Stevie Wonder Makes Pitch To U.N. To Ease Copyrights For The Blind

[Source: Intellectual Property Brief, by Jack Korba, September 21, 2010]

Stevie Wonder has recently explained to the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization that its current copyright system denies equal opportunities for the blind.  He urged delegates to adopt an action plan that would allow the blind and near-blind to side-step copyright rules and give them easier access to books and learning.  His stance was endorsed by the World Blind Union, which said that in developing countries less than one percent of published works are available in Braille or audio format.  The number is not much better in industrial nations, to which WBU gave an estimation of five percent. Wonder stated that reformatting these published works could give the blind and visually impaired access to billions of science, history, and other books that they currently cannot read.

The U.N. agency has been trying to revamp its current framework for over six years now in an effort to make published materials available in new, readable formats.  However, problems that go to the heart of the growing crisis of copyright protection have hindered these efforts.  For instance, the Internet creates problems for laws that were originally created for traditional media.  While wide copyright exceptions exist for books in Braille, there is confusion over how these benefits can translate over to the digital age.  Furthermore, the United States and other nations that export large amounts of published copyrighted materials are hesitant to agree to any binding treaty that could potentially erode intellectual property rights.  Wonder, who has sold over tens of millions of albums, called for a compromise that would respect the authors of the published works, but would also give the visually impaired a practical tool to allow them greater access.

While Wonder’s idea sounds great in theory, the issues that the digital age causes makes it difficult for concessions to be made.  Reformatting billions of published works may give the disabled greater access, but also may have the effect of making piracy easier.  Digital files are much easier to transfer and copy than traditional media.  While the blind and visually impaired have a strong argument that they should be given equal opportunities to access such works, it may take a while before any agreement is reached.