Friday 10:16pm (29th May 2009)

NZ tries to prevent protection of blind people's access to written material..
Cory Doctorow writes, "Right now, in Geneva, at the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization, history is being made. For the first time in WIPO history, the body that creates the world's copyright treaties is attempting to write a copyright treaty dedicated to protecting the interests of copyright users, not just copyright owners. At issue is a treaty to protect the rights of blind people and people with other disabilities that affect reading (people with dyslexia, people who are paralyzed or lack arms or hands for turning pages). This should be a slam dunk: who wouldn't want a harmonized system of copyright exceptions that ensure that it's possible for disabled people to get access to the written word?" The CFF have commented previously on the overlap between DRM and disabled people's access to information. We've asked the Royal NZ Foundation of the Blind for comment, and MED. Update And we also asked the Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand.