[OPLINLIST] Fwd: Petition re WIPO Print Disabled Treaty

[Stephen Hedges]

This was the subject of a recent OPLIN 4cast (http://www.oplin.org/4cast/?p=3703), so I am calling your attention to existence of this petition.

--
Stephen Hedges, Director
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
2323 W. Fifth Ave., Suite 130, Columbus, OH 43204
614-728-5250  ::  hedgesst at oplin.org

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Brandon Butler [mailto: brandon at arl.org ] 
Sent: Friday, May 24, 2013 11:22 AM 
To: ARL Directors Discussion List 
Cc: Beth Secrist; Gary Roebuck 
Subject: [ARL-Directors] Please Sign Petition re WIPO Print Disabled Treaty, Forward to Staff 

Good morning, 

We're writing to draw your attention to a petition that was started recently on the White House's "We the People" site. As you may know, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is currently negotiating a treaty to make accessible books more widely available to the print disabled around the world. As part of our ongoing commitment to accessibility, ARL has been engaged very deeply in this issue for months, and things were looking promising until very recently. 

In the last few weeks, the MPAA and several movie studios in the US have suddenly expressed doubts about the treaty, despite it having literally no effect on films, and they are having a powerful effect on the US delegation. The treaty is in grave danger of becoming useless, even counterproductive. 

To help raise the profile of this issue, please consider signing this We The People petition urging support for the print disabled, and sharing the petition with your staff so that they can do the same: 

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/side-blind-over-obstructionist-companies-secure-treaty-blind-makes-books-accessible-globally/ZJtgcVph 

The threshold for receiving an official answer from the White House was recently raised dramatically; the petition will have to secure 100,000 signatures to get the administration's attention. Please share the link with all of your networks to help get across that substantial threshold! 


Thanks, 

Brandon Butler | Director of Public Policy Initiatives | Association of Research Libraries | brandon at arl.org | http://policynotes.arl.org | @ARLpolicy | w: 202.296.2296 x156 | m: 301.965.0293 | 21 Dupont Circle NW, Ste. 800, Washington, D.C., 20036