New International Treaty for Accessible Books

June 2013 — The World Intellectual Property Organization met at the end of June to finalize the terms of a treaty, which would legally allow for copyrighted material to be made accessible to people who are blind or have low vision. Currently, less than one percent of all the world’s books are available in accessible formats including Braille, large print or audio recordings. However, under the treaty, authorized entities will be able to copy materials in accessible formats “without authorization of the copyright right holder.”  According to Marc Maurer, the president of the National Federation of the Blind, “This historic treaty, the first ever international instrument specifically addressing the needs of the world’s blind, will dramatically increase access to published works and the empowering information and ideas they contain by a community that has traditionally experienced barriers to obtaining the world’s knowledge.”