No, George, I don't think so.
Section 52)1 ZA), I think lays an exemption from copyright, and section 32
about compulsory license comes into play when that exemption is not applicable
to a book, meaning that reproduction is in a form other than contemplated in
section 52.
Anyway, I require a detailed brief to comment any further.
Regards
"Perhaps our role on this planet is not to worship God-- but to create Him."
--Arthur C. Clarke
(Rajesh Asudani)
Assistant General Manager,
Reserve Bank of India
Nagpur
09420397185
O: 0712 2806676
Res: 0712 2591349
-----Original Message-----
From: accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in
[mailto:accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of George Abraham
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 10:18 AM
To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in
Subject: Re: [AI] regardin copywrite issue
plus, every time you need a book it seems that we have to apply for a
license.
----- Original Message -----
From: "rahul cherian" <rahul.cher...@inclusiveplanet.com>
To: "raghuraman" <thinkdontbl...@gmail.com>;
<accessindia@accessindia.org.in>
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 9:58 AM
Subject: Re: [AI] regardin copywrite issue
Dear Raghu,
After much campaigning by rights groups and a meeting that we had with Mr.
Kapil Sibal, the HRD Ministry has proposed the following wording for the
copyright amendment:
*Section 52 (1) (za)**: The reproduction, issue of copies or communication
to the public of any work in a format, including sign language, specially
designed only for the use of persons suffering from a visual, aural or other
disability that prevents their enjoyment of such works in their normal
format.* *
Section 31B (1):** An organization, registered under section 12A of the
income tax act, 1961 (act 43 of 1961) and working primarily for the benefit
of persons with disability, and recognized under chapter X of the persons
with disabilities (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full
participation) act, 1995 (act 1 of 1996) may apply to the Copyright Board,
in such form as may be prescribed, for a compulsory license to publish any
work in which copyright subsists for the benefit of such persons, in a case
to which clause (za) of subsection (1) of section 52 does not apply, and the
Copyright Board shall dispose of such application within three months.*
*(2) The Copyright Board may, upon receiving an application under subsection
(1) inquire, or direct such inquiry as it necessary, to establish the
credentials of the applicant and satisfy itself that the application has
been made in good faith.
(3) If the Copyright Board is satisfied, after giving to the owners of
rights in the work a reasonable opportunity of being heard and after holding
such inquiry as it may deem necessary, that a compulsory license needs to be
issued to make the work available to the disabled, it may direct the
Registrar of Copyrights to grant to the applicant such a license to publish
the work.
(4) Every compulsory license issued under this section shall specify the
means and format of publication, the period during which the compulsory
license may be exercised and, in the case of issue of copies, the number of
copies that may be issued.
Provided that where the Board has issued such a compulsory license, it may
on further application and after giving reasonable opportunity to the owner
of the rights, extend the period of such compulsory license and allow the
issue of more copies as it may deem fit.
(5) The Copyright Board may specify the number of copies that may be
published without payment of royalty and the fix the rate of royalty for the
remaining copies.*
The abovementioned amendment is flawed for the following reasons:
i. *Use of special formats:* The exception extends only
to "specially designed" formats such as Braille and would really benefit
only a part of the disabled community. Those affected by dyslexia, cerebral
palsy, low vision and other physical disabilities and the late blind would
require audio, reading material with large fonts and electronic texts. As
these are not formats specially aimed at a disabled group they're not
included in the exception. In other words, more than half of India's
disabled would be forced to pay royalties to merely access the information
that is freely available to those persons who can work with special formats.
This violates the guarantee of equality under Article 14 of the Constitution
of India, since it discriminates between those persons with disabilities who
are able to work with special formats and those for whom the special formats
make no sense. Even otherwise, by failing to institute a meaningful
copyright exception that would enable access to many educational materials
by the disabled, the State has failed in its duty to guarantee a meaningful
right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
ii. *Provision to extend only to organizations primarily
working in the field of disability: *Even upon payment, compulsory licensing
of the copyrighted work is permitted only to those organizations working
primarily for the benefit of the disabled. Not only does this exclude
educational institutions such as Delhi University, Xavier's College Mumbai,
Loyola College, Chennai and many other universities which have resource
centres and courses especially to cater to the needs of disabled students
from carrying on their activities, but it shuts out the avenue for disabled
persons to turn to other sources of getting accessible information, such as
self help groups, voluntary services run by corporates which undertake such
activities as part of their CSR initiative, as well as all other local
groups who are not primarily disabled-oriented from obtaining a license to
the work. It also denies disabled individuals to directly convert works and
access them.
iii. *Delay and loss of crucial time for students:* It is
quite unacceptable that students may have to lose out on academic years due
to the expected waiting period for permissions, which would be followed by a
waiting period for conversion after obtaining permission. At the present
this has already been happening for years. But if the amendment slashes down
the already limited resources by disallowing academic institutions and
voluntary sector from undertaking conversions, then the burden on the
organizations would be too much for them to successfully manage the timely
dissemination of accessible books, resulting in a complete collapse of the
system. Waiting periods, even if for upto two months, would go a long way in
slowing down progress of children.
Rights groups are working together to see what options are available to
change the proposed wording so that it addresses the legitimate concerns of
persons with disabilities.
Best regards,
Rahul Cherian
InclusivePlanet.com
On 12 March 2010 09:12, raghuraman <thinkdontbl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> friends i have already asked about the copywrite issue.
> but i havent so far recieved any info on this regard
> could someone tell whether there is any development in this issue
> also i heard that we couldnt use our concession in torento sathapthi and
> garibrath trains.
> are there steps taken from our side to make this available?
> please tell.
> cheers raghu
>
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