13268 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 57 / Thursday, March 26, 2009 / Notices 

1 Various terms are used formally and informally 

throughout the world. When inquiring about 

experiences within the United States, the term used 

in this Notice of Inquiry is that which appears in 

U.S. copyright law. See 17 U.S.C. 121(d)(2). There, 

the term ‘‘blind or persons with other disabilities’’ 

is defined to include individuals who are eligible 

or who may qualify in accordance with the Act 

entitled ‘‘An Act to provide books for the adult 

blind,’’ approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a; 46 

Stat. 1487). 

2This term appears in some relevant WIPO 

documents. See e.g. ‘‘Conclusions of the SCCR,’’ 

November 5–7, 2008, at http://www.wipo.int/edocs/ 

mdocs/copyright/en/sccr_17/ 

sccr_17_www_112533.pdf (last visited on March 20, 

2009). 

for information about materials not 

available through the Web site, and for 

assistance in using the Internet to locate 

docket submissions. 

V. Authority and Signature 

Donald G. Shalhoub, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary of Labor for Occupational 

Safety and Health, directed the 

preparation of this notice. The authority 

for this notice is the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 

et seq.) and Secretary of Labor’s Order 

No. 5–2007 (72 FR 31160). 

Signed at Washington, DC, on March 23, 

2009. 

Donald G. Shalhoub, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 

Occupational Safety and Health. 

[FR Doc. E9–6733 Filed 3–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–26–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Copyright Office 

Notice of Inquiry and Request for 

Comments on the Topic of Facilitating 

Access to Copyrighted Works for the 

Blind or Persons With Other 

Disabilities; Notice of Public Meeting 

AGENCY: United States Copyright Office, 

Library of Congress. 

ACTION: Notice of inquiry and request for 

comments; notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The United States Copyright 

Office (Copyright Office) and the United 

States Patent and Trademark Office 

(USPTO) seek comment on the topic of 

facilitating access to copyrighted works 

for ‘‘blind or persons with other 

disabilities’’ 1 in connection with a 

forthcoming meeting of the Standing 

Committee on Copyright and Related 

Rights of the World Intellectual Property 

Organization. Interested parties are 

invited to submit comments on the 

topics outlined in the supplementary 

information section of this notice. The 

Copyright Office and USPTO also 

announce a public meeting on the same 

topic. 

DATES: Initial comments on the Notice 

of Inquiry and Request for Comments 

are due on April 21, 2009. Reply 

comments are due on May 4, 2009. The 

public meeting will be held Monday, 

May 18, 2009, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 

p.m. 

ADDRESSES: 

Notice of Inquiry and Request for 

Comments 

If hand-delivered by a private party, 

an original and five copies of a comment 

or a reply comment should be brought 

to the Library of Congress, U.S. 

Copyright Office, Public Information 

Office, Room LM–401, 101 

Independence Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20559, between 8:30 

a.m. and 5 p.m. The envelope should be 

addressed as follows: Office of Policy 

and International Affairs, U.S. Copyright 

Office. If delivered by a commercial 

courier, an original and five copies of a 

comment or reply comment must be 

delivered to the Congressional Courier 

Acceptance Site (CCAS) located at 2nd 

and D Streets, NE., Washington, DC, 

between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The 

envelope should be addressed as 

follows: Office of Policy and 

International Affairs, U.S. Copyright 

Office, Room LM–403, James Madison 

Building, 101 Independence Avenue, 

SE., Washington, DC 20559. Please note 

that CCAS will not accept delivery by 

means of overnight delivery services 

such as Fedex, United Parcel Service, or 

DHL. If sent by mail (including 

overnight delivery using U.S. Postal 

Service Express Mail), an original and 

five copies of a comment or reply 

comment should be addressed to U.S. 

Copyright Office, Office of Policy and 

International Affairs, Copyright GC/I & 

R, P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 

20024. 

Public Meeting 

The public meeting will be held in the 

Montpelier Room of the Library of 

Congress, James Madison Building, 6th 

Floor, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20559. The process for 

submitting requests to attend and 

observe or participate in the meeting, as 

well as the agenda, will be published on 

the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office 

no later than April 8, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maria Pallante, Associate Register, 

Policy and International Affairs, or 

Michele Woods, Senior Counsel for 

Policy and International Affairs, by 

telephone at 202–707–1027, by 

facsimile at 202–707–8366 or by 

electronic mail at mpall@loc.gov or 

mwoo@loc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The United States is a Member State 

of the World Intellectual Property 

Organization (WIPO) and an active 

member of the Standing Committee on 

Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). At 

recent meetings of the SCCR, WIPO 

facilitated discussions on the topic of 

copyright limitations and exceptions, 

including limitations and exceptions for 

‘‘blind, visually impaired and other 

reading-disabled persons.’’ 2 At its next 

meeting (May 25–29, 2009), the SCCR 

will continue to consider this topic, 

among others, and will exchange 

information and experiences in order to 

deepen its collective understanding of 

the issues. As part of the process, the 

SCCR is looking to the copyright 

limitations and exceptions that are 

currently available for the benefit of the 

blind, visually impaired and other 

reading-disabled persons around the 

world, and has invited Member States to 

provide supplementary information 

regarding their national laws and 

experiences. 

In preparation for the meeting, the 

Copyright Office and the USPTO have 

been gathering relevant information. To 

date, the Copyright Office and USPTO 

have participated in a series of informal 

meetings and conference calls 

(primarily with stakeholders from the 

blind community, but also with 

representatives of the library, book 

publishing, software, motion picture, 

and nonprofit sectors) in which 

multiple specific issues have been 

identified and a number of common 

points have emerged. 

On the basis of these preliminary 

discussions, the Copyright Office and 

the USPTO understand that blind and 

other persons with disabilities in the 

United States navigate many complex 

challenges when it comes to accessing 

copyrighted works. Common refrains 

include delays in obtaining accessible 

texts (with timeliness of accessible 

materials a particular problem for 

students at all levels), compatibility 

problems between available formats and 

the hardware devices employed by the 

reader, and inconsistencies in the 

quality and accuracy of the available, 

reformatted works. At the international 

level, the Copyright Office and the 

USPTO were made aware of the existing 

framework through which accessible 

works move across borders (i.e. through 

private agreement and interlibrary 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 57 / Thursday, March 26, 2009 / Notices 13269 

programs), as well as some of the 

difficulties the framework presents. 

Possible Actions 

Through discussions with 

stakeholders and previous meetings of 

the SCCR, the Copyright Office and 

USPTO are aware of some measures that 

might be appropriate for action at the 

national or international levels (through 

Member States, WIPO or other 

mechanisms). Such possible actions 

include the following: (1) Developing 

standardized accessibility formats and 

other technical norms; (2) establishing 

trusted intermediaries to coordinate 

resources, eliminate unnecessary 

duplication of accessible works, and 

ensure best practices; (3) providing 

technical assistance, coordination, and 

educational outreach; (4) promoting 

market-based solutions achieved 

through private sector copyright 

licenses or other agreements; and (5) 

developing binding or non-binding 

international instruments, including a 

treaty that would establish minimum 

requirements for limitations and 

exceptions for blind, visually impaired 

and other reading-disabled persons. The 

Copyright Office and the USPTO are 

interested in learning how these areas of 

focus might address existing difficulties 

with access to copyright works, whether 

applied alone or in combination with 

each other. Suggestions as to measures 

not covered above are also welcome. 

Please note that WIPO posts various 

documents from its meetings on its Web 

site, including reports and agendas 

related to the consideration of copyright 

limitations and exceptions. Documents 

from SCCR meetings that included 

consideration of this issue can be found 

by starting at http://www.wipo.int/ 

meetings/en/topic.jsp?group_id=62 and 

following the link to information for 

each specific meeting. A study on 

copyright limitations and exceptions for 

the visually impaired can be found at 

http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/ 

doc_details.jsp?doc_id=75696. 

Subjects of Inquiry 

At this time, in order to allow further 

opportunity for interested persons to 

provide their views, the Copyright 

Office and the USPTO are seeking 

comment on several focused topics 

related to the provision of access to 

copyrighted works for blind and other 

persons with disabilities. Unless 

otherwise specified, the focus of the 

inquiry is the experiences of interested 

parties residing or doing business in the 

United States. Nevertheless, parties 

should not feel constrained from 

describing transnational experiences 

and situations if they are illustrative of 

a problem or success. 

A. Experiences of Persons Within the 

United States With Respect To 

Accessing U.S. Works or Sharing 

Accessible Copies Within the United 

States 

In general, the Copyright Office and 

the USPTO seek to learn more about the 

experiences of the blind or persons with 

other disabilities with respect to 

accessing and sharing U.S. copyrighted 

works within the United States. Please 

reference any specific policies, practices 

and projects that exist or are emerging 

in the education, library and business 

sectors while considering the questions 

set forth below. 

1. Applicable Statutory or Regulatory 

Provisions: The United States has 

relevant existing limitations on 

exclusive rights in the Copyright Act. 

Section 121 (the so-called ‘‘Chafee 

Amendment’’) authorizes the 

reproduction of copyrighted works for 

blind or other persons with disabilities 

under certain circumstances. Section 

121(a) contains general language 

providing that it is not copyright 

infringement ‘‘for an authorized entity 

to reproduce or to distribute copies or 

phonorecords of a previously published, 

nondramatic literary work if such copies 

or phonorecords are produced or 

distributed in specialized formats 

exclusively for use by blind or other 

persons with disabilities.’’ Section 

121(c) provides a specific limitation 

applicable to publishers of ‘‘print 

instructional materials for use in 

elementary or secondary schools’’ so 

that they may create and distribute 

electronic files consistent with the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act (IDEA). 17 U.S.C. 21(c). Those 

electronic files must use the National 

Instructional Material Accessibility 

Standard (NIMAS). Id. How have the 

Chafee Amendment and related 

statutory and regulatory provisions 

worked in practice? 

2. Private Sector Initiatives: The 

Copyright Office and the USPTO are 

aware that book publishers have been 

involved in the development and 

implementation of Section 121 and 

other laws applicable to disabilities and 

education. What are additional ways in 

which the private sector facilitates, or 

plans to facilitate, access to copyrighted 

works? Please identify and describe in 

detail any existing business models, 

licensing schemes, or technological 

innovations that are relevant, not only 

for books but for other copyrighted 

works, e.g., magazines, newspapers, 

motion pictures, and software. To date, 

what has been the result of these efforts 

in terms of achieving accessible 

content? Do best practices exist? 

Turning to the nonprofit sector, what 

are the activities, business models, or 

technology platforms that have emerged 

and what has been the result to date? 

What if any are the additional projects 

under consideration? 

3. Library Programs: Libraries play an 

important role in providing access to 

copyrighted works for the blind or 

persons with other disabilities. The 

Library of Congress, through its National 

Library Service for the Blind and 

Physically Handicapped, provides 

Braille and audio materials (e.g., talking 

books) to eligible borrowers through 

cooperating libraries in the United 

States. NLS also provides interlibrary 

loan services to citizens of other 

countries through qualified libraries or 

other institutions in those countries. 

Private organizations, such as 

Bookshare, provide access to digital 

materials through an online searchable 

library. What other sorts of libraries or 

library services currently facilitate 

access to copyrighted works? What 

physical and digital delivery methods 

are being used? What initiatives have 

libraries taken to develop new services 

and to respond to evolving needs and 

technologies? What coordination exists 

among national and international library 

services? 

4. Standardized Formats, Programs 

and Devices: In recent years, 

entrepreneurs and other representatives 

of the blind or persons with other 

disabilities have made significant 

progress in efforts to upgrade and 

standardize the technical formats, 

programs and devices that allow access 

to books and other text. These include 

the talking-book format of DAISY 

(Digital Accessible Information System) 

that is compatible with screen readers, 

as well as stationary and portable 

DAISY players that feature syntheticvoices, and various versions of scanand-read software. Paper-based Braille 

has evolved into digital formats that 

offer refreshable displays and nonlinear 

search capabilities when used with 

applicable devices. Are there additional 

innovations in use or under 

development today and, if so, what is 

their focus? What are the impediments, 

and possible solutions, for improving 

existing standardized formats, programs 

and devices, developing new ones, and/ 

or facilitating their interoperability? 

5. Resources: To what degree is a lack 

of sufficient resources a factor in 

providing access to the blind or persons 

with other disabilities? What 

governmental, private sector, nonprofit, 

or philanthropic resources exist? What 

types of resources are most needed? 

13270 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 57 / Thursday, March 26, 2009 / Notices 

What approaches to expanding available 

resources are most promising? What 

objectives could be met and in what 

time frame if additional resources were 

available? 

B. Experiences of Persons Within the 

United States With Respect To 

Accessing Foreign Works or Sharing 

Accessible Copies of U.S. Works With 

Foreign Persons 

Please comment on the experiences of 

the blind or persons with other 

disabilities with respect to accessing 

foreign works within the United States, 

or sharing accessible copies of U.S. 

works with similarly-situated persons 

outside the United States. What kinds of 

specific policies, practices and projects 

exist or are emerging in the education, 

library and business sectors? How do 

existing laws create incentives or 

constrain efforts? Please describe the 

ways in which technology has 

influenced or could assist in providing 

access to foreign works or the sharing of 

accessible copies. What are the legal or 

practical impediments to transnational 

access and how are they interrelated? 

C. Other Comments on Facilitating and 

Enhancing Access to Copyrighted Works 

Please comment on the likely success 

of measures identified above under the 

subsection entitled ‘‘Possible Actions’’ 

under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

How might the measures best be 

leveraged, alone or in combination, to 

enhance access for the blind or other 

persons with disabilities? Are there 

additional governmental or private 

sector actions that might serve the 

objective of enhancing access to 

copyrighted works for the blind or 

persons with other disabilities? 

Dated: March 20, 2009. 

Maria Pallante, 

Associate Register for Policy & International 

Affairs, U.S. Copyright Office. 

[FR Doc. E9–6637 Filed 3–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–30–P 

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH 

REVIEW COMMISSION 

Meeting; Sunshine Act 

March 20, 2009. 

TIME AND DATE: 10 a.m., Thursday, 

March 26, 2009. 

PLACE: The Richard V. Backley Hearing 

Room, 9th Floor, 601 New Jersey 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. 

STATUS: Open. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The 

Commission will consider and act upon 

the following in open session: Peter J. 

Phillips v. A&S Construction Co., 

Docket No. WEST 2008–1057–DM. 

(Issues include whether, under section 

105(c)(2) of the Mine Act, an order of 

temporary reinstatement remains in 

effect after the Secretary of Labor has 

determined, following her investigation, 

that no unlawful discrimination has 

occurred.) 

Any person attending this meeting 

who requires special accessibility 

features and/or auxiliary aids, such as 

sign language interpreters, must inform 

the Commission in advance of those 

needs. Subject to 29 CFR 2706.150(a)(3) 

and § 2706.160(d). 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFO: Jean 

Ellen (202) 434–9950/(202) 708–9300 

for TDD Relay/1–800–877–8339 for toll 

free. 

[FR Doc. E9–6843 Filed 3–24–09; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection, 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans 

to request clearance for this collection. 

In accordance with the requirement of 

Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing 

opportunity for public comment on this 

action. After obtaining and considering 

public comment, NSF will prepare the 

submission requesting OMB clearance 

of this collection for no longer than 

three years. 

Comments are invited on (a) whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Agency, 

including whether the information shall 

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of 

the Agency’s estimate of the burden of 

the proposed collection of information; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology; 

and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received by May 26, 2009, to be assured 

of consideration. Comments received 

after that date will be considered to the 

extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

regarding the information collection and 

requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request should be 

addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports 

Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, 

Room 295, Arlington, VA 22230, or by 

e-mail to splimpton@nsf.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Suzanne Plimpton on (703) 292–7556 or 

send e-mail to splimpton@nsf.gov. 

Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, 

Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title of Collection: DUE Project Data 

Form. 

OMB Control No.: 3145–0201. 

Expiration Date of Approval: August 

31, 2009. 

Abstract: The Division of 

Undergraduate Education (DUE) Project 

Data Form is a component of all grant 

proposals submitted to NSF’s Division 

of Undergraduate Education. This form 

collects information needed to direct 

proposals to appropriate reviewers and 

to report the estimated collective impact 

of proposed projects on institutions, 

students, and faculty members. 

Requested information includes the 

discipline of the proposed project, 

collaborating organizations involved in 

the project, the academic level on which 

the project focuses (e.g., lower-level 

undergraduate courses, upper-level 

undergraduate courses), characteristics 

of the organization submitting the 

proposal, special audiences (if any) that 

the project would target (e.g., women, 

minorities, persons with disabilities), 

strategic foci (if any) of the project (e.g., 

research on teaching and learning, 

international activities, integration of 

research and education), and the 

number of students and faculty at 

different educational levels who would 

benefit from the project. 

Respondents: Investigators who 

submit proposals to NSF’s Division of 

Undergraduate Education. 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 2,500. 

Burden on the Public: 20 minutes (per 

response) for an annual total of 833 

hours. 

Dated: March 23, 2009. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. E9–6746 Filed 3–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P