[LINK] USA, Canada and the EU attempt to kill treaty to protect blind people's access to written material

[Kim Holburn]

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/05/29/usa-canada-and-the-e.html

> USA, Canada and the EU attempt to kill treaty to protect blind  
> people's access to written material
> Posted by Cory Doctorow, May 29, 2009 1:52 AM

> Right now, in Geneva, at the UN's World Intellectual Property  
> Organization, history is being made. For the first time in WIPO  
> history, the body that creates the world's copyright treaties is  
> attempting to write a copyright treaty dedicated to protecting the  
> interests of copyright users, not just copyright owners.
>
> At issue is a treaty to protect the rights of blind people and  
> people with other disabilities that affect reading (people with  
> dyslexia, people who are paralyzed or lack arms or hands for turning  
> pages). This should be a slam dunk: who wouldn't want a harmonized  
> system of copyright exceptions that ensure that it's possible for  
> disabled people to get access to the written word?
>
> The USA, that's who. The Obama administration's negotiators have  
> joined with a rogue's gallery of rich country trade representatives  
> to oppose protection for blind people. Other nations and regions  
> opposing the rights of blind people include Canada and the EU.
>
> Update: Also opposing rights for disabled people: Australia, New  
> Zealand, the Vatican and Norway.


-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
Ph: +39 06 855 4294  M: +39 3494957443
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request