Shelley Rowe, LL.B.
Senior Project Leader
International Intellectual Property Policy Strategic Policy Sector
Industry Canada
235 Queen Street, Ottawa ON K1A 0H5
Email: shelley.rowe@ic.gc.ca

Eugene Filipovich
Senior Policy Analyst
Negotiations and Cooperation, Copyright and International Trade Policy Branch Canadian Heritage
25 Eddy Street, 8th Floor, Room 208, Gatineau, QC K1A 0M5
Email: eugene.filipovich@pch.gc.ca

June 16, 2013

Dear Ms. Rowe and Mr. Filipovich;

Re: Diplomatic Conference to conclude a Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Blind/Vision Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities, June 17 to 28, 2013, Marrakesh, Morocco.

On behalf of the Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB) I wish to emphasize the critical importance that the WIPO treaty will have for people with print disabilities.

Across Canada, libraries provide access to knowledge to individuals, communities, and especially to those who cannot read standard print. In fact, blind people are much more likely to be avid library users than our sighted neighbors because our library is often the only place we can turn to for the book we want to read.

It is vital that Canada improve library service for people with print disabilities. Advances in digital technology and delivery are finally making that possibility a reality, yet we stand at a critical point when the potential for people with print disabilities to reach the goal of equitable access to information may be greatly enhanced or harmed.

There are approximately 3 million Canadians with perceptual disabilities that prevent them from reading standard print. Without equitable access to information normally presented in print, we are prevented from fully taking part in Canada’s society and economy. The Canadian Federation of the

Blind believes that any successful attempt to bring equitable information access to people with print disabilities must be firmly anchored in the print disabled community itself, and supported by strong national and international networks of shared resources.

To this end, the Canadian Federation of the Blind believes strongly that the Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Blind/Vision Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities must ensure that authorized agencies and individuals with print disabilities in Canada have the right to create alternate format materials which serve our needs, the means to exercise this right, and the ability to share those materials at both the national and international level.

The Canadian Federation of the Blind urges that Canadian representatives involved in the concluding stages of the WIPO negotiations argue for the following positions in the treaty:

– That authorized agencies, people with print disabilities, or a non-profit agency or individual working on the behalf of people with print disabilities have the right to bypass a technological protection measure to make alternate format available to another authorized agency, person with print disabilities, or non-profit agency or individual working on the behalf of people with print disabilities, worldwide.

– That the right of authorized agencies, people with print disabilities, or a non-profit agency or individual working on the behalf of people with print disabilities to bypass technological protections measures include the right to produce, possess and use the means to do so.

– That the treaty not include a “commercially available” restriction on the cross border supply of alternate formats.

– That cumbersome and unnecessary treaty language referencing other legislative (US fair use) or treaty (Berne’s 3 step test) regimes is unnecessary.

The Canadian Federation of the Blind is deeply committed to supporting equitable access to books and other materials in alternate formats for all Canadians with print disabilities and encourages the Canadian Government representatives to work to ensure that a meaningful treaty for the print disabled results from the June 2013 diplomatic conference. Anything less denies our basic human rights and diminishes our capacity to live as informed and involved citizens.

Yours sincerely,

Mary Ellen Gabias, President
Canadian Federation of the Blind

cc: The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture) The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages Pilar Martinez, President, Canadian Library Association