Janina Sajka
American Foundation for the Blind
Governmental Relations Group
820 First Street, N.E., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20002
202-408-8175
janina@afb.net

Copyright and Persons with Print Disabilities in the Digital Age

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) stands squarely in favor of reasonable and prudent technologies to assist in ensuring that copyright holders are fairly compensated for the sale, or other forms of digital access, of the content they publish in digital formats. However, most proposals we have seen to date purporting to establish technologies to prevent illegal copying or publication of copyrighted content simply do not consider, or address in any way, the fair use rights of persons who are blind and visually impaired. We would regard it a serious breach of faith with disabled persons to establish new technologies and copyright provisions which, once again, regard our needs as peripheral and expendable. To this end we offer the following positions on this issue of fundamental importance to this community:

• Computer, and computer network technologies have brought access to published information for persons who are blind or otherwise print handicapped from a pre-Gutenberg type of environment into near parity with non-print disabled readers. Web content constructed with proper use of the W3C's (or U.S. Section 508) web content guidelines, provides information access for which there is simply no good alternative, for example.
   
• Technologies designed to provide content securely should not be based on proprietary unpublished specifications because such systems cannot be accessed by users or by developers of assistive technologies needed by users In fact, we see an inherent conflict in current law regarding this very issue. Is it legal for developers of assistive technology to study secure distribution technologies in order to provide access to print disabled individuals? The Copyright Act of 1976, its legislative history, and citations by the Supreme Court would indicate it is lawful. Yet the DMCA might tend to suggest it is not. We would note that the entire assistive technology field is based on deconstructing and "patching" systems which were never intended for use by persons with disabilities.
   
• Accessibility is particularly well served by open, published protocols because everything needed to add accessibility into the technology is exposed, and available. Open consensus standards mean that our specialists can participate to ensure these standards work for people who are blind or visually impaired as well as for the general public and for copyright holders. We note this observation is not theory. Examples of such practices are readily available today for users of open computing platforms, where strong, PGP, OpenSSL, or GNUPG encryption is no impediment to accessibility.
   
• Security systems must not interfere with an individual's exercise of "fair use." Altering, formats, copying or repurposing copyrighted content to allow access with assistive technologies must remain a protection available to consumers with print disabilities.
   
• Copyright law must prevent e-commerce technologies, transmission technologies, and display technologies from interfering with access to content through assistive technology or through alternative methods of accessing material.