Over the past ten years, books in e-format have given millions of print-impaired people access to the knowledge of the world.  But outdated copyright laws still limit how books may be accessed, and by whom, especially in less developed countries.

Although digital technology has presented the print-impaired community with an unprecedented opportunity to access and share reading materials, the current global copyright regime continues to prioritize the proprietary rights of authors over the fundamental human rights of blind people to read. In India, many of the country’s 15 million blind people are compelled to breach copyright laws through their struggle to access print information.

“Copyright infringement is not something created by people with visual impairment,” says Rahul Cherian, a founding director of Inclusive Planet, which works on behalf on the global print-impaired community.  “Actually, the copying of books has been carried on by sighted people even before visually impaired people had any access to reading material whatsoever.”

Inclusive Planet and other organizations that want to loosen copyright restrictions to make information more accessible to the print-impaired have been moderately successful. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has countered their efforts with a global crusade towards stricter copyright enforcement. Although the WIPO intends to protect the rights of authors and publishers, it has significantly hampered the ability of those who read differently – including the blind, partially-sighted, and those with motor conditions such as cerebral palsy – to access books and other print media.

Nirmita Narasimham, the Program Manager for e-accessibility at Bangalore’s Center for Internet and Society, explains that the WIPO and other industry groups make it difficult for the print-impaired to access information. “We are scared to convert books into an e-format,” says Narasimha. Narasimham is herself blind.  “Doing so is not permitted by law.”

As a result of copyright laws that make it illegal to convert books to more accessible formats, many people with disabilities are not able to participate fully as creative and productive members of society.

In response to such laws, the World Blind Union maintains a slogan that evokes the concept of a child being born in a country like India who may never have access to the world’s printed knowledge: “Books before we die.”  With an estimated global literacy rate for adults with disabilities estimated to be as low as three percent by the United Nations Development Program, the right to read for print-impaired people is long overdue.

Today, assistive technologies allow some of the more fortunate print-impaired to access books. “Text-to-speech” software, for example, can efficiently deliver text on demand in a synthetic voice. Although the sound of such software lacks the expressive intonation of a human reader, a user can quickly become accustomed to the computer-like voice.

While the conversion of a print book to audio format, or to other print-impaired formats like Braille and large print, is legal in India (and in many other countries), such exceptions to copyright laws have not kept pace with advances in technology.  For example, converting books into electronic format without the permission of the author or publisher is a breach of copyright and thus a criminal offence. A recent study found that 95% of the world’s books are never made available in formats that print-impaired people can read.   In India, even fewer than 5% of books are available in accessible formats.

Of the 100,000 books published each year in India, just over 1% are made available to the print-impaired in accessible formats.  Currently, there are approximately 900 accessible titles circulating in India. The number of books shared unofficially is somewhat greater.

“People are really only sharing books at the personal level,” says Narasimham from the Center for Internet and Society. “They are sharing their own personal libraries. For example, someone may upload the new Harry Potter book and they will share a link where other people can download it.”

While permission for converting books is limited to special formats, such as Braille or sign language, the Copyright Act of India permits the conversion of books into electronic formats by most non-profits, but doing so on a commercial basis is strictly prohibited.

Narasimham explains that such provisions are not in the best interest of the print-impaired community: “Braille and sign language are the only two formats that books can be legally formatted today. However, this is not working for us these days.  Few people continue to use Braille today, as these books are heavy and can only be used by one person at a time.” She says that the demand for accessible books far exceeds the number of Braille books available.