Chafee access amendment (fwd)

From: David Andrews (dandrews@winternet.com)
Date: Wed Jul 31 1996 - 16:23:37 PDT


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 13:03:37 EDT
From: Jamal Mazrui <74444.1076@COMPUSERVE.COM>
To: Multiple recipients of list EASI <EASI@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Subject: Chafee access amendment

Senator John Chafee has introduced an amendment to the FY97
legislative appropriations bill that would facilitate more
extensive and timely production of accessible formats for people
with print disabilities. The following excerpt from the
Congressional Record provides the text of the amendment and his
explanatory remarks.

Jamal Mazrui
National Council on Disability
Email: 74444.1076@compuserve.com

----------

               Congressional Record dated Monday, July 29, 1996
                                Senate Section

----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
Text of Amendment Offered by CHAFEE (R-RI) to H.R. 3754
         AMENDMENT NO. 5119 (Purpose: To amend chapter 1 of title 17, United
         States Code, to provide for a limitation on the exclusive copyrights
         of literary works produced or distributed in specialized formats for
         use by blind or disabled persons, and for other purposes)

                  Attributed to CHAFEE (R-RI)

                               AMENDMENT NO. 5119

  (Purpose: To amend chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, to provide for
     a limitation on the exclusive copyrights of literary works produced or
  distributed in specialized formats for use by blind or disabled persons, and
                               for other purposes)

    Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, and Senators Frahm,
  Stevens, Leahy, McConnell, and Bingaman, I send a printed amendment to the
  desk. At the proper time I will ask that it be set aside.

    The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.

    The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

    The Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Chafee), for himself, Mrs. Frahm, Mr.
  Stevens, Mr. Leahy, Mr. McConnell, and Mr. Bingaman, proposes an amendment
  numbered 5119.

    Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the
  amendment be dispensed with.

    The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

    The amendment is as follows:

    At the appropriate place in the bill insert the following new section:

  SEC. . LIMITATION ON EXCLUSIVE COPYRIGHTS FOR LITERARY WORKS IN
SPECIALIZED FORMAT FOR THE BLIND AND DISABLED.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by
  adding after section 120 the following new section:

   "Sec. 121. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other
    people with disabilities

    "(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 710, it is not an
  infringement of copyright for an authorized entity to reproduce or to
  distribute copies or phonorecords of a previously published, nondramatic
  literary work if such copies or phonorecords are reproduced or distributed
in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with
  disabilities.

    "(b)(1) Copies or phonorecords to which this section applies shall--

    "(A) not be reproduced or distributed in a format other than a specialized
  format exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities;

    "(B) bear a notice that any further reproduction or distribution in a
  format other than a specialized format is an infringement; and

    "(C) include a copyright notice identifying the copyright owner and the
  date of the original publication.

    "(2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to standardized,
  secure, or norm-referenced tests and related testing material, or to
computer
  programs, except the portions thereof that are in conventional human
language
  (including descriptions of pictorial works) and displayed to users in the
  ordinary course of using the computer programs.

    "(c) For purposes of this section, the term--

    "(1) 'authorized entity' means a nonprofit organization or a governmental
  agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating
to
  training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of
blind or other persons with disabilities;

    "(2) 'blind or other persons with disabilities' means individuals who are
  eligible or who may qualify in accordance with the Act entitled "An Act to
  provide books for the adult blind", approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a;
46
  Stat. 1487) to receive books and other publications produced in specialized
  formats; and

    "(3) 'specialized formats' means braille, audio, or digital text which is
  exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.".

    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
  1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item
  relating to section 120 the following:

  "121. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other
people with disabilities.".

----------------------------------------
Measure Debated by CHAFEE (R-RI) and 3 others -- H.R. 3754
         Congressional Operations Appropriations Act, 1997

    Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, this is an amendment that I am offering on
  behalf of myself and those Senators that I just listed.

    This amendment is supported by the Association of American Publishers, the
  National Federation of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the
  American Printing House for the Blind, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic,
  and the U.S. Copyright Office.

    It also has the support of the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and we
  are waiting for approval by the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee
  before proceeding.

    Mr. President, the amendment I am proposing along with those Senators I
  mentioned is an amendment to the legislative branch appropriations bill
  regarding books for the blind.

    In 1931, the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped was established by an act of Congress. Since
then, funding for this immensely valuable program has been included in the
  legislative branch bill, which, of course, funds the Library of Congress.
The
  National Library Service and a handful of nonprofit organizations reproduce
  in specialized formats published material that is readily available to
  sighted individuals in libraries, bookstores, newsstands and countless other
  locations.

    Specialized formats refers to braille, sound recordings--either on
cassette or phonorecord--and new digital formats that can be used for
special
  software. To make certain that recorded books and magazines are only used by
  those for whom they are intended, they are recorded at a speed that simply
  does not work on standard tape players.

    The National Library Service provides special tape players and record
  players to eligible individuals. This equipment is not generally available
to the public. To be eligible to receive this special equipment, an
applicant
  must be certified by a qualified professional such as a doctor, nurse or
  social worker that he or she is unable to use standard print.

    The National Library Service selects the books to reproduce in these
  specialized formats.

    Frequently, the National Library Service issues request after request only
  to wait months for a response from the publisher. These delays are not
  because the publishers have a desire to withhold permission; it is simply a
  low priority. They just set it aside.

    There are still 17 books from the 1995 best seller list for which
  permission is still pending.

    For our Nation's more than 54,000 blind elementary and secondary school
  students, this is a great problem.

    The American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, KY, is the
primary
  producer of braille textbooks. It is a challenge to reproduce today's highly
  visible textbooks in braille format. Maps, charts, graphs, and illustrations
  that take up one page in a standard textbook may require multiple pages of
  braille or tactile graphics to convey the same information. All in all, it
  can take a full year to produce a braille textbook. Added time consumed by
  trying to get permission from publishers makes it certain that the blind
  student is not in sync with his classmates.

    The amendment Senator Frahm and others and I are introducing seeks to end
  the unintended censorship of blind students' access to current information.
  The amendment, as I say, is endorsed by the Association of American
  Publishers, the National Federation of the Blind, the American Foundation
for
  the Blind, the American Printing House for the Blind, and the U.S. Copyright
  Office.

    This is a very simple amendment. This says groups that produce specialized
  formats for the blind no longer are required to gain permission from the
  copyright holder before beginning production. It is based on an agreement
  that was reached last January between the Association of American Publishers
  and the National Federation of the Blind. It includes a very narrow
  definition of those who are eligible to undertake such production and
applies
  the definition for eligibility used by the National Library Service to those
  who receive reproductions.

    So, Mr. President, as has been said by a member of the National Federation
  of the Blind, It should be obvious that the delays here present a
significant
  barrier which must be overcome if blind people are to be informed and
  literate. It is not too much to say that living successfully in our modern
  society often depends upon being able to communicate ideas and facts both
  orally and in writing.

    I conclude by a statement from Marybeth Peters, who is the Register of
  Copyrights at the Library of Congress. In testifying before the Senate
  Judiciary Committee she said,

    Blind and physically handicapped readers have a legitimate need for prompt
  and timely access as soon as possible after works become available to the
  general reading public. Textbook materials in particular are commonly out of
  date within 1 to 2 years, superseded by new editions.

    Passage of this amendment will permit the speedy access to information
that blind people need.

    It is my understanding the managers of the bill are prepared to accept the
  amendment, but we are waiting for the approval of the ranking member of the
  Judiciary Committee.

    So, Mr. President, I thank the managers of the bill and hope that when we
  receive the approval, as I expect we will, of the ranking member of the
  Judiciary Committee, if I am not here, the manager of the bill might be able
  to call up this amendment and have it considered in my absence.

    I ask the manager and the ranking member of the committee, if we receive
  the approval--the only thing we are waiting for is the approval of the
  ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. If I could pass that on, when it
  is received, to the managers, if they could then call up the amendment if I
  am not here



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