SpicyIP Tidbit: The Obama Administration does a U-Turn – Supports the WIPO Treaty for the Blind

In a Statement before the WIPO SCCR the U.S. noted that “some in the international copyright community believe that any international consensus on substantive limitations and exceptions to copyright law would weaken international copyright law. The United States does not share that point of view. The United States is committed to both better exceptions in copyright law and better enforcement of copyright law.”

This is a ‘surprising’ turn of events because earlier this year we had reported that the U.S. was planning to block the Treaty. What caught my eye on reading the statement was the express reference to the fact that India was engaged in a ‘thoughtful deliberation’ over a statutory exception for the print disabled in its own national laws. This is a clear recognition of the efforts put in by the good people heading the ‘Right to Read’ & ‘Book Bole’ campaigns in India, especially those at Inclusive Planet and the Centre for Internet and Society. Not to be forgotten are the bureaucrats and politicians at the Ministry of Human Resources and Development without whom none of this would have been possible.

The main aim of the treaty in question is to facilitate the cross-border sharing of special format materials made for persons with print disabilities regardless of whether these formats are made under the national law or under licensing agreements. U.S. support for the treaty will dramatically increase the amount of special format material accessible to the people of the world.

In the meanwhile we urge our readers to take part in Shamnad’s brilliant new initiative – CLAM Collaborative Law Making – to engage in drafting and improving upon the proposed amendment of the Copyright Act.