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My 3 comments to The Washington Post Business Article :

Group finalizes treaty to expand book access for worlds blindcommunity

Last week, blind singer/songwriter Stevie Wonder promised thathe would perform for the WIPO negotiators once the treaty wascompleted. According to the World Blind Union , the multipleGrammy award winner will honor his pledge on Friday at thetreaty signing ceremony and celebration in Marrakesh.

By Hayley Tsukayama and Tom Hamburger |04:15 PM ET,

06/26/2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/group-finalizes-treaty-to-expand-book-access-for-worlds-blind-community/2013/06/26/461311fe-de83-11e2-948c-

d644453cf169_blog.html

3 Comments (All by me)

travel_brl6/29/2013 6:05 AM GMT+0700

Stevie Wonder is quoted on Ip-watch saying: Here is the bottom line:We will get this ratified ... I would not want to write a song to talkabout those countries who did not ratify.

If Mr. Wonder goes before the US Senate Judiciary Committee, ashas been suggested on Twitter, I would expect with some Senator itmight go something like this:

Mr. Wonder, Forbes says you are worth $100+ million based on your control of copyrighted material. Now you come in here and basedupon the study by our committee staff you want to declare openseason on US copyrighted material such that, with some popular volumes, there may be more free copies in circulation world-widethan there are paid for copies world wide through the normalchannels After all, they are for FREE.

There isnt even any requirement in the Treaty text as there is with

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the US Section 121 Chafee Amendment that there be documentedproof of disability just that an Authorized Entity sets up its ownprocedures and practices and gives further effort when sendingvaluable copyrighted documents in accessible format to someonehalf-way around the world that claims a qualifying disability. Thatpractice could be a note from some ones Mother. And an authorizedentity as defined can be a government agency or any one roomschool house or government approved library that has helped out aprint disabled person anywhere in the world. The US alone(according to the American Library Association) has about 100,000libraries big and small.

The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) is on record with theUK Intellectual Property Office that one in eight persons (at least inUK) cannot read standard print due to sight problems, dyslexia,or a disability which makes it difficult for us to hold a book or turn apage. Thats about one billion persons world wide who you nowsuggest should now be exempt from US copyright regulation andrestrictions. Is that really what you are now asking us to approve?

travel_brl6/28/2013 1:03 AM GMT+0700

In their statement 12 JUN 2013 the World Blind Union (WBU) said thefollowing:

"TROJAN HORSE ... it is frustrating to say the least to see that WBU/ our draft treaty is still often referred to or seen as a "Trojan Horse"or the top of a "slippery slope" which could lead to the end of copyright / IP law as we know it!! It must be judged on its own merits,not on the merits of other issues that might come up in the future or indeed on the basis of feelings about some of the NGOs which havevoiced support for it."

KEI's staff attorney in a PR released today said:

"Hopefully, this is just the first milestone and that greater protections for human rights and promotion of the publicinterest will follow."

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There are currently 2 other treaty proposals on the WIPO agenda:Exceptions for libraries and exceptions for educational materials. If itproves that some involved (sic) in the process of getting theMarrakesh Treaty approved were disingenuous in their many publicstatements that they have no further agenda, this may be taken intoconsideration as ratification procedures especially in those WIPOMember States who will actually be providing -- rather than justconsuming -- copyrighted materials will soon take place.

travel_brl6/27/2013 3:39 AM GMT+0700

From the above: (JL) said that final language blocked efforts by themotion picture industry to apply new tests for exceptions to copyrightrules.

A note on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities: Adopted by the UN General Assembly 2006; Signed bythe USA 2009; Ratification vote by the US Senate 2012: defeated.

As Sir Alfred Hitchcock noted: "If it doesn't gel, it isn't aspic"