Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs)

Publishers and visually impaired persons: shared objectives

Publishers value all readers irrespective how they access their works.

 

Publishers share the ultimate aspiration of those with visual impairments: full, simultaneous access to works for visually impaired persons on equal terms, and delivered in a sustainable way.

Traditionally publishing has always been close to charities supporting visually impaired persons (VIPs), in particular where they were producing Braille or other special format works that are particularly expensive to produce. Today, electronic and audio formats offer great new opportunities.

New technology and visual impairment

 

Technological advances have dramatically improved the ability of those with visual impairment to access information. Thanks to technology, printed books are more accessible to many persons with disabilities. Never before has so much information been accessible to persons with sight impairment.

 

Personal computers, in particular if equipped with customised tools such as Braille keyboards and readers, accessibility software or adapted screens, have made far more content accessible to visually impaired persons than ever before. Despite these advances, the current situation is far from ideal. Not all works available on the Internet use formats that are easily compatible with existing VIP access technology. Technology that was created for the visually rich Internet has not always fully taken those with visual impairments into account.

 

Still technology is developing rapidly and progress is being made. This is due to a variety of factors:

• Increasing popularity and commercial success of formats that are accessible to visually impaired persons, in particular audio books and electronic formats.
• Improved technology, both in the area of VIP reader and accessibility software and in the continuing development of production software and product formats.
• Increasing awareness for the special needs of visually impaired persons, in particular among web designers, but also among authors and publishers.
• Increasing cooperation between organisations representing visually impaired persons and rightsholders, collective licensing organisations, libraries and other institutions.

 

There are a wide variety of projects supported by authors and publishers that are making electronic works available to visually impaired persons. Some examples are cited below. We are moving towards publishing technologies that are fairer and more suited to visually impaired persons.

 

 

Copyright, copyright exceptions and persons with reading disabilities

 

Some organisations claim that a copyright exception in international treaties and national legislation is necessary to improve accessibility for visually impaired persons.

IPA and its members have grave concerns about expanding copyright exceptions in this area.

• Copyright exceptions, through their legal nature, do not address the key obstacles to access. The biggest obstacle to wider accessibility are the costs for re-formatting works in VIP charities. A reduction of these costs can only be reached through cooperation with rightsholders. A copyright exception is therefore not a suitable tool to achieve the shared objective.
• A copyright exception risks an imbalance. Electronic formats, in particular those easily interpreted even by less sophisticated tools for VIPs, are also most susceptible to abuse and piracy, as they can be used for mainstream products. A broad exception therefore carries a large risk for the authors and publishers. A balance must therefore be found between the legitimate interests of rightsholders and persons with disabilities.
• Such balances are best found through cooperation between publisher organisations and organisations representing VIPs. Such cooperation is necessary to address the full range of issues that stand in the way of easy access. Experience has shown that copyright exceptions run counter to such cooperation as they create the grounds for legal disputes rather than presenting incentives for collaboration.
• Given the technological improvements in the foreseeable future, a special copyright exception ultimately stands in the way of the shared aspiration of all: full equality of all copyright consumers, irrespective of the way in which they access works.

 

Further information on VIPs and successful cooperation between rightsholders and VIPs:

To listen to the presentation given by IPA at a special WIPO meeting on visually impaired people, please see the WIPO web site.

IPA supports the work of the DAISY Consortium to promote electronic formats easily accessible through special software and readers.

IPA and its American member (AAP) support Bookshare, a project that allows registered visually impaired readers to gain access to electronic formats of books, newspapers, and magazines.

The UK publishing industry has developed Joint Industry Guidelines and collective licences especially for visually impaired persons.

The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) is involved in the European Accessibility Information Network.

To find out how to make a web site accessible to visually impaired persons, please check the recommendations of the World Wide Web Consortium.