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A new international instrument on Access to Knowledge (A2K) could be
in the wings, with the first public release of a draft set of
proposed amendments to the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer
Protection. These forward-looking A2K provisions are the
culmination of months of online and face-to-face collaboration by
Consumers International members from around the world.<br>
<br>
The draft A2K amendments are now officially open for broader public
comment at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://A2Knetwork.org/guidelines">http://A2Knetwork.org/guidelines</a>.<br>
<br>
The UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection, which recently celebrated
their 25th year, are a "soft law" statement of principles for
consumer protection policy. From this document, the global consumer
movement has drawn its eight consumer rights, which include the
right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose and
the right to be heard.<br>
<br>
In proposing A2K as the next area to be added to the Guidelines by
the UN, we have drafted amendments to:<br>
<ul>
<li>Set minimum standards for essential copyright limitations and
exceptions for consumers.</li>
<li>Stop suppliers from using technology to cripple digital
products or unreasonably limit the ways in which consumers can
use them.</li>
<li>Promote a permissive approach to copyright to facilitate
non-commercial creativity by consumers.</li>
<li>Require that the dissemination of consumer safety information,
and consumer-facing codes and standards, is free of copyright
constraints.<br>
</li>
<li>Prohibit IP rights from being enforced in ways that trample on
consumers' human rights.</li>
<li>Ensure that consumers retain access to their own data in
formats that they can use, and that such data is projected
against misuse.<br>
</li>
</ul>
Your input on the draft amendments is invited between now and 31
August 2011. The online working space for the amendments allows you
to browse the Guidelines section by section, and to attach your
comments to individual paragraphs in a threaded fashion. All
comments will be taken into account and responded to by the drafting
committee.<br>
<br>
We look forward to collaborating with you on this important
initiative.<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: black;">Dr
Jeremy Malcolm<br>
Project Coordinator</span></b><br>
<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;">Consumers
International</span><br>
<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: gray;">Kuala Lumpur Office
for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East<br>
Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia<br>
Tel: +60 3 7726 1599</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Consumers
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that, working together with its members, serves as the only
independent and authoritative global voice for consumers. With
over 220 member organisations in 115 countries, we are
building a powerful international movement to help protect and
empower consumers everywhere.</span><span style="font-size:
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