licensing Agency Print Disability Licensing Scheme, “A print-disabled person is anyone for whom a visual, cognitive or physical disability hinders the ability to read print. This includes all visual impairments, dyslexia and any physical disabilities that prevent the handling of a physical copy of a print publication”
The Reading Habits of Visually Impaired Individuals
Visually impaired individuals are an important part of the reading population, placing a high level of importance on reading for pleasure. One of the main reasons they state for this is to relax and/or relieve stress. (Spacey, Creaser & Hicks 2014, pp 272). They also treat it like a escape from the day to day life experiences (Toyne and Usherwood, 2001, pp 27). VI individuals largely use large print or Braille formats of books and audio books to read. A format that has become popular over the years is Digital Accessible Information System or DAISY as it is known. Based on MP3 and XML technologies, a book in the DAISY format enables the reader to access audiobooks and gives them an option to navigate through the text. Dedicated DAISY players, PCs with DAISY playback software, mobile phones and MP3 players can all be used to play these books. (Lundh A.H. & Johnson, GM 2015, pp 55)
It is a common misconception that audio books and DAISY, or talking books, are the same. Talking books for print-disabled users are produced by special book agencies that are enabled by certain exceptions in copyright laws. On the other hand, as audio books are produced for commercial use and also purchased by the general public, they must be copyright compliant (Roos, 2007; Nilsson, 2008). While mainstream technology of trade publishers could be used to create books in accessible formats, it seems to have been avoided in the interests of charitable institutions who raise their funds based on their work with visually impaired individuals. In addition, the publishing industry would suffer as sighted people would access the material created for VI readers. (Roos, 2007, pp 884)
Before books could be accessed through computers, individuals found that they could only access books that were thought fit for the consumption of the blind. However, the emergence of talking books and audio books transformed the scene. Visually impaired individuals now had an array of books to choose from and could read on the basis of choice not availability. However, this didn’t mean that there weren’t any limitations in accessing books. The limited number of books that are converted into accessible formats makes reading a task. According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), less than ten per cent of books published are turned into accessible formats in developed countries with the proportion growing smaller in developing nations. This phenomenon has been termed ‘book famine’ (Kaminski, M.E. and Yanisky-Ravid, S 2013, pp 267)
Increasingly it has been noticed that those wishing to convert literature into accessible formats keep running into copyright laws in their respective countries. In order to avoid copyright infringement, organisations need to get a licence to create accessible copies, which come only after paying high costs. However, a large part of the visually impaired population is concentrated in developing nations that aren’t predominantly English-speaking and may not be able to afford the high licensing costs. In addition, for-profit publishers wouldn’t be in interested in using resources to translate English works into other languages.
According to a survey in 2006, fewer than 60 countries had exception clauses in their copyright laws for special provisions for print disabled individuals. Moreover, the exemptions didn’t address the eventuality of import or export of works in accessible formats. This combined issue of copyright laws and a gap between the demand and supply for literature in accessible formats needed to be addressed in order to end the ‘book famine’. (Kaminski ME & Yaninsky-Ravid S 2013, pp 268)
The Introduction of the Marrakesh Treaty
In an attempt to battle the book famine, the Marrakesh Treaty was signed at the end of the WIPO Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh on June 27, 2013. One of the few international treaties on intellectual property, it has been formulated to solve legal issues and the restrained cross-border exchange of literature. The treaty addresses the book famine by persuading the countries that have signed and ratified it to reform their national copyright law provisions to become more print access-friendly. This would involve permitting the reproduction, distribution and making available of published works in accessible formats, keeping in mind the limitations and exceptions to the rights of the copyright right holders. (WIPO 2014). The treaty came into effect in 2016 after it received ratification from twenty countries, the twentieth country being Canada. With the recent ratification of the European Union, the treaty now covers 70 countries, a big win for the cross-border access to books.
The Marrakesh Treaty nudges the countries to ‘adopt copyright exceptions’ so literature in accessible formats can be created, distributed within the country, exported outside the origin country and also be imported from other countries. However, the treaty is flexible with regard to how and what exceptions will be made in the respective copyright laws for the beneficiaries. Since the production of accessible format copies are costly, one of the requirements of the treaty – the ability to share literature across borders – will cut down production costs and reduce duplication of work. This exchange will include not just visually impaired beneficiaries but also organisations that work with and serve the interest of these individuals. (Trimble, M 2014, pp 770)
The treaty hasn’t ignored the interests of authors and publishers and has been designed to ensure that the various reforms don’t allow for misuse or wrongful distribution of their works to individuals that aren’t the intended beneficiaries. It reiterates that the cross-border sharing of works should not be in conflict with the normal exploitation of the work and that the interests of the rightholder should not be prejudiced.
Taking a step to begin implementing the treaty, WIPO and its partners created the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) in 2014. There are three areas that ABC works in: sharing of technical skills in developing and less developed countries to produce and distribute books in accessible formats; promoting inclusive publishing; and building the ABC Global Book Service which is an international online catalogue that would promote the exchange of accessible books.
Various Countries who have Signed the Treaty
UK
1. Amendments to the law
The recent ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty by the European Union has made literature from the UK more accessible to print disabled individuals. However, prior to joining the treaty the UK had copyright laws that support the cause of those with print disabilities. The United Kingdom Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 which defines the exemptions to be made in the copyright laws for visually impaired readers, was amended in 2014 to include all individuals who have disabilities that prevent them from accessing a print format. Moreover, the copyright laws have provisions that say if a work has been commercially produced in accessible formats, but copies cannot be obtained within a “reasonable time” at a “reasonable price”, copyright exemption could still be granted. (Reference???)
Following the EU’s directive, the UK government has announced that it will make further amendments to its copyright disability exceptions. They will also remove commercial availability restrictions, which would mean print disabled individual and their representatives would be able to access the literature without having to establish the commercial availability of accessible format copies in other countries. In addition, no compensation schemes have been added to the laws for publishers as there was insufficient evidence to show that the exceptions would harm the profitability of the publishing industry. All the above amendments will be reviewed after five year, to be changed as seen fit. Interestingly, the UK will be ratifying on the Treaty separately after Brexit, establishing an identity separate from the entire EU. (Li, J 2014, pp 746)
2. Important organisations/bodies
In the UK, blind and partially-sighted individuals access books in braille and giant print from libraries. The largest of these services are run by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), which is the largest publisher of Braille books in Europe. The RNIB runs National Library Service, a specialised free library that offers over 21,000 titles in accessible formats to its members. The charitable institution also has TalkingBooks that provides audiobooks to its members. Recently, publisher Penguin Random House announced a partnership with RNIB, giving them free access to over 25,000 titles (including new releases) to be reproduced in accessible formats. (Bruce I.W., McKennell A.C. & Walker E.C. 1991)
India
1. Amendments to the law
India has the largest population of visually impaired in the world with over 64 million individuals. Therefore, becoming the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty in 2014 was a big step for the nation and its VI citizens, who have been referred to as ‘Divyangs’. However, prior to the ratification, the Copyright (Amendment) Act of 2012 already allowed the reproduction of works in accessible format for persons or organisations that worked in the interest of persons with disabilities. Moreover, while the Marrakesh Treaty states that the term ‘work’ means only literary and artistic work, according to the Act of 2012, there is no such restriction. In addition, a wide range of beneficiaries have been included in the exceptions. The amendments also stated that individuals or organisations working with disabled individuals could apply for a licence allowing them to adapt works into accessible formats. Fortunately, all the amendments from the Act of 2012 makes it easier for the nation to comply to the requirements put forth by the treaty. (Li, J 2014, pp 765)
2. Important organisations/bodies
Post the ratification in 2014, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities launched the Accessible India Campaign in 2015 with an objective to increase accessibility on different fronts. The campaign brings together ministries, the private sector and an important player, the Daisy Forum of India. (Gulati A 2016, pp 7) The DFI, launched in 2007, is a not for profit organisation and an associate member of the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Forum. One of the leading producers and distributors of accessible works in the country, it partnered with the National Institute of Visually Challenged to launch Sugamya Pustakalya, the first online library of accessible books. The library grants access to over 335,000 books in seven formats and thirteen Indian languages, and has collaborated with BookShare, the largest online library in the world. (Lubas R.L. 2016)
3. Limitations
While all these developments have aided in bringing accessible texts to print-disabled individuals in India, there are still certain requirements of the treaty that need to be addressed. The Indian copyright laws still haven’t been amended to make it easier to import and export books from and to other countries. Easing global access to Indian literature needs to be the next step in keeping with the treaty.
Australia
1. Amendments to the law
In 2016. Australia was estimated to have 357,000 visually impaired individuals with the number projected to grow up to 564,000 by 2030. The Australian ratification came through in 2015 and came into force in September 2016. As a response to the ratification, the Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Act 2017 (‘Amending Act’) was put into action. The amending act, while adhering to the requirements of the treaty, has a few differences. Firstly, just like India and the UK, the Australian law has a wide range of beneficiaries and does not confine the concept of disability by referring to specific types of disability. In fact, the law embraces elderly individuals, who despite not suffering from disabilities may have difficulty accessing standard format of literature. In addition, the act also includes illiterate individuals, who may not be able to understand work in print format. Secondly, while the treaty only covers works that are published, the Australian act has no such prerequisites. (LI, J. & Selvadurai, N 2017, pp 628-630)
2. Important organisations/bodies
In addition, there are various bodies in Australia that have aided in print access for VI citizens, one of which is Vision Australia. Established in 2004, it was the first national blindness agencies that has provided various services to the visually impaired. A primary service is that of the library established with literature in braille, audio and even e-braille. In 2016, a symbolic exchange was done between CNIB (Canada) and Vision Australia, in which fiction titles were exchanged, with talks of periodicals and journals being included in the coming years. The Vision Australia library boasts over 40,000 titles in the DAISY format, a range that will be increasing to over 50,000 because of the Marrakesh Treaty. (Vision Australia 2016).
Another notable organisation is ReadHowYouWant (RHYW), a publisher of books in accessible formats. Having developed an award-winning conversion technology, the organisation prints books in Braille, large print and in DAISY to customers on demand.
In an online conversation, a bit of insight was gleaned about the business. ReadHowYouWant has orders coming in for books on a weekly basis at the least, with their primary customers being libraries. Their most popular genres are Personal Finance and Biographies in Non-fiction and Romance in Fiction.
The organisation faces its own set of issues. While it produces books in DAISY, it is difficult to get DAISY rights from trade publishers, who view it as a conflict with their own audio editions. Moreover, books in DAISY formats are expensive to produce. There is also the issue of conversion of books in accessible formats which is essentially time consuming. This means that these books come out much later than the trade edition. It is also expensive t procure rights of popular fiction from UK publishers. These publishers are more likely to sell the rights for UK and Commonwealth countries to a UK-based large print publisher.
When the representative from ReadHowYouWant was asked how they intend to counter the limitations faced, they mentioned that the issues are being discussed at Australian Inclusive Publishing Inititiative (AIPI). The AIPI was one of the projects that came into being after the Australian ratification of the treaty. It is a forum where publishers, authors and other members of the visually impaired community engage in discussions with disability associations, government and accessible format providers, on ways to efficiently provide print disabled individuals reading material. A primary goal of the AIPI is to develop “Born Accessible” Australian standards and present them to the Accessible Book Consortium. Born Accessible books will be procured directly from publishers by individuals who may or may not have print disabilities. (Certificate II, 2018)
3. Limitations
While Australia has made leaps in an attempt to make books more accessible, there is the issue of the fair dealing. The access to all works for print disabled individuals comes under the new fair deal law that Australia adheres to: a fair dealing with copyright material does not infringe copyright in the material if the dealing is for the predetermined purposes listed out by the act. (Fisher E 2018, pp 7). However it is time consuming for makers of accessible books to establish that the dealing meets with the provisions that has been set out by the law.
The Limitations of the Marrakesh Treaty as a whole
The treaty, being one of the first of its kind, comes with its own share of issues, hindering its effectiveness. Firstly, out of the current 45 contracting parties, only nine are Asian countries; and although China, Cambodia and Indonesia have signed the Marrakesh Treaty, their domestic copyright laws do not encourage import and export of accessible format copies, barring the flow of literature form these countries across borders. Another issue is the absence of countries that produce literature in the Malay language, as neither Malaysia nor Indonesia have ratified the treaty.
The three most-used languages in the world are Mandarin, Spanish and English. While the recent ratification of the European Union and the United States has brought in the largest producers of English and Spanish copyrighted work, China, the largest producer of Chinese copyrighted materials, hasn’t yet ratified the Marrakesh Treaty.
The fluidity of the treaty presents another issue for the contracted parties. In order to keep it flexible, the treaty allowed the countries to implement it as they saw fit. However, there wasn’t much guidance on how it could actually be put into effect, with there being ambiguity and confusion in the interpretation and discrepancies on what constitutes ‘reasonable grounds for exception’, the meaning and expanse of ‘commercial availability’.
Another topic for debate has been the option to attach remuneration to the literature that is being created in accessible formats, which allows rightholders to demand payment of a royalty or license fee. However, this has been debated as it threatens to financially burden print disabled individuals and may defeat the pur