Patent Landscape Report on Assistive Devices and Technologies for Visually and Hearing Impaired Persons
Publication year: 2015
DOI: English
This is the first report of the WIPO Patent Landscape Report series in the area of disabilities. It presents research on various assistive devices and technologies, includes an analysis on the geographical distribution of patent protection of these technologies, and features business data on major patent portfolios as well as a round-up of key innovators. Additionally, the report touches on technologies serving the same goals as the Marrakesh Treaty and the Accessible Book Consortium (ABC), namely those facilitating access of visually and hearing impaired persons to published works.
Assistive devices and technologies for persons with visual and hearing impairments aim to increase vision, hearing, and communication capacities among those affected. Some of the technologies that have been extensively researched and are covered in this report include:
- Vision and hearing aids
- Prostheses and implants
- Voice recognition and control
- Touch/tactile/haptic technology
- Sensor technology
- Visual or sound recognition
- Electronic stimulation
- Specialized software/special accessibility features of technology products
Additionally, the report touches on technologies serving the same goals as the Marrakesh Treaty and the Accessible Book Consortium (ABC), namely those facilitating access of visually and hearing impaired persons to published works.
The report is also available in a Word version which has been enhanced for accessibility. Amendments in this version include structural enrichment, color adjustments, enhanced images and the creation of alternate text descriptions to support all of the graphics and tables throughout the document. To help us improve the accessibility of future reports we welcome your feedback and comments to: patent.information@wipo.int.
