

Ironically this image was locked away in an inaccessible PDF! so here is the text in an accessible format:

Intellectual Property & Disability

IP law implicitly relies on abstract conceptions of “ordinary” people. What does this mean for people with disabilities?

An architectural achievement that can’t be touched…

The Architectural Works Copyright Protections Act of 1990 exempts from infringement “pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictorial representations” of copyrighted buildings. This safe harbor protects the interest of the public in being able to perceive great works of architecture. But the exemptions do not embrace three-dimesional models, which can be perceived by the visually impaired.

Thus, under the current state of copyright law, blind persons do not have the same rights as others to appreciate the curves of Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Rights That you are exercising right now.

The above image is by Eric E. Jonson, Assistant Professor of Law, Univeristy or North Dakota. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith Download your own copy.

I strongly agree with this poster, too often copyright law does not consider the impact on those of us with disabilities.