The 1982 WIPO and UNESCO Working Group on Exceptions for Access to Protected Works for Visually and Auditory Handicapped Persons

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By James Love, May 30th, 2009

Group B Countries, including the United States, 17 members of the European Union, Canada, Switzerland, the Holy See, and others, argued last week that consideration of *any* instrument to set norms for access to works by persons who are blind or have reading disabilities was “premature.” Others suggest action is “overdue.” In fact, the debate is quite old.

In 1981, the governing bodies of WIPO and UNESCO agreed to create a Working Group on Access by the Visually and Auditory Handicapped to Material Reproducing Works Produced by Copyright. The members of the working group were appointed by the Director Generals of WIPO and UNESCO. The working group was asked to consider the possibilities of using exceptions under the Berne Convention to expand access to protected works, and to prepare model legislation. This group met in Paris on October 25-27, 1982, in a meeting chaired by Mihály Ficsor, and issued a report.

Accessible html version provided by Claude Almansi is now available:
http://www.keionline.org/misc-docs/tvi/berne_1982_wipo_unesco.html