On the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ARL Urges Swift Ratification of Marrakesh Treaty

On Sunday, July 26, 2015, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) celebrated its 25th anniversary.  The ADA, authored and sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and passed with strong bi-partisan support, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability including with respect to education and employment.  The ADA covers a wide range of disabilities and ensures that the civil rights of those with disabilities are protected.  This landmark piece of legislation represented world leadership in the area of promoting the rights of those with disabilities.

ARL has long supported the ADA and efforts to improve accessibility.  Those who are visually impaired or hearing impaired, for example, may face significant obstacles in attaining access to information or culture.  Those with physical disabilities may face limitations in accessing physical spaces.  The ADA helps to promote greater accessibility and protect the rights of those with disabilities.

As the United States celebrates this landmark piece of legislation and the many successes that the ADA has produced, continued efforts are needed to promote the rights of those with disabilities. The United States has a clear and concrete way to improve the rights of the print disabled by improving access to improving access to accessible format works.

In July 2013, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) concluded a diplomatic conference resulting in the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Those Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. The Marrakesh Treaty creates minimum standards for copyright limitations and exceptions for the creation and distribution of accessible formats and allows for the cross-border exchange of these formats. The cross-border exchange is a critical feature and could greatly alleviate what is known as the “book famine,” a situation in which the National Federation for the Blind estimates that no more than 5 percent of published works are created in an accessible format. The ability to import works from other English speaking countries would aid in growing the collection of accessible format works in the United States and avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts in the creation of these formats. Perhaps of even greater benefit would be the ability to import works in other languages for those in the United States who do not speak English as a first language, such as large populations of Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, German, Italian, Korean or Vietnamese speaking individuals. It would also benefit those who are learning foreign languages. Significantly, the treaty would allow those in developing countries, which generally have an even smaller number of accessible formats available, to import works from the relatively larger collections in the United States and elsewhere.

In order for the Marrakesh Treaty to enter into force, twenty countries must ratify or accede to the treaty. Currently, nine countries – Argentina, El Salvador, India, Mali, Mongolia, Paraguay, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay – have ratified and eleven more are needed.

The United States signed the Marrakesh Treaty in October 2013, signaling support for and an intention to ratify the treaty, but the Obama Administration has not yet sent the treaty to the US Senate for ratification. The United States should show leadership and be one of the first twenty countries to ratify the treaty. While the ADA has been a great success and 25 years of ensuring the civil rights of those with disabilities is a moment for celebration, more can still be done to improve the lives of those with disabilities.

Coalition Asks President Obama to Pledge to Veto Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA)

Congress is currently considering the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA, S. 754), a bill that has serious implications for privacy and civil liberties.  While the bill purportedly is designed to strengthen cybersecurity, it contains significant flaws.  On Monday, July 27, ARL joined a coalition of organizations and security experts in sending a letter to President Obama asking for a pledge to veto CISA due to these concerns:

  • CISA fails to protect personal information.  CISA allows the sharing of vast amounts of personal data to be shared with government agencies.  It allows the sharing of personal and identifying information as a default measure.
  • CISA allows the use of information in investigations unrelated to cybersecurity.  CISA also allows for governments to use cyber threat indicators to investigate a wide range of crimes, including those that are not related to cybersecurity, such as robbery, arson, or trade secret violations.
  • CISA fails to maintain civilian control of domestic cybersecurity.  CISA would permit companies that operate in the civilian sector to share cyber threat indicators with any agency of the federal government, raising serious privacy concerns.
  • CISA permits countermeasures that could damage networks.  CISA would allow companies to deploy “defensive measures” or “countermeasures” that could damage networks that belong to innocent bystanders, even when they would otherwise be illegal under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
  • CISA raises additional transparency concerns.  CISA would create a new exemption to the existing list of nine exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

 

Library Copyright Alliance Responds to Copyright Office Inquiry on Visual Works

The Library Copyright Alliance filed a response to the U.S. Copyright Office’s Notice of Inquiry on Copyright Protection for Certain Visual Works, focusing largely on the importance of fair use and the detrimental effects of the current lengthy copyright term in the United States.

The response opens by pointing out,

In the past, the difficulty of identifying or locating the owners of the copyrights in visual works was a significant challenge for libraries.  Visual works are particularly susceptible to “orphaning” and often there is ambiguity in their copyright ownership.  This orphan work problem had a chilling effect on libraries interested in important preservation and archival uses of visual works.  It also impeded the use of collections of visual works for teaching and classroom use.  Indeed, the orphan work challenge prompted LCA to strongly support enactment of the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act in 2008.  However, significant changes int he copyright landscape since then convince us that libraries no longer need legislative reform in order to make appropriate uses of “orphaned” visual works in their collections.

The response then discusses the changed landscape, explaining that fair use is less uncertain today with a number of cases that have clarified the scope of this important doctrine.  Additionally, codes of best practices have guided the use of digitization and making available of special collections and archives, including for orphan works.The fact that injunctions are less likely and mass digitization is more common also promote greater comfort in using orphan works.

The statement then notes that the orphan works problem is largely a result of the current copyright term in the United States that “is already unacceptably long, limiting access to visual works that should be in the public domain.”  While not discussed in this response, it is worth noting that what is being called the last round of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a large regional trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region that currently has twelve negotiating parties, copyright term will be an issue for discussion.  Leaked text has revealed efforts by the United States to push for all parties to the TPP to adopt the lengthy term of life of the author plus 70 years, despite opposition to the imposition of copyright term extension.

The Copyright Office has extended its comment deadline to October 1, so there is still time to submit a response to the notice of inquiry.

Mongolia Ratifies Marrakesh Treaty for the Blind; 11 More Needed for Entry Into Force

Mongolia’s Parliament has ratified the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.  The Marrakesh Treaty now has a total of nine ratifications or accessions* and eleven more are needed for it to enter into force.  Countries that have previously ratified or acceded to the Marrakesh Treaty include: Argentina, El Salvador, India, Mali, Paraguay, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.

The Marrakesh Treaty sets forth minimum standards for limitations and exceptions to facilitate access to accessible format works.  It would also permit cross-border sharing of these accessible formats, allowing countries to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts and resources in the creation of these accessible works.  Additionally, the Treaty would facilitate importation of works created in other languages.

The United States, which signed the treaty on October 2, 2013, should ratify the treaty to help end the “book famine” where only a small fraction of books, estimated by the National Federation of the Blind at no more than five percent, are created in accessible format.  While the United States has robust limitations and exceptions to allow for the creation and distribution of accessible format works, many countries, particularly those in the developing world, do not and their collections of accessible formats are even smaller than in the United States.  Additionally, persons with print disabilities in the United States would benefit from ratification, not only from the ability to import works from other English-speaking countries, but also because persons who speak other languages or are learning new languages — for example, Spanish, French, Russian or Chinese — would be able to import works in these languages from other countries.  The Administration has reportedly been working on its ratification package, but the package has not yet been sent to Congress.

Canada recently introduced a bill to amend its copyright law in preparation for accession to the Marrakesh Treaty.  The amendments would remove the restriction against creation of a large print book, allow broader export and make changes to the exception permitting circumvention of technological protection measures.  Passing this bill would be the first step toward accession for Canada.

A recent IP-Watch story quoting Michelle Woods from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) indicated that the twenty total ratifications needed for entry into force could potentially take place later this year, meaning that the Marrakesh Treaty would enter into force in early 2016 (the treaty will enter into force three months after the twentieth ratification).  With eighty signatories to the Marrakesh Treaty, as well as numerous countries that have indicated that efforts are underway to accede to the treaty, hopefully more countries swiftly ratify so that the treaty can enter into force and alleviate the book famine.

*Countries that signed the Marrakesh Treaty during the one-year period in which it was open for signature must ratify the treaty.  Ratification is a two-step process where a country will sign the treaty, signaling that it agrees with the treaty and intends to ratify.  While a signature does not create a binding legal obligation and does not commit a country to ratification, it obliges the country to not commit acts that would undermine the treaty’s objective and purpose.  Countries that did not sign the Marrakesh Treaty can become a party to the treaty through accession, a one-step ratification.  

ARL Joins Amicus Brief in Mavrix Photographs v. LiveJournal

On June 22, 2015, ARL joined an amicus brief of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in the case Mavrix Photographs v. LiveJournal, currently pending in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, supporting the respondent, LiveJournal.

The case involves a LiveJournal blog, Oh No They Didn’t!, a community blog involving reader submissions about celebrity gossip and pop culture.  These submissions include celebrity photos, including sets of photos from Mavrix.  Mavrix sued LiveJournal (without first sending any takedown notices) and LiveJournal responded by removing the photos and terminating two users as repeat infringers.  In the district court, LiveJournal prevailed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbor rules because it did not have actual knowledge of infringement, nor did it have “red flag” knowledge of infringement (that LiveJournal should have known).  Mavrix appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit.

The amicus brief points out the importance of the DMCA safe harbors for the amici parties, including for libraries specifically:

The DMCA safe harbors have also been extremely helpful to the library amici in fulfilling their mission of providing their users with access to information.  Libraries act as “service providers” within the meaning of 17 U.S.C. 512(k)(1)(A).  Libraries are the only source for real Internet connectivity and Internet-ready computer terminals for many Americans . . . The Section 512(a) safe harbor for “mere conduits” has enabled libraries to provide Internet access without the specter of liability for onerous copyright damages because of infringing user activity.

Libraries also operate websites that host user-generated content and prepare directories that link users to other websites.  The safe harbors in Section 512(c) and (d) shelter libraries from liability for infringing activity by third parties.  Any new restrictions on the availability of the DMCA safe harbors could have an adverse effect on the ability of libraries to deliver a critical service to underserved and other user communities.

The brief points out that that while service providers do not have an obligation to look through user-submitted content for infringements, the DMCA also does not discourage monitoring. Many service providers review content for illegal or objectionable material that violates the terms of service agreements.  Such moderation does not result in the loss of safe harbor under Section 512(c) which addresses safe harbors for “Information Residing on Systems or Networks At Direction of Users.”

The brief also notes that, absent actual knowledge of infringement, “red flag” knowledge is a high bar.  It notes that just because a user submits content, such as a photograph, that exists elsewhere online does not constitute a “red flag” that the content is infringing.  Additionally, “Holding online service providers unexpectedly liable for the acts of their users, in contrast to the legal clarity Congress deliberately and presciently provided in Section 512, would be deleterious not only to Internet commerce, but also to free speech online.”  The full brief is available for download here.

Senate to Move Ahead with Vote on Fast-Track Legislation

On June 23, 2015, the U.S. Senate cleared the procedural hurdle of attaining 60 votes on a motion for cloture to move ahead with a vote on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also known as “fast-track” legislation.  Under “fast-track,” Congress grants the President the authority to sign trade agreements and Congress can only approve or reject these agreements in a straight up-down vote, meaning that it must take the agreement as a complete package and cannot amend the agreement.  As noted in a February 5, 2015 letter from the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA), fast-track authority limits Congress’ ability to meaningfully weigh in on an agreement, particularly given the lack of transparency in trade negotiations.  Notably, no trade agreement presented to Congress under fast-track legislation has ever been rejected.  TPA has been seen as critical in concluding negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a large regional trade agreement that currently has twelve negotiating parties.

Today, the Senate voted 60-37 to proceed with a vote on TPA.  While the Senate had passed TPA in an earlier vote in May, that bill packaged fast-track legislation with Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), legislation that reduces the negative impacts of imports on certain sectors in the U.S.  On June 12, 2015, the House of Representatives took separate votes on TPA and TAA, voting to pass the TPA portion of the bundled package by a vote of 219-211 but rejecting TAA by 302 to 126.  The House then voted to separate the package and passed TPA in a standalone bill on June 18, with the intention of scheduling a vote on TAA at a later date.  Because the Senate had packaged TPA and TAA, the TPA went back to the Senate.  Although some critics expressed concerns over the separation of the two bills and suggested that TPA could not pass without TAA, the Senate reached its 60 vote threshold to move ahead with the vote which will likely occur later this week.

 

 

Thoughts on Fair Use and the Copyright Office Report/Proposal on Mass Digitization

On June 4, 2015 the Copyright Office released its Report on Orphan Works and Mass Digitization. Previous coverage of the orphan works section of the report is available here and the Library Copyright Alliance’s response to the report is available here. This post focuses on the section of the report covering mass digitization and lays out concerns with the report’s proposal and treatment of fair use. The Copyright Office’s report proposes an extended collective licensing (ECL) system, and has issued a Notice of Inquiry requesting public comments, due on August 10, 2015.

Copyright Office Report and Proposed ECL Program

During the March 2014 orphan works roundtables, the general view was that ECL was not a workable solution and there was a lack of interest in pursuing this approach. Despite the opposition to or wariness of ECL, the Copyright Office is nonetheless recommending ECL.

The report suggests that mass digitization cannot be accomplished with the exception of narrow circumstances. The report acknowledges that courts have concluded that mass digitization for full-text search and access for the print-disabled are protected by fair use, but argue that these cases “do not extend to the wider dissemination of copyrighted works without permission or compensation.”

The Copyright Office’s report also discusses voluntary stakeholder agreements, concluding that such arrangements would not protect users from infringement claims by copyright owners that are not part of the agreement.

The Copyright Office proposes a pilot ECL program, limited to specific categories of works. The report suggests “that ECL makes the most sense for the following works: (1) literary works; (2) pictorial or graphic works published as illustrations, diagrams, or similar adjuncts to literary works; and (3) photographs.” The proposed program would be limited to uses “undertaken for nonprofit educational or research purposes and without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage.” While the proposal would allow a for-profit entity to use the program, “it would not be permitted to generate revenue from the collection by, for example, displaying advertisements or charging fees.” According to the proposal, Copyright Office would be tasked with approving collective management organizations (CMO) as part of the ECL. The approved CMO would represent all rights holders, except for those that affirmatively opt-out. The proposal suggests that the proposed Google Books settlement can provide an example of how license agreements can be structured.

In terms of royalty payments, the report states that, “while a CMO should be permitted to deduct fees from the license payments it collects, such deductions should be limited to amounts reasonably necessary to cover specified operational costs.” Where a CMO fails to locate a rights holder who is owed royalties within a specified time period, the CMO should transfer the funds to a trust account. If the funds in the trust account remain unclaimed after three years, the CMO could deduct a reasonable fee and then distribute the balance to educational or literacy based charities.

The Copyright Office’s report does suggest a fair use “savings clause providing that nothing in the statute is intended to affect the scope of fair use.”

Mass Digitization and Fair Use

Unfortunately, notwithstanding the inclusion of a fair use savings clause, the report seems to mischaracterize the importance of fair use in many mass digitization projects. The report asserts that the ECL proposal is intended for “activity for which there is broad agreement that no colorable fair use claim exists: providing digital access to copyrighted works in their entirety.” The Copyright Office continues:

To the extent it could be argued that any individual aspect of a mass digitization project might by itself qualify as fair use (e.g., the underlying digital copying), we would expect that view to be reflected in the overall license fee negotiated between the CMO and the user. That is, where the parties agree that a particular use would likely be deemed fair under established law, the portion of the license fee pertaining to that activity would likely be at or near zero (emphasis added).

This paragraph raises a number of concerns. First, it assumes that the parties must agree that a use is fair and implies that a user must first discuss and negotiate with the CMO. Fair use is a right and a user conducting activities that are fair uses need not engage in any prior discussions or negotiations with rights holders. While there may be circumstances in which a user wishes to first notify or discuss a particular use with the rights holder, he or she is not required to do so.

Furthermore, even with a fair use savings clause, parties may not agree that a use is fair use. In the Authors Guild v. HathiTrust litigation, the Authors Guild asserted that where HathiTrust’s activities went beyond the scope of what is permitted under Section 108, the Copyright Act’s specific exception for libraries and archives (which contains a fair use savings clause), they could not be considered fair use. While the Second Circuit dismissed this argument in a footnote to its opinion, other plaintiffs may try to make similar arguments.

Moreover, in situations where precedent strongly favors an understanding that a particular use would be considered a fair use , the rights holders might argue that the precedent is wrongly decided. Some rights holders argue that the fair use right has been applied too broadly by the courts. During the orphan works roundtables, one participant compared recent fair use case law to Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1892 Supreme Court case that upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine until being overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Relatedly, during the orphan works roundtables, there were repeated suggestions that there were only two cases—HathiTrust and Google Books, both of which were on appeal at the time of the roundtables—that supported mass digitization and could be overturned. As Jonathan Band pointed out at the roundtable, however, various other Circuit Courts of Appeals cases also support mass digitization. He noted that HathiTrust and Google Books were based on earlier cases such as Kelly v. Arriba Soft, Perfect Ten v. Amazon and A.V. v. iParadigms.

Finally, rights holders may attempt to distinguish precedent on the basis of minor factual differences.

Special Collections

It appears that the Copyright Office is interested pursuing an ECL pilot program for the very types of collections that libraries already digitize and allow access to under fair use. The report notes, “The Office is particularly interested in stakeholder views regarding examples of mass digitization projects that may be appropriate for licensing under the proposed pilot. These comments may include (but need not be limited to) descriptions of particular collections of copyrighted works (e.g., Depression-era photographs) that prospective users may wish to digitize and make available through ECL.”

Digitizing a collection of Depression-era photographs seems to be a great example of what would likely be fair use. This example suggests a special collection of works that are primarily orphan works. It is unlikely that the rights holders for such works could be identified and located. These works are not likely to be exploited commercially and digitizing them and making them accessible online would therefore not harm the original market for the works. Digitization projects involving special collections often include enhancements that make the collection more useful, such as the inclusion of metadata.

The ARL Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries sets forth limitations and enhancements for a library’s fair use case in the context of digitizing special collections and making them electronically accessible:

PRINCIPLE:

It is fair use to create digital versions of a library’s special collections and archives and to make these versions electronically accessible in appropriate contexts.

LIMITATIONS:

  • Providing access to published works that are available in unused copies on the commercial market at reasonable prices should be undertaken only with careful considerations, if at all. To the extent that the copy of such a work in a particular collection is unique (e.g., contains marginalia or other unique markings or characteristics), access to unique aspects of the copy will be supportable under fair use. The presence of non-unique copies in a special collection can be indicated by descriptive entries without implicating copyright.
  • Where digitized special collections are posted online, reasonable steps should be taken to limit access to material likely to contain damaging or sensitive private information.
  • Full attribution, in a form satisfactory to scholars in the field, should be provided for all special collection items made available online, to the extent it is reasonably possible to do so.

ENHANCEMENTS:

  • The fair use case will be even stronger where items to be digitized consist largely of works, such as personal photographs, correspondence, or ephemera, whose owners are not exploiting the material commercially and likely could not be located to seek permission for new uses.
  • Libraries should consider taking technological steps, reasonable in light of both the nature of the material and of institutional capabilities, to prevent downloading of digital files by users, or else to limit the quality of files to what is appropriate to the use.
  • Libraries should also provide copyright owners with a simple tool for registering objections to online use, and respond to such objections promptly.
  • Subject to the considerations outlined above, a special collection should be digitized in its entirety, and presented as a cohesive collection whenever possible.
  • Adding criticism, commentary, rich metadata, and other additional value and context to the collection will strengthen the fair use case.
  • The fair use case will be stronger when the availability of the material is appropriately publicized to scholars in the field and other persons likely to be especially interested.

A number of libraries rely on fair use in the digitization of their special collections. For example, Duke University digitized a collection of historic TV commercials, called adViews. While Duke secured agreements from many of the rights holders of the commercials, it also relied on fair use because of the impossibility of identifying all rights holders of TV commercials. As is the case with many special collections, Duke enhanced its fair use position by adding additional videos to the collection featuring executives talking about TV advertising in the early 1960s as well as faculty members discussing the ways they used the materials in teaching.

Another great example is New York Public Library’s (NYPL) digitization of a collection of materials from the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The collection included records, documents, promotional photographs and other ephemera. As detailed by this Fair Use Week guest blog post by Greg Cram, Associate Director of Copyright and Information Policy for New York Public Library, it was extremely difficult to determine whether the works were in copyright and a good-faith search for rights holders “was time-consuming and, ultimately, fruitless.” Relying, in part, on statements and codes of best practices, as well as views of academics, NYPL conducted a fair use analysis and decided to “move forward with digitization of portions of the collection after balancing the education benefit of the undertaking against the risk that a rights holder might subsequently surface” and posted selections online. NYPL created a free iPad application to feature the digitized content and this application was named one of Apple’s “Top Education Apps” of 2011.

These are just two of the many examples where mass digitization projects have relied on fair use. Special collections are a prime example where fair use may provide a strong basis for undertaking these projects. In both of the cases above, it does not appear that rights holders have contacted the institutions to complain or ask that they limit the uses of the digitized works.

In sum, the Copyright Office’s proposed ECL pilot program is inappropriate for special collections.

 

 

ARL Joins Coalition Asking House Appropriations Committee to Oppose Portions of Bill Threatening Implementation of Net Neutrality

On June 16, 2015, ARL joined a coalition of 64 public interest groups, civil rights and social justice organizations, and companies to oppose the portions of a House Appropriations bill that would threaten implementation of the FCC’s Open Internet Order, rules governing net neutrality that went into effect on June 12th.  Last week, a House Appropriations subcommittee voted in favor of the bill which includes provisions that would prevent the FCC from enforcing its Order until after litigation over the rules has ended and the full committee is expected to take up the bill this week.

The letter discusses the importance of net neutrality and cites the strong support for an open Internet.  It calls for the removal of provisions that would prevent enforcement of the FCC’s net neutrality rules, explaining:

These sections would gut the Open Internet Order, leaving the American people and economy vulnerable to blocking, discrimination, and other unreasonable practices of gatekeeper broadband providers.  These measures, buried in a spending bill that is 150 pages long, constitute a direct rebuke to the millions of people that asked for strong Net Neutrality rules.  By eliminating the FCC’s ability to protect Net Neutrality, this appropriations bill would have a chilling effect on our First Amendment rights and our economy.

 

 

Net Neutrality Rules Take Effect

On Friday, June 12, 2015, the FCC’s Open Internet Order, rules governing net neutrality, went into effect.  The FCC published its rules in the Federal Register on April 13, 2015 which reclassified broadband Internet as a common carrier under Title II, thus ensuring that the Internet cannot be divided into “fast lanes” and “slow lanes.”  The rules ban blocking, throttling and paid prioritization.  It also prohibits unreasonable interference with an the ability to select and access lawful content, applications and services.

Although broadband providers that have sued over the Open Internet Order requested to “stay” the Order and prevent the FCC’s net neutrality rules from taking effect until after litigation concludes, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied this request.  The denial of the stay request allows the FCC’s Order to take effect and helps preserve the open character of the Internet.

The D.C. Circuit also ruled that the lawsuit should be heard in expedited fashion, which means that oral arguments could be heard by the end of the year.

Bill to Amend Canada’s Copyright Act in Preparation for Accession to the Marrakesh Treaty Tabled in the House of Commons

On June 8, 2015, proposed amendments to Canada’s Copyright Act were tabled in the House of Commons. These amendments, contained in Bill C-65, the Support for Canadians with Print Disabilities Act, would amend the Copyright Act in order to prepare for implementation of and accession to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled (“Marrakesh Treaty”).

This bill follows the April 21, 2015 budget proposal, which signaled an intention to amend the Copyright Act and accede to the Marrakesh Treaty. In that proposal, the Canadian government noted that accession to the Marrakesh Treaty would benefit the approximately 1 million blind or visually impaired Canadians.

Under Canada’s Copyright Act, Article 32 provides a limitation to allow for the creation and distribution of accessible format works for those with disabilities. The current provision broadly permits the creation of an accessible work for persons with a perceptual disability. It does not, however, permit the creation of a large print book. The current exception applies only where an accessible format is not commercially available. A non-profit organization may export an accessible format copy, but only where the author of the work is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident or a citizen or permanent resident of the country to which the copy is being sent. Copies may not be exported where the organization knows or has reasonable grounds to know that an accessible format is available in that country within a reasonable time and for a reasonable price. Royalties are owed by the organization making or sending the accessible format copy. The current copyright law also has an exception to the prohibition against circumvention of technological protection measures, but only where it does not “unduly impair” the technological protection measure.

Bill C-65 makes several changes to Article 32. One of the most significant changes is that it removes the prohibition on the creation of large print format as an accessible copy. Large print is an important type of accessible format because many of those who are visually impaired do not require audio formats or may not read Braille. For example, with age, individuals often require larger print. The Marrakesh Treaty broadly defines an “accessible format copy” and the removal of the prohibition against large print in Article 32, complies with the Treaty and will greatly benefit an aging population.

Another key change would allow the sending of accessible formats to other countries, regardless of the nationality of the authors of the works. Bill C-65 allows for the export of accessible format works to both Marrakesh Treaty countries as well as non-Marrakesh Treaty countries. It would allow for injunctions, but not damages, where the accessible format was exported to a country where it was commercially available within a reasonable time, for a reasonable price and located with reasonable effort. Where a work is exported to a Marrakesh Treaty country, the owner of the copyright bears the burden of demonstrating commercial availability. Where a work is exported to a non-Marrakesh Treaty country, the non-profit organization must also show that it had reasonable grounds to believe that it was not commercially available.

Additionally, Bill C-65 permits circumvention of technological protection measures, removing the condition that the technological protection measure not be unduly impaired. It instead provides that circumvention is permitted for the sole purpose of enabling those with perceptual disabilities, or non-profit organizations who serve them, to access accessible formats of the work.

Introduction of Bill C-65 is a key first step in acceding to the Marrakesh Treaty. The Marrakesh Treaty currently has 8 ratifications and will need 12 more for entry into force. In the United States, the Administration has been working on preparing its ratification package, but it has not yet been submitted to Congress.