Hi, I don't know if we are all on the same page about what providing a VPAT involves, so I am taking the liberty to butt in here to comment on few things that have been said in this thread.
First of all, VPAT is a type of document defined by Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, but that does not imply that it is written by lawyers. Creating a VPAT requires an accessibility audit by people who are thoroughly familiar with both the application being audited and the relevant accessibility criteria. (Lawyers will probably want to review the resulting report, but I doubt they are well equipped to write it.) Second, the accessibility of authoring tools such as those that make up LibreOffice can be viewed from two points of view: (a) the accessibility of the UI itself (can you use it using the keyboard alone, does it expose an accessibility API that screen readers can use, etc.) and (b) its ability to create accessible content (not only in ODF format but also in each of the output formats that the tool supports, e.g. HTML, PDF and the Microsoft formats). The accessibility checker that was discussed in a related thread supports authors in creating accessible content but does not help the tool meet the first category of accessibility requirements. Finally, an accessibility audit of an office suite is a big task. I regularly do accessibility audits of webpages and websites (as certified BITV auditor in Germany) and checking a single page can take up to a full day (depending on page complexity). Each of the single applications or components in LibreOffice (Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, Draw, Math) is more complex than most webpages. Due to the size of the task I would recommend to audit each application separately (to whoever ends up doing this) and that the USPTO should clarify which of the LibreOffice applications they need or need most (to prioritise which applications to audit first; e.g. they might not be interested in Draw). I might offer to make an estimate of how much time it may take to audit, e.g. LibreOffice Writer. If I do, I'll inform this list during the weekend. Best regards, Christophe Strobbe > On 14 September 2020 at 15:10 Italo Vignoli <it...@libreoffice.org> wrote: > > > Again, if my previous messages were not clear enough: we do not know > about the VPAT compatibility of LibreOffice, because this is a mailing > list to discuss accessibility issues and not to provide information > about LibreOffice accessibility. > > The fact that you are using LibreOffice 6.4.6 is completely irrelevant > for us because we do not have the information to answer your question, > as the scope of the mailing list is completely different. > > We are volunteers supporting the LibreOffoce project and interested in > accessibility, but we do not have the competence and the information to > answer your question, which can only be provided by the legal entity > behind LibreOffice, i.r. The Document Foundation. > > In addition, most of the mailing list subscribers are based in Europe, > and are not familiar with US accessibility regulations. It is possible > that no one based in the US is subscribed to the accessibility mailing list. > > So, to get an answer you should write to i...@documentfoundation.org, > because the foundation's Board of Directors is the only body who knows > about LibreOffice accessibility compliance with different regulations, > and - if necessary - can provide the legal evidence. > > Best regards, Italo > > On 9/14/20 1:52 PM, Ragheb, Hemmat (IIa) wrote: > > Hello, > > > > We are not using the Red-Hat package, they do not have LibreOffice 6.4.6, > > with are using a RPM package or building from source. > > Also, This is not about the application is packaging or which operating > > system used, this is about the facilities provided by the LibreOffice > > application. > > > > Are we to conclude that currently LibreOffice is not VPAT compliant, are > > any plans in place to have LibreOffice meat the requirements of VPAT > > section 508. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Hemmat Ragheb > > IT Support Services (ITSS), OEMS O&M Support > > Information International Associates (IIA) > > OCIO/OIEO/ESSD > > U.S. Patent & Trademark Office > > 571 775 8350 Office > > 571 345 5189 Cell > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Italo Vignoli <it...@libreoffice.org> > > Sent: Monday, September 14, 2020 7:36 AM > > To: Ragheb, Hemmat (IIa) <hemmat.ragh...@uspto.gov> > > Cc: accessibility@global.libreoffice.org; Sabbani, Karunakar (IIa) > > <karunakar.sabb...@uspto.gov>; Xiao, Quansheng (Victor) > > <quansheng.x...@uspto.gov> > > Subject: Re: [libreoffice-accessibility] LibeOffice VPAT compliance > > > > Yes, I know, but my previous answer is valid. This is a volunteer attended > > mailing list and we cannot provide an answer to your question because we > > are not allowed to do so. So, please write to the other email I provided. > > Best regards. > > > > 14 Sep 2020 12:32:15 Ragheb, Hemmat (IIa) <hemmat.ragh...@uspto.gov>: > > > >> Hello Italo, > >> > >> The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) section 508 is about > >> the product irrespective of which Operating System. > >> > >> The VPAT is to support users with disabilities, help users to be able to > >> use the application. > >> > >> Thanks, > >> > >> Hemmat Ragheb > >> IT Support Services (ITSS), OEMS O&M Support Information International > >> Associates (IIA) OCIO/OIEO/ESSD U.S. Patent & Trademark Office > >> 571 775 8350 Office > >> 571 345 5189 Cell > >> > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: Italo Vignoli <it...@libreoffice.org> > >> Sent: Friday, September 11, 2020 4:42 PM > >> To: Ragheb, Hemmat (IIa) <hemmat.ragh...@uspto.gov>; > >> accessibility@global.libreoffice.org > >> Cc: Sabbani, Karunakar (IIa) <karunakar.sabb...@uspto.gov>; Xiao, > >> Quansheng (Victor) <quansheng.x...@uspto.gov> > >> Subject: Re: [libreoffice-accessibility] LibeOffice VPAT compliance > >> > >> Dear Sir, > >> > >> LibreOffice is a free open source software, released by a not for profit > >> foundation based in Germany: The Document Foundation. The source code of > >> LibreOffice is re-packaged by Red Hat to be included in RHEL. > >> > >> You have sent your message to a mailing list manned by volunteers, who are > >> dealing with accessibility features but not with accessibility legal > >> compliance. We do not know enough the topic to provide a sensible answer > >> and in any case we would not be able to issue the document you have > >> requested. > >> > >> So, please send your request to the Board of Directors of The Document > >> Foundation, by writing to: i...@documentfoundation.org. I don't know if > >> they will be able to issue the document, but they will be able to answer > >> your question. > >> > >> Best regards, Italo Vignoli > >> > >> On 9/11/20 8:12 PM, Ragheb, Hemmat (IIa) wrote: > >>> Hello, > >>> > >>> The USPTO is planning to use LibreOffice 6.4.6 for Linux (RHEL7). > >>> Please provide compliance status of LibreOffice with VPAT Section 508 > >>> (https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.section508.gov%2Fsell%2Fvpat&data=02%7C01%7CHemmat.Ragheb2%40USPTO.GOV%7C2025d94d411a40f72cc908d858a26d33%7Cff4abfe983b540268b8ffa69a1cad0b8%7C1%7C0%7C637356801947156025&sdata=XZWDyigZ5zquqH3d%2BD6xmRzUA7okSt%2Be0E8t01CXf%2Bc%3D&reserved=0). > >>> > >>> Thanks, > >>> > >>> Hemmat Ragheb > >>> IT Support Services (ITSS), O&M Support Information International > >>> Associates (IIA) OCIO/OIEO/ESSD U.S. Patent & Trademark Office > >>> 571 775 8350 Office > >>> 571 345 5189 Cell > >>> > >> -- > >> Italo Vignoli - LibreOffice Marketing & PR mobile/signal > >> +39.348.5653829 - email it...@libreoffice.org hangout/jabber > >> italo.vign...@gmail.com - skype italovignoli GPG Key ID - 0xAAB8D5C0 > >> DB75 1534 3FD0 EA5F 56B5 FDA6 DE82 934C AAB8 D5C0 > >> > > -- > Italo Vignoli - LibreOffice Marketing & PR > mobile/signal +39.348.5653829 - email it...@libreoffice.org > hangout/jabber italo.vign...@gmail.com - skype italovignoli > GPG Key ID - 0xAAB8D5C0 > DB75 1534 3FD0 EA5F 56B5 FDA6 DE82 934C AAB8 D5C0 > > -- > To unsubscribe e-mail to: accessibility+unsubscr...@global.libreoffice.org > Problems? > https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ > Posting guidelines + more: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette > List archive: https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/accessibility/ > Privacy Policy: https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy -- To unsubscribe e-mail to: accessibility+unsubscr...@global.libreoffice.org Problems? https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ Posting guidelines + more: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/accessibility/ Privacy Policy: https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy