In 1985, the Executive Committee for the Berne Convention and the Intergovernmental Committee of the Universal Copyright Convention published a report by Ms Wanda Noel, a Barrister and Solicitor from Ontario, Canada, on the topic of Problems Experienced by the Handicapped in Obtaining Access to Protected Works, as Annex II to a report of an agenda item “Copyright Problems Raised by the Access by Handicapped Persons to Protected Works.”
Ms Noel’s report is 26 pages, and is a readable and concise presentation of the main issues facing the WIPO SCCR today.
Links to the report are available from UNESCO [1] and WIPO [2], in files that are not accessible.
KEI has created also versions of the documents in Microsoft Word [3] and PDF formats [4], which can be used with readers that have text to speech functionality.
In her conclusion, she recommends
“an entirely new international instrument which would permit production of special media materials and services in member states, and with the distribution of those material and services amongst member states without restriction.”
The following quote is from the conclusion of her report:
Ms Wanda Noel, Barrister and Solicitor, Ontario, Canada.
IGC(1971)/VI/11 – B/EC/XXIV/10
ANNEX II – PAGE 25-26
F) Conclusion
The problem of access to and use of intellectual works by the handicapped consists of two elements. The first deals with production of special materials and services. This is a matter of primarily domestic concern which can be addressed by means of an exception or a compulsory access provision in domestic copyright law. Model provisions have already been developed and debated under the auspices of WIPO and UNESCO. The second problem concerns the distribution of special media materials and services. The example used determining that free international circulation of special media materials is prohibited because of importantion provisions contained in the copyright laws of most countries. One remedy would be to remove those importation provisions by introducing exhaustion. This would permit free circulation of special media materials and services amongst those countries with exhaustion.
Another solution to the dual problem of production and distribution is the suggestion to formulate an entirely new international instrument which would permit production of special media materials and services in member states, and with the distribution of those material and services amongst member states without restriction. The conditions under which production could take place, and the ultimate distribution of the materials and services so produced within the Contracting States, would require a through examination. The proposal could then be presented to the Committees for consideration. This solution is recommended on the grounds that it would solve both production and distribution problems by providing a legal mechanism for sharing materials and services for the handicapped around the world.