Thanks to an exception in the Canadian Copyright Act, people with perceptual disabilities are able to read accessible versions of published materials. The "Accessible Content: A Guide to the Canadian Copyright Act on Searching for Accessible Formats and Producing and Distributing Alternate Formats" was created to provide a summary of the laws that govern this access. The report includes:
- a checklist of the major requirements of these laws,
- best practices and practical advice for everyday situations,
- guidance on eliminating past practices that inadvertently add barriers to access
- a glossary of relevant terms that may be unfamiliar to some readers
Written by Victoria Owen (University of Toronto), Alexandra Kohn (McGill University) and Laurie Davidson (Executive Director of CELA), this guide is intended for use by alternate format producers, libraries, archives, museums, galleries, schools, colleges, universities and similar institutions and/or non-profit organizations acting for the benefit of people with perceptual disabilities, and for the users themselves. Below is a summary of the key sections of the report. The full report provides additional insights and recommendations for each of these sections.
Background
The provisions of the Copyright Act are intended to put people with a perceptual disability or print disability in the same position as those without a disability, with the goal of achieving equitable access to works.
Section 32(1) was first added to Canada's Copyright Act in 1997. Section 32(1) is intended both to encourage existing commercial markets to better serve those with a perceptual disability, and to provide a working solution to ensure copyright material is accessible even where it is not commercially available.
Perceptual disability is defined in Section 32 as follows: Perceptual disability means a disability that prevents or inhibits a person from reading or hearing a literary, musical, dramatic or artistic work in its original format, and includes such a disability resulting from:
- (a) severe or total impairment of sight or hearing or the inability to focus or move one’s eyes,
- (b) the inability to hold or manipulate a book, or
- (c) an impairment relating to comprehension (déficience perceptuelle)
In 2012 an addition was made to the Copyright Act, section 38.2 41.16 which allowed producers of alternate formats to circumvent a technological protection measures (TPM) for the sole purpose of making a work perceptible to the person with a perceptual disability.
In 2016, section s. 32.01(1) was modified to implements the provisions of the Marrakesh Treaty on the cross-border exchange of alternate format material for people with print disabilities around the world.
"Alternate format", the term used in the Copyright Act, generally applies to organizations making alternate formats, and refers to any format specially designed for persons with a perceptual disability and can include: 1) alternate formats (e.g., DAISY Audio, braille) or 2) mainstream formats that need accessibility features or functionality added by an alternate format producer or person with a perceptual disability (e.g. EPUB with the addition of page navigation and image descriptions).
Checklist for Alternate Format Production
The guide helps alternate format producers identify whether their organization is meeting the major requirements of the laws governing access to copyright material for people with a perceptual disability in Canada.
- Is the intended user a ‘person with a perceptual disability’?
- Are there other formats or additional accessibility features or functionality that will allow those users to better read, view, hear or comprehend the material?
- Are you a qualified person or organization?
- Have you checked if the material is commercially available in the format the user needs?
Best practices
The Best Practices section offers guidance on current legislation and moves towards establishing a nationally consistent implementation framework.
- Following a commercially available search, check whether the material is already available in the alternate format the person needs from other organizations’ collections
- When providing the material to a user, include an additional copyright notice related to the alternate format
- Request the digital file from publisher to facilitate the alternate format production process
- Properly manage electronic files of works in copyright
- Have clear documentation on your policies and practices in applying the exceptions
- Always make the use free
- Understand what the law allows for alternate format work
- Understand the limited liability associated with making an alternate format work
Practices to discontinue
This section helps organizations assess whether their practices or policies are unnecessary and not required by law, or which may create barriers to access for the user.
- Do not require the purchase of inaccessible works prior to making the alternate version.
- Do not destroy the alternate format version of the work.
- Do not spend excessive amounts of time trying to track down an accessible commercial work.
Conclusion
The provisions of Canada's Copyright Act are intended to put people with a perceptual disability or print disability in the same position as those without a disability, with the goal of achieving equitable access to works. This guide provides the practical information needed by those who are providing alternate formats and a better understanding of the law by those who rely on alternate formats.
The full report is available in French and English.
Accessible Content: A Guide to the Canadian Copyright Act on Searching for Accessible Formats and Producing and Distributing Alternate Formats