European Parliament
Liam Aylward  (ALDE ),
in writing.
(GA)
I voted in favour of this important motion. Since 95% of the world’s works are not available in suitable formats such as Braille, large print or audio, it is very difficult for blind or visually impaired people to access books. Only 5% of published works are made available in those formats in the developed world and 1% in developing countries.
This is a ‘book famine’, which means that there is a large section of society whose rights are not being upheld. The obstacle to the abovementioned suitable formats is the lack of international legal norms which would establish a copyright exception so that a cross-border system could be implemented for works adapted for the visually impaired.
The EU must take strong action to that end and bring about a legally binding treaty at WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) level. The European Parliament has already said it wants a legally binding solution. The Commission and the Council must take action to the benefit of blind and visually impaired people and put an end to this ‘book famine’.

