Panel report on amendments to Copyright Act 'a positive step'

Organisations had sought to highlight the inadequacy of the "disability" exception sought to be carved out in the amendment bill-2010, especially the fact that the proposed exception was limited to conversions of copyrighted works to only "special" formats, Shamnad Basheer, Kolkata-based legal consultant of Inclusive planet, Chennai, said.

"..I would rather describe it (report) as a positive step which is much overdue..." Sam Taraporewala of Mumbai-based Xavier's Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged told PTI over phone.

The draft tabled in Parliament prior to the Committee coming in had very 'problematic' conditions which effectively meant you were not giving any freedom to create access when needed. It also had a problematic licensing clause. Added to that it did not take care of disabilities. It only spoke of special formats, which was a major problem, he said.

"As a blind person I do not necessarily use special format. I may use accessible format which is not necessarily special format.It could mean electronic version or audio or even large font. No person who is sighted will want to read in large font because that will make the size of the book many times over," he said.

He said awareness campaign launched by various organisations on the matter had led to a positive result. Members of institutions like Xavier's Resource Centre and Inclusive Planet had made submissions before the committee and also appeared in Parliament to depose.

Though government had carved out a copyright exception (under Section 52) to enable conversion of copyrighted works to accessible formats by the disabled, the organisations took objection to the wording of the proposed exception.

Basheer said "disability" provisions proposed by the Copyright Bill include "formats specially created to cater to the needs of the disabled (such as Braille) will fall within the Section 52 exception. For any other format, one requires a compulsory licence. However, such a licence cannot be applied for by the intended beneficiary, but only by a narrow group of organisations that comply with stringent criteria."

It was mentioned to the panel that "special formats" such as Braille cater to a small portion of the total community of those that society chooses to label as "disabled" or "differently-abled". Even among visually impaired, not everyone is familiar with Braille.

Electronic versions that are created by scanning printed text will not necessarily qualify as "special formats"..for such electronic versions can be accessed by one and all.

Basheer said there must be a meaningful copyright exception in favour of "disabled", a category not necessarily limited to those that are visually impaired, but includes any person unable to enjoy copyrighted works in their "normal" format.

After hearing the submissions, the committee noted the shortcomings that compulsory licensing system as envisaged in Section 31 B would prevent educational institutions, Self Help Groups, other NGOs and reading disabled individuals from undertaking conversion and distribution, Basheer said.

Besides, among others, it would discriminate between blind persons knowing Braille and those not knowing. Exception as envisaged in Section 52(1) (zb) in favour of only 'specially designed' format does not benefit persons affected by cerebral palsy, dyslexia and low vision.

'After analysing the proposed amendments as envisaged in Section 31B and 52 (1) (zb) in the backdrop of interactions held with various stakeholders and (Copyright) Department, the Committee strongly feels that concerns raised by organisations working for the disabled are indeed very genuine..," it said in its report.

It pointed out that the real objective behind these two provisions was to facilitate the cause of the disabled. It was of the opinion that all physically challenged need to be benefited by the proposed amendments. It would be very discriminating if envisaged benefit remains restricted to only visually impaired, leaving out persons affected by cerebral palsy, dyslexia and low vision.

The Committee stated that the compulsory Iicensing provisions should be improved to make it better suit the needs of disabled sections. It was not favourable to the provision for any kind of 'fees' to be paid for conversions during the compulsory licensing process, he said.

Asked if the report on the proposed amendments was a victory for the disabled, Copyright registrar Raghvender said, "Till now there were no exceptions in the Act.We have for the first time introduced exceptions..if you have read the report--the wording clearly says the Ministry has done very good work but there needs to be some more clarifications."

What concerns Rahul Cherian of online community portal Inclusiveplanet.com is that the report is not binding on the government. Government has to implement the suggestions. But it is due to sustained efforts by these organisations that such changes have been recommended, he said.

The Parliamentary Standing committee headed by Oscar Fernandes had filed its report on the ‘Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010’ in Parliament last month.