Making IP Work WIPO decides (so far) to stick with squirrelly numbers on Marrakesh Treaty The WIPO brochure

e Making IP Work on page 4 contains the statement: Making copyright work for visually impaired people Of the million books published each year in the world, less than five per cent are currently available in formats accessible to blind or visually impaired people such as Braille or digitized audio versions. That is set to change: In Marrakesh in 2013 WIPO s member states adopted a new international treaty that will boost access to books for the 340 million people around the world with visual impairments or other print disabilities. (My italics/emphasis). http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/freepublications/en/general/1060/wipo _pub_1060.pdf The Marrakesh Treaty as adopted JUN 2013 contains the following definition for Beneficiary Persons Article 3: A beneficiary person is a person who:

(a) is blind; (b) has a visual impairment or a perceptual or reading disability which cannot be improved to give visual function substantially equivalent to that of a person who has no such impairment or disability and so is unable to read printed works to substantially the same degree as a person without an impairment or disability; or (c) is otherwise unable, through physical disability, to hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes to the extent that would be normally acceptable for reading; regardless of any other disabilities. The following Twitter exchange took place end of FEB 2014: WIPO @WIPO Jan 23 New brochure: WIPO - Making IP Work (link as above) john e miller @travel_brl Feb 27 @WIPO #WIPO 340 mm worldwide w/ visual impairments or other print disabilities; WBU: 285 mm blind or partially sighted; So only 55 mm other? WIPO @WIPO Feb 27 @travel_brl Thanks for pointing this out. We will look into this and revise the numbers, as necessary. There is a WIPO references to that 340 million figure going back to OCT 2010 in a WIPO Press Release where it states: It is estimated that only 5% of the worlds one million print titles that are published every year are accessible to the some 340 million around the world who are blind, visually impaired or who live with other print disabilities.

 but it does not mention the source of that 340 million estimate. http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2010/article_0043.html Indeed, even the US White House Press Release upon the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty states that: Today we mark another important achievement for equal rights, this time for over a million Americans and over 340 million people worldwide who are blind, visually impaired, or with other print disabilities. without any reference to the source of that figure. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/28/landmark-treaty-visuallyimpaired The World Health Organization (WHO) comprehensive Report on Disability makes no specific reference to that 340 million figure. http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/en/ While I realize the difficulties in editing a brochure which has gone-to-press, based on the following information some of which I followed up with short Twitter-type references that 340 million figure may not be realistic. The main page of the World Blind Union the primary sponsor of the Marrakesh Treaty contains the statement: The World Blind Union (WBU) is the global organization representing the estimated 285 million people worldwide who are blind or partially sighted. Members are organizations of and for the blind in 190 countries, as well as international organizations working in the field of vision impairment. http://www.worldblindunion.org/English/Pages/default.aspx The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in its response to the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) Consultation stated the following:

RNIB (therefore) supports a broad definition along the lines of the Right to Read Alliance definition of print impairment, i.e. which covers the estimated one in eight of us who cannot read standard print due to sight problems, dyslexia, or a disability which makes it difficult for us to hold a book or turn a page. http://www.ipo.gov.uk/response-2011-copyright-rnib.pdf Similarly, the US-based Reading Rights Coalition on its website main page states the following: People with print disabilities cannot effectively read print because of a visual, physical, perceptual, developmental, cognitive, or learning disability. We represent 15 million 30 million Americans who cannot read print because of blindness, dyslexia, spinal cord injury, and other print disabilities. We include school children, the elderly, professionals, college students, returning veterans, and your neighbors, family members and friends. We want to buy books. We have fought very hard for many years to have equal access to technology and information. http://readingrights.org/ Mr. Jim Fruchterman, Founder of Benetech/Bookshare, in testimony to the US House Judiciary Committee 01AUG2013, made the following comment after noting that Bookshare is the worlds largest online library for people with disabilities like blindness and dyslexia that interfere with reading print.: While tens of thousands of our members are blind or visually impaired, the majority of our members are dyslexic. We also serve people who are unable to interact effectively with printed books because of a physical disability, such as cerebral palsy, a spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury. http://benetech.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Congressional-TestimontyStatement-of-Jim-Fruchterman-Benetech-08-01-2013.pdf

An estimate of incidence for dyslexia mentions that: Conservative estimates vary between 5 and 10 per cent of the population. No correlation has been found between the incidence of dyslexia and nationality, income, ethnicity, race, or IQ, and experts are even beginning to question whether it is more common among boys than girls. It has a genetic component. http://dyslexia.org/dyslexia.shtml#who_has So whats going on here with these numbers in my opinion may be simple: In order to generate more support from national, local, or other governments & institutions, it is in the interest of those committed to improving the lives of persons with print-related disabilities to emphasize the significant component of the population who fall into that category. However, when it comes to ratifying a treaty as to who might be qualified to receive exemption from copyright infringement and to thus be eligible to receive copies of published works in accessible format without the permission of or compensation to the publisher and/or copyright owner, then it is in the interest of those who support ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to emphasize what a low component of the overall population would actually enjoy such privileges.