Facilitating Access to Copyright Works for Visually Impaired Persons

This site is a platform for initiatives in the intellectual property (IP) field aimed at facilitating access to information and cultural content by the blind, visually impaired, and other reading-impaired persons (VIPs).

An objective of the IP system is to promote creativity and culture, while returning value to creators and providing widespread, affordable access to content for the public.  Digital information technologies add a new dimension to the need for balance between protection of rightholders on the one hand, and the needs of specific user groups to benefit from reasonable exceptions to rights, on the other. Such users include more than 160 million VIPs around the world.  Comments, suggestions and input are welcome.
 

(Credit: Dhillon Photographics)

FEATURES WIPO Director General Pledges Support for India’s Visually Impaired Community - WIPO Director General, Francis Gurry, met representatives of India’s VIP community at a conference entitled “Right to Read of persons with print disabilities and copyright challenges” organized by the VIP community in cooperation with the Government of India in New Delhi on November 11. WIPO Press Release PR/2009/615 Submission handed to the DG by the VIP community in India

SCCR Commits to Improving Access by VIPs to Copyright-Protected Works - WIPO’s top copyright negotiating forum has agreed to move forward with discussions that could lead to better access to copyright-protected works by the blind, visually impaired and other reading-disabled persons.  WIPO Press Release 2009/628		Closer collaboration in Favor of Visually Impaired - A meeting hosted by WIPO on December 7, 2009 with a number of United Nations specialized agencies in Geneva concluded with agreement on the need for closer inter-agency collaboration in favor of VIPs.  WIPO Press Release 2009/622
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