Abstract:
"This article launches first into its discussion on the importance of taking into account users such as visually impaired persons (“VIPs”) in copyright laws, and also the factors that have made it all the more pertinent to resolve this issue at the international and domestic levels. It then discusses the stance taken to copyright exceptions for VIPs under international conventions and treaties, and evaluates the proposals recently put forth at the international level for compliance with obligations imposed under existing main international intellectual property instruments. Thereafter, this article proceeds with an overview of Singapore’s position and attempts to delineate the current copyright exceptions available to benefit VIPs in Singapore. It identifies the reasons for the failure of VIPs and their intermediaries in utilising existing copyright exceptions in the Singapore landscape. This article concludes by proposing that a multi-pronged approach, at a legislative as well as at a practical level, is required to improve the position of VIPs and their intermediaries under copyright laws.