Government's move to relax Copyright Act lacks vision
In a well-meaning but shortsighted measure, the government plans to amend a half-a-century old law to allow the conversion of copyrighted books into the Braille format without any royalty and licence fees.
Most visually handicapped people, who would have benefited from the change, have already moved on from Braille to electronic and audio formats, screen-reading software and digital talking books, experts said. Conversion to these formats remains prohibitively expensive. Yet, the amendment to the Copyright Act of 1957--approved by the cabinet on 24 December and due to be tabled in Parliament in the Budget session--does precious little about it.
In a well-meaning but shortsighted measure, the government plans to amend a half-a-century old law to allow the conversion of copyrighted books into the Braille format without any royalty and licence fees.
Most visually handicapped people, who would have benefited from the change, have already moved on from Braille to electronic and audio formats, screen-reading software and digital talking books, experts said. Conversion to these formats remains prohibitively expensive. Yet, the amendment to the Copyright Act of 1957--approved by the cabinet on 24 December and due to be tabled in Parliament in the Budget session--does precious little about it.
People with visual handicaps can read printed material only when it is converted into older formats such as Braille or newer and more flexible audio and electronic formats.
Non-profit organizations such as Inclusive Planet, Centre for Internet and Society and DAISY Forum spearheaded the Right to Read campaign in September 2009, which sought to amend the Copyright Act to increase access to copyrighted works for the visually challenged.
Non-profit organizations such as Inclusive Planet, Centre for Internet and Society and DAISY Forum spearheaded the Right to Read campaign in September 2009, which sought to amend the Copyright Act to increase access to copyrighted works for the visually challenged.
A total of 57 countries have made exceptions to their copyright laws to allow the conversion into formats accessible to the visually challenged.
Countries such as Cameroon, Chile, Indonesia and Ice and have limited their exceptions to the production of Braille copies. But 21 other countries, including Australia, France and Germany, allow conversion into electronic format as well.
Amendments in the US have allowed school texts and educational material for children to be converted by some authorized agencies into electronic or other formats accessible by the visually impaired free of charge.
Countries such as Cameroon, Chile, Indonesia and Ice and have limited their exceptions to the production of Braille copies. But 21 other countries, including Australia, France and Germany, allow conversion into electronic format as well.
Amendments in the US have allowed school texts and educational material for children to be converted by some authorized agencies into electronic or other formats accessible by the visually impaired free of charge.
In Britain, an exception to the copyright law in 2003 al owed producers of accessible material for the visually impaired to make multiple accessible copies of copyright material in any format.
The World Blind Union has proposed an international treaty to harmonize exceptions to copyright law to resolve these differences.
Source: mint, Dated: Feb. 03, 2010, By Manish Ranjan
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