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The Newsletter of COTIS
The Confederation of Transcribed Information Services
To promote the provision of information in alternative formats to print
Editor - Linda Pearce, Email:
ontrack@cotis.org.uk .
Project Office, 67 High Street, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 ODP. Tel: 01829-733351
(Answerphone)
Reg Charity No: 299024 © Issue 46 - January 2004
by Wendy Davies, COTIS Chair
The Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002 came into effect on 31 October 2003 - after a long battle and with much rejoicing. But, have you made the necessary changes to your procedures to take advantage of opportunities and to comply with its requirements?
NB: The Act is unequivocally GOOD news. It has not made anything NEW illegal. Provided you comply with certain requirements, you can now convert print materials into accessible formats without getting prior permission from the copyright holder.
This article assumes you've read information and know the basics about the
new rights, ie:
- that it is no longer illegal for any visually impaired person (vip) with
legitimate access to material to make, or ask you to make, an accessible
version without getting prior permission - so long as an equally accessible
commercial version is not available;
- this accessible version can be passed between or on to other vips in the same
way as a print copy between sighted people;
- similarly, in the absence of usable commercial accessible versions,
"approved bodies" can make multiple copies and distribute them to
vips who have not necessarily got access to the print version;
- you will be aware that licences must be taken out if available;
- that when the Act allows for transcription by "approved bodies", it
means educational establishments or not-for-profit organisations - and that
there is no "approval" process;
- and that the definition of "visually impaired" for the purposes of
the Act also covers those who cannot hold or manipulate a print book (because
of severe arthritis, for instance) or move or focus their eyes.
(If all of this is absolutely new to you, catch up by reading the COTIS website and its linked information before reading the rest of this article!)
Even if you are aware of the new rights, have you taken account of the new responsibilities? Have you changed your procedures to take account of new requirements - and have you thought about new opportunities? Have you made sure your vi contacts know that things have changed very much for the better?
The starting point is that everything which is written is automatically protected by copyright, giving the author or rightsholder control over where and how their work appears. So "copyright" exists even where not obviously stated.
If you are sent printed information by the author or organisation which generated the information (leaflets, instruction manuals, sales brochures, billing information) and are asked to transcribe it, as it is probably required under the DDA, permission is obviously being granted - and hopefully you are being paid for the transcription. (If you are asked to transcribe such information by a blind recipient, strongly advise them to ask the service provider for a format they can read - or ask them to allow you to make the contact on their behalf. Hopefully the result will be some paid transcription work for you, but at the very least, you will have made more people aware of their obligations under the DDA).
If however you transcribe any type of information that has come to you without the knowledge of the rightsholder, before 31 October last year you should have acquired permission before you started - even if the blind person making the request had bought the print book themselves.
Now things have changed: by inserting paragraphs 31 A-F into the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002 excepts transcription for visually impaired people from the provisions of the 1988 Act. So, as long as you comply with the terms of the exceptions, you are no longer bound by the fierce copyright statements in the front of most print publications.
1. Single Copies for the personal use of visually impaired individuals who have lawful possession or use of the print
Under Section 31A, if transcribing for one person who has legally acquired
access to the material … book, lecture notes, knitting patterns, journals,
songbooks, anything … as long as:
- it is not a database and you would not be infringing database copyright;
- you are not intending a performance of music;
- and provided that a suitable accessible version is not commercially
available, you are now legally able to go ahead without asking any permission.
(Hopefully you'll want to save yourself effort and your customer delay by also checking that it isn't already available in the voluntary sector - through Revealweb*.)
You must insert an acknowledgement of the source (title, author and publisher) and a statement that the copy has been made under Section 31A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. And that's all.
You can even keep the accessible version in case a second vip with access to the print asks for a usable copy. The basic principle is that you must not give access at any one time to more people than there are print copies. So, a sighted person cannot use the print version whilst a vip is using the braille or audio copy, nor can a blind person keep an electronic copy whilst passing a copy onto a blind friend. He can however let the friend have an electronic copy, if his friend already has a print copy, or if he deletes his own electronic copy, and passes it and the print copy to the friend.
In all cases, you have a responsibility to ensure that "accessible copies" are provided only to those meeting the Act's definition of "visually impaired person"; and that they understand their obligation not to copy further or pass to others who would not be eligible under the Act. This is especially important for digital copies. You may therefore want to consider using a declaration along the lines of the sample at the end of this article, and you may want to insert a statement reminding readers of the restrictions on further circulation along with the Copyright statement.
2. Multiple Copies for those who have no print copies
Under Section 31B, if you lend or sell transcribed information to people who do not have a print copy - with the same caveats about databases, musical performances and commercially available accessible versions - you also no longer need prior permission to transcribe.
You do now need to check availability not only within the voluntary sector, but also commercial editions. The CLA licence (see later in this article) also requires you to check what is planned commercially. Both the Act and the Licence terms require that you keep an eye on what is subsequently produced. If an equally accessible commercial version is subsequently produced, you are not allowed to produce further copies. (You may, though, continue to circulate existing copies.)
You may have to report on your activities at some point in time afterwards.
To whom and how depends on the material and your customers:
- if it is sheet music covered by the Music Publishers' Association, you need a
licence from MPA and must report to them;
- if the material is covered by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA), you MUST
take out a licence and follow its requirements;
- for all other material, use the terms of the Copyright Act. To find out if
the material you have is covered by CLA, check their "Excluded Works
List" on their website: http://www.cla.co.uk
The following categories of materials are listed as NOT included in the
CLA's current remit, and so would not be covered by the CLA licence:
- works published outside the UK, Australia, Canada (including Quebec),
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, The Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (including
Liechtenstein) and USA (only certain publishers in the USA participate in the
scheme - see the US Publishers List for details)
- maps, charts or books of tables
- printed music (including the words)
- works specifically excluded by a special notice mentioning the CLA, either on
the work itself or by inclusion on the following list
- tests or public examination papers whether published individually or in a
collection
- all UK newspapers
- privately owned documents issued for tuition purposes and limited to
clientele who pay fees (except those published by the Open University or the
National Extension College)
- workbooks, workcards, or assignment sheets
- industrial house journals.
In addition, their website contains a list of specific works and publishers for whom they do not act. (NB: CLA covers paper copies only, digital works are not covered.)
So if your material is listed as being excluded from the CLA licence, use the provisions of the Copyright Act, ie:
- Give "sufficient acknowledgement" - title, author, publisher
and edition used.
- State that the copy is made under "Section 31B of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988"
- And you must:
(a) keep records of accessible copies made under section 31B and of the persons
to whom they are supplied;
(b) keep records of any intermediate copy lent or transferred under this
section and of the persons to whom it is lent or transferred; and
(c) allow the copyright owner or a person acting for him, on giving reasonable
notice, to inspect the records at any reasonable time.
NB: If you are an educational establishment using the provisions of the Act, you have an obligation to ensure that the resulting accessible copies will only be used "for your educational purposes".
Otherwise act under the CLA licence:
- you need to make the same enquiries as to existing commercial versions,
but also take into account any planned transcription;
- you need to insert a statement substantially similar to the following:
"This copy is made under the terms of the CLA VIP Licence to be used only by a Visually-Impaired Person. Except as permitted by law, it may not be further copied, nor may it be supplied to any other person, without permission."
- Rather than notifying individual rightsholders, you only need to notify
Revealweb* (RNIB NITS scheme, until this is withdrawn later in 2004.)
- There is no need to keep records of customers, although you must comply with
any CLA data collection requirements.
If you are an educational establishment and only circulate copies within your own organisation, a protocol will be available as an extension to your CLA photocopying licence. Until your licence is renewed, act as if the protocol is in place. Under this protocol, there is no legal requirement to notify anyone about your production, although it is hoped you will still notify Revealweb*.
Technically, local Talking Newspapers (TNs), which use articles from journals and magazines, should take out a licence and comply with the reporting requirements. However, as the recordings are not archived, the CLA recognises that notifying Revealweb is not appropriate and that such individual licences would be cumbersome. They are currently considering the position. Meantime, Talking Newspapers should continue their present practices. (The Newspaper content is not affected as TNs almost always have long-standing agreements with their local papers).
3. International Issues
- Accessible Copies of UK works produced under the CLA licence may be
circulated, by sale or loan, to any vip within the European Union.
- Accessible Copies of foreign works and copies of excluded works may only be
circulated within the UK.
- However, accessible copies or masters ("Intermediate copies") may
be lent or sold to individuals or organisations outside these boundaries on the
understanding that these individuals or organisations will seek the relevant
permissions.
4. Other issues to consider
The definition of "Visually Impaired" has been widened to include those physically unable to read. (See Sample Declaration at the end of this article for full details.) If you take advantage of this, remember that the terms of the "Articles for the Blind" postal concession have not changed. (Although some organisations have local agreements to include the physically disabled, it is more strictly interpreted to mean "unable to read N12 with corrective lenses because of faulty eyes".)
There is no easy way to check commercial availability. The Copyright Licensing Agency suggests that "regular consultation and co-operation between the commercial and not-for-profit producers of accessible editions is the starting point for finding out". Although in my personal opinion "asking a bookshop" should be acceptable, there is no doubt that a dialogue between the sectors can only be useful, if only to ensure that judgements can be made as to whether commercial versions are in fact acceptable - Are they unabridged? What size type? etc.
In wording the legislation and licences, both government and publishers have attempted to be helpful and to ensure they do not prohibit the exchange of transcription masters ("intermediate copies" in their terminology), recognising just how labour-intensive their production is. Is this a good time for all organisations to consider how best we can share the fruits of our labour for the benefit of the vi community?
5. Summary of changes
The good news: it is no longer necessary to get permission before beginning transcription or circulating to readers. So you can stop writing all those begging letters. (But any blanket agreements negotiated before the Act still stand until terminated.)
An availability check must be made both within the voluntary and commercial sectors. Commercial output must be watched on an ongoing basis.
If you circulate multiple copies, you are likely to need a CLA licence unless you are an educational establishment with a CLA photocopying licence and only circulate within your own organisation - in which case, a CLA protocol will be available as an extension to your licence.
If you circulate multiple copies of sheet music, get a MPA licence. You will probably want to tag your records of each production title to show whether they are being produced under the Act or the CLA licence, thus enabling appropriate procedures to be followed.
Change your copyright statements to the appropriate wording, depending on whether you are acting under the Act or a licence.
Consider how you will demonstrate that your customers are eligible as "visually impaired persons" under the Act; and that you have made some effort to appraise them of their responsibilities not to circulate to non-vips or to make further copies - especially for digital copies.
If using the Act, you must keep records, which show by title, the number of copies made and persons to whom loans and/or sales were made. And you must be able to show these records to rightsholders without infringing Data Protection issues.
NB: although COTIS has made strenuous efforts to ensure the forgoing information is correct, it cannot be taken as a statement of the law. *
Revealweb (previously "REVEAL"): A web-based database of Accessible resources which is replacing RNIB's National Union Catalogue of Alternative Formats. See http://www.revealweb.org.uk
SAMPLE Declaration:
I ( … name …)
(… address …)
wish you (… name of organisation …) to make the enclosed material accessible to me under section 31A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 by converting it to (… name format required …)
I declare that:
1) I have lawful possession of the printed master copy I have supplied for conversion;
2) I have not been able to find a copy in a form that is accessible to me (eg by looking on the Revealweb Database at http://www.revealweb.org.uk) or by asking in bookshops.
3) I am a "Visually impaired person" within the meaning of the above Act.
Either:
(a) I am blind; or
(b) I have an impairment of visual function which cannot be improved, by the use of corrective lenses, to a level that would normally be acceptable for reading without a special level or kind of light; or
(c) I am unable, through physical disability, to hold or manipulate a book; or
(d) I am unable, through physical disability, to focus or move my eyes to the extent that would normally be acceptable for reading.
4) The resulting copy is for my own use. I understand that I may pass it on only:
(a) to another visually impaired person who qualifies under the Act and has themselves possession of the print copy.
(b) with the print copy, to another visually impaired person who qualifies under the Act.
(c) with the print copy, to a person or organisation who intends to make it available to one or more such visually impaired persons.
[NB: If you have a query, please get in touch with the COTIS office and we'll try to find an answer. Ed]
Monday 24 November 2003
RNIB, 105 Judd Street, London
11.00 am - 12.45 pm
1. Present (in person or via teleconference):
Wendy Davies, Individual
Linda Pearce , RNIB
Paul Wood, Torch Trust
Lisa Bhogal, ABAPSTAS
Ruth Frampton, RNIB
Peter Howell, Dog Rose Sound
Marian Davis, Vision Support Trading
Deane Houston, NI Blind Centre
Ann Ruddick, AIRS
Janice Holmes, AIRS
David Inness, Monument
Mandy Thompson, RNIB
Susan Potter New College (observer)
2. Apologies
Sir John Wall, President
Glenn Critchley, Individual
Linda Downey, Calibre
Colin Antwis, Fieldsman Trails
Ceri Jackson, Individual
John Proudler, Individual
Fran Hawkins, RNIB Vocational College Loughborough
3. President's Opening Remarks
John Wall sent his good wishes and apologies. He is still very active on the international scene - this time in Athens!
4. Minutes of Previous AGM and Matters Arising
The minutes of the previous AGM held on 9 November 2002 were approved.
5. Chairman's Report from Wendy Davies
A very warm welcome was given to the Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002 which is now finally implemented. Through the Chair, COTIS has been involved in the background discussions leading up to this; it was hoped that members have felt informed of the (very slow) progress towards implementation and that the COTIS website provides all the information you need - both with regard to your own position and to act as a source of information to end users. The Chair felt that transcription services carry a special responsibility to pro-actively inform them that, if visually impaired, they no longer have to ask permission before having print material converted to a format they can read.
But Copyright is only one of the many issues facing non-print users. Time and expense of transcription are other vital issues, where again COTIS is working collaboratively with the RNIB-led Right 2 Read (R2R) Alliance - attending meetings and reporting progress through On Track. The most public face of the current drive is the R2R Charter, which has been circulated via On Track and is available on our website. Please help by getting as many signatures as possible.
Once transcription has been achieved, quality then becomes the key issue for our customers - and for COTIS, which has long been working to achieve nationally accepted standards. The committee were very much hoping to be able, this time, to report final success on this front - there has though been both solid and exciting progress.
On the more solid side, Colin Antwis, as COTIS project officer, carried out the RNIB-funded Accessible Media Champion project as described in last year's AGM minutes.
As that project finished, COTIS geared up to the TNAUK Annual Tape Competition once more. The committee thought the time and expense was justified again this year, whilst quality standards are so high on the agenda. The competition offered the opportunity to refine both the questionnaire used by the panellists, and also processes and software. The committee now feels in a position to place recordings reliably on a scale of 100, but decisions still need to be taken over precise pass/fail criteria. Thanks were expressed to the panellists who again enabled the competition to take place. Discussions with TNAUK will be held as to how future competitions might be run.
Finally though, the greatest boost to the drive towards a quality standard is the involvement of the British Standards Institute who are now ready to develop a Publicly Available standard in the four main formats, starting with audio. This is delayed by the need to secure funding to the tune of approximately £50,000 per format, but there is still one very warm possibility.
The Chair's report concluded by warmly thanking all the committee for their continuing interest and involvement, with particular thanks to Linda Pearce, who is not only treasurer, but also compiles and edits On Track and is extremely pro-active in ensuring, for instance, that AGM notices go out in good time. Also to Sheila Jones in the Tarporley office who quietly, but very effectively, provides the administration necessary; to Colin, who has contributed far more hours than he has invoiced for; and to Glenn Critchley for developing and maintaining our website.
6. Treasurer's Report
The end-of-year financial report was circulated within On Track Issue 45 in October 2003.
The year saw an income of £1,608 and an expenditure of £2,689, leaving us with an end of year balance of £5,854. The current year's deficit is almost exactly equal to our expenditure on the TNAUK competition.
Membership has risen from last year's total of 87 to 96, 73 organisations and 23 individuals. Fees still stood at £6 for individuals, £12 for organisations.
Thanks were expressed to Sheila Jones for invaluable day to day assistance and support, and to Lisa Plumb for checking the accounts.
In answer to questions, it was explained that COTIS had offered TNAUK prizes; and agreed that the details of the current year's expenditure would be discussed with TNAUK, to see if future funding might be acquired. Possibilities of R2R money was also mentioned.
Following an explanation that the committee had been holding the membership fee at current levels until they were in a position to differentiate between "interested" members and "accredited" members, it was agreed to discuss further and put a proposal to next year's AGM.
The Accounts were then accepted, with many thanks to Linda Pearce.
7. Nominations for committee
Those due to stand down were: John Proudler, Deane Houston, Ruth Frampton and Linda Downey. The first three were willing to re-stand, sadly Linda Downey wished to retire. The Chair was asked to send an appreciation of her long-standing support. Lisa Bhogal and Paul Wood offered to stand. All were nominated by Wendy Davies and seconded by Linda Pearce. They were elected unanimously.
8. The Year Ahead
The meeting was asked for guidance on priority activities for the year
ahead. After animated and interesting discussion, there was complete agreement
that by the next AGM:
· there should be an audio standard - if not BSI, then COTIS. (Compare
price NASLVI handbook?).
· Quality assessment for the "commercial" standard should be
available - on a percentage basis.
· ABAPSTAS should be contacted with details of what we needed from them to
establish an educational standard.
· An email discussion forum should be set up if possible.
9. Any other business
Good wishes were expressed for the speedy recovery of Lesley Kelly.
The AGM closed at 12.10 pm.
by Lisa Bhogal, Secretary
This report is to update members on the work of the UK Association of Braille Producers.
At our AGM, on the afternoon of 24 November 2003, the Committee was appointed as follows:
Chair: Mike Parr;
Vice-Chair, Magazine Editor and BAUK Representative:
Peter Wilkins;
Secretary and COTIS Link Person: Lisa Bhogal;
Treasurer: Frikkie Levy;
Committee Members: Hans Cohn, Sarah Home,
Craig MacQueen, Marion Ripley and Mandy Thompson.
The Committee were asked to discuss the co-option of a sixth Committee Member. This has taken place and I will report the result once it is known.
The AGM agreed that the work for the year ahead would include updating our website, working on a Braille Accreditation Scheme as well as with COTIS, and organising a conference. UKABP has signed up to Right 2 Read. At the recent Committee Meeting members agreed to organise a Conference in October/November on either Rule Changes in British Braille and how translation software developers will implement them, or low-tech presentations from developers on their translation software. The website discussion list would be changed to an egroup and modifications would be made to enable members to check their own details. Work on the accreditation scheme was temporarily suspended when Wendy Davis advised last year's UKABP Committee of the BSI involvement with COTIS. However, the Committee agreed to continue working on this project in preparation for future BSI involvement on the Braille side.
The Association are encouraging more of its members to receive "The Braille Producer" magazine by email to cut down on expenditure. The AGM agreed a subscription increase across all categories.
by Lesley Kelly, COTIS Committee Member
On the 3 December 2003, Maria Eagle, Minister for Disabled People, sent me a copy of the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill, which was published that day as a Command Paper. This paper is in three parts: part I, a forward, part II contains explanatory notes, and part III is a draft Regulatory Impact Assessment.
Maria Eagle says in her letter that:
"This Bill will build on other steps they have already taken, such as the regulations already taken earlier this year to implement the disability provisions on the Article 13 Employment Directive".
It will also extend basic rights and opportunities for disabled people. Many of those provisions she says foreshadowed the Disability Rights Task Force, and were covered in the document "Towards Inclusion". The draft Bill includes some of these recommendations, and some go further. For example, they provide powers to enable the exemption for transport vehicles in part 3 of the Act to be lifted. The Act will also be extended to cover the exercise of functions of public bodies, so that it would apply to most of their activities, not just those which consist of the provision of services.
It will also provide a new duty on public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, so they would be required to consider the needs of disabled people as early as possible, and at every stage of their policy and decision making.
It will also extend the definition of disability to cover more people with HIV or cancer.
It will also require those who manage and let premises to make reasonable adjustments to their policies and practices for disabled tenants or prospective tenants.
The Draft Bill also has provisions that were not proposed in "Toward Inclusion". For example, it includes people with Multiple Sclerosis, brings larger clubs within scope of the DDA, and brings third party publishers, eg newspapers and advertisers, into the scope of the DDA, prohibiting job advertisers to discriminate against disabled people.
Maria Eagle says that:
"The Bill is wide ranging and significant; they would not only extend disabled people's civil rights, and improve the DDA, but will also break down institutional barriers".
The Draft Bill will undergo pre-legislative scrutiny. The Parliamentary Committee, which considers the Bill, is likely to be calling for written and oral evidence. Any recommendations made by the committee will be considered. It is expected to be published about April and with a response by the summer.
Further information on the Committee will be made available on http://www.disability.gov.uk in due course, and this will also tell you how comments can be made to the committee on the Draft Regulatory Impact Assessment. You can also send your comments to:
Clerk of the Committee on the draft Disability Discrimination Bill
The Scrutiny Unit
Committee Office
House of Commons,
Room G10
7 Millbank
London
SW1P 3JA
OR email comments to: scrutiny@parliament.uk
Comments, I believe, have to be in by 16 February 2004.
Maria Eagle has also said in her letter that:
"When the full Bill is introduced, they intend to include measures in it on setting an end date for rail vehicle accessibility, and on the introduction of regulations to cover refurbishment of vehicles, subject to the outcome of a consultation which is being carried out by Ministers at the Department of Transport".
All this is fine, and I agree with all the changes they are making, but these changes are to the already existing Disability Discrimination Act 1995, it is not a new Bill, which is what most disability organisations wanted. It might strengthen the Act a little bit, but it does not go all the way as far as Disability Rights legislation is concerned. The DDA has still got "reasonable adjustment" included in it. What might be reasonable to you, might not be to me, and this is the DDA's biggest flaw. To me, it does not have legal powers that will really help disabled people get fair and equal rights. Where is the legislation for manufacturers who make goods that disabled people can't use, such as digital radios? Quite frankly, I am very disappointed with what has been introduced. Where is the Disabled Persons Disability Rights Bill?
Have you have sent in your subscription for the year 1 September 2003 to 31
August 2004? If not, please do so immediately, if you do not want your
membership to lapse. The rates remain at £6 for an individual and £12
for an organisation for a further year. If you have not yet paid for this
current year, send a cheque made out to COTIS for the appropriate amount to:
Mrs S Jones
COTIS Project Office
67 High Street
Tarporley
Cheshire,
CW6 0DP.
by Linda Pearce, Editor
On Track brings to your attention details about equipment, materials and services that COTIS feels will be of interest to you. Please note that this is for your information only. COTIS is not endorsing them or making any recommendations. Equally, reviews are personal comments by the writers of the articles.
Please remember - if you would like to submit an article or send details of any forthcoming events which may be of interest to COTIS members, the latest dates by which material should reach the editor are:
18 September for October's issue,
6 January for January's issue and
1 May for May's issue.
© Written permission to use any On Track article or other COTIS
material to be obtained from
The COTIS Secretary, Project Office, 67 High Street, Tarporley,
Cheshire, CW6 0DP, tel: 01829-733351 (answerphone), or Email:
ontrack@cotis.org.uk .
or from the On Track editor.
COTIS, Project Office, 67 High Street, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 0DP, United Kingdom.
Telephone: +44 (0)1829 733351
Email: administrator@cotis.org.uk
COTIS President: Sir John A. Wall - Charity Number 299024
COTIS Web Site last updated 24th June 2005