Trusted Intermediary Participation Criteria

Abstract

This document describes the criteria that a trusted intermediary (TI) organization is required to meet for its participation in the Trusted Intermediary Global Accessible Resources (TIGAR) project.  The TI Guidelines, which form the basis of this document, were approved by the WIPO Stakeholders’ Platform as part of the TIGAR project plan in November, 2009.

Introduction

In order to participate in the TIGAR Project, Trusted Intermediary (TI) organizations are required to meet and satisfy a common set of criteria. These criteria are those identified in the TI Guidelines established by the WIPO Stakeholders’ Platform in November 2009 , supplemented by others included in the Global Accessible Library Project, Strategy Report, March 2010. Hereinafter, these criteria are referred to as the Trusted Intermediary Participation Criteria (TIPC).

If a TI organization is not capable of satisfying the criteria on its own capacity, it can seek support from a third party to fulfill the requirements. Under such circumstance, the TI should include additional details in the online TI participation application form (refer to Section 4).

Trusted Intermediary Participation Criteria (TIPC)

To participate as a TI in the TIGAR Project, an organization:

  • operates on a not-for-profit basis;
  • Registers the people that it serves within its territory;
  • Has as a primary mission to provide specialized services related to training, education, adaptive reading or information access for print disabled people;
  • Maintains policies and procedures to establish the bona fide nature of people with print disabilities that it serves, as well as to ensure full and complete compliance with copyright law;
  • Fulfills and maintains all requirements of the TIPC and of any future revisions or replacement thereto;
  • Commits resources to support its participation in the TIGAR pilot project and its operations;
  • Provides an appropriate measure to secure content from unauthorized access; and
  • Supports an appropriate Digital Right Management (DRM) mechanism with the possibility to trace the whereabouts of the copy/content; for instance, using social DRM, or IP tracking or watermarking/fingerprinting or other mechanisms agreeable between the concerned TI and the right holders and/or its designated representative(s).

Further,

  • If the TI is a nation-wide network of different organizations, such organizations must adhere to all of the above-mentioned criteria/characteristics.
  • Each TI ensures that files are only transferred among TIs that belong to the network of qualified TIs.
  • TI has the capability either directly or through a third party to:
    • Provide a MAchine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) standard compliant catalogue available on-line for search and accessible by participating TIs;
    • Provide Work-in-Progress (WIP) information available on-line for search and accessible by participating TIs;
    • Deliver on-line digital content; and
    • Upload and store cataloguing record data and WIP data to its own repository and/or to the trusted central repository1 established for the project, so that this information can be shared with other participating TIs in a networked search and discovery operation.

Request for confirmation

An applicant TI is required to confirm its acceptance of and adherence to the TIPC.

Request to Participate in the TIGAR Project

An on-line application form is provided to allow organizations that meet the TIPC to request participation.

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1  The trusted central repository is part of the WIPO ICT component of the TIGAR project. A range of uploading mechanisms would be supported including the use of electronic file transfer protocols, CDs and others. 

TIGAR Project