Image: WIPO District General & Stevie Wonder ©WIPO/Berrod
The BCC welcomes the new WIPO Treaty supporting access to books for visually impaired people. Its success will be determined by how effectively it is interpreted and implemented at national and regional level. The BCC’s original position (December 2012) which supported the conclusion of the Treaty, remains relevant to its implementation in Europe and in the UK and can be found here. The text of the full press release issued by WIPO can be found here.
Following her attendance at the Diplomatic Conference in Marrakesh, the BCCs President of Honour and author, Maureen Duffy, FRSL, had this to say:-
“As an author, I welcome the successful achievement of a Treaty that could be the basis for a workable, mutually satisfactory solution for all those involved but I believe that it will work most effectively alongside developments in technology that facilitate both the sharing of information and the improvement of available accessible formats for beneficiaries of the treaty. I am also pleased that the definition of “accessible format copy” in Article 2 (A) provides that “it must respect the integrity of the original work” thus safeguarding the author’s moral right of integrity.
Through the BCC, authors look forward to working with publisher colleagues to ensure that the Treaty’s purpose and objectives are achieved while protecting the interests of rights holders.”