[bksvol-discuss] Re: Fw: Obama Sides
- From: Soronel Haetir <soronel.haetir@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:25:57 -0900
As far as I can tell from the news articles this treaty would have no
effect on domestic law in the US.
On 12/17/09, Tammy Blaker <wyomiia@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I'm all for everyone to has access to books for the blind and disabled, like
> Bookshare.org. However, I would like to buy an ebook in a format that I
> could play as a text file on my STREAM. Yes, Kindle tried to do that, but
> it would only play on a Kindle and even then the publishers went for
> Amazon's neck. Would this law help the blind in America by forcing an open
> playable eBook format for the STREAM or other readers?
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Chela Robles
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 7:32 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Fw: Obama Sides
>
>
>
> ----------------
> "If you go without playing the trumpet for one day, no one knows, two
> days, only you know, and more than three days without practicing, girl you
> better look out, because everyone will know!"
> Today, I find myself constantly saying those words, just to get myself
> going, to not give up, and it works. Since I learned to play the trumpet at
> the tender age of 10, I have spent so much passion and much diligence with
> that instrument that I will not give up on it. Sometimes my instrument puts
> me into awkward situations where I feel like they won't ever end, but the
> trumpet gives me a lot of hope with the majestic, crystal-clear sound it
> brings to my ears.
> ----------------
> Chela Robles
> E-Mail: cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxx
> MSNWindowsLive Messenger: cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Skype: jazzytrumpet
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: haverp@xxxxxxx
> To: k1000@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 4:28 PM
> Subject: Obama Sides
>
>
>
>
> Obama Sides With Blind in Copyright-Treaty Debate
> By David Kravets
>
> http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/obama-blind-treaty/
>
> The Obama administration announced Tuesday it supports loosening
> international copyright protections to enable cross-border distribution of
> special-format reading
> materials for the blind, a move that puts it at odds with nearly all of
> U.S.
> industry. The government announced its support for the underlying
> principle of the
> WIPO Treaty for Sharing Accessible Formats of Copyrighted Works for
> Persons Who are
> Blind or Have other Reading Disabilities.
> The announcement was made in Geneva
> (.pdf) before a subcommittee of the the World Intellectual Property
> Organization, which has about 180 members.
> The move comes as a broad spectrum of American enterprise, ranging from
> major software makers and book publishers to motion picture and music
> companies, have
> opposed the proposed international treaty that would make books more
> accessible to the blind.
> The chief complaint is that the treaty creates a bad precedent by
> loosening copyright restrictions, instead of tightening them as have every
> other
> international copyright treaty. "We recognize 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," Justin Hughes, a
> Department of
> Commerce senior adviser, told the WIPO on Tuesday. "The United States does
> not
> share that point of view." But the administration was careful Tuesday not
> to alienate U.S. industry
> even as it supported the blind and visually impaired. For example, Hughes
> acknowledged that
> the government was willing to strengthen international copyright laws in
> other regards.
> "The United States is committed to both better exceptions in copyright
> law and better
> enforcement of copyright law," Hughes said. "Indeed, as we work with
> countries to
> establish consensus on proper, basic exceptions within copyright law, we
> will ask
> countries to work with us to improve the enforcement of copyright. This
> is part and parcel of a balanced international system of intellectual
> property."
> Toward that end, the United States is one of the lead negotiators of a
> proposed international accord that the European Union suggested was too
> friendly to business. A
> leaked EU document connected to the Anti-Counterfeiting and Trade
> Agreement
> suggested that the Obama administration's " overriding object" is to
> "facilitate the continued development of
> industry." The documents suggest the United States might want ISPs around
> the world
> to punish suspected, repeat downloaders with a system of "graduated
> response" - code
> for a three-strikes policy that results in digital copyright offenders
> eventually
> being disconnected from the internet, with the ISP alone deciding what
> constitutes
> infringement and fair use.Regarding the treaty for the blind, the proposal
> would sanction the
> cross-border sharing of DRM-protected digitized books - without payment to
> the
> publisher - that tens of thousands of blind and visually disabled people
> read with devices
> and tools like the Pac Mate, Book Port and Victor Reader. Many WIPO
> nations, most in the industrialized world including England, the United
> States and Canada, have copyright exemptions that usually allow nonprofit
> companies to market copyri hted works without permission. As it now stands,
> none of
> the nations may allow persons outside their borders to access these works,
> which are usually doled out for little or no charge by nonprofit groups. The
> treaty seeks to free up the cross-border sharing of the books for the blind.
> Usually, they are published in a universal Daisy format, which includes
> features like narration and digitized Braille. It could take a year or more
> before an international consensus might be reached.
>
>
--
Soronel Haetir
soronel.haetir@xxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of
available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
Other related posts:
