Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, Or Otherwise Print Disabled

Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, Or Otherwise Print Disabled

Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled in 2013

United States views on international law [1] in relation to Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled: On June 27, 2013 in Marrakesh, the United States along with other member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) formally adopted the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. The Marrakesh Treaty was the outcome of a WIPO Diplomatic Conference hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco. The full text of the Treaty is available at (link resource) wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=245323. The Marrakesh Treaty obliges nations to establish copyright exceptions for people with print disabilities and aims to increase the international exchange of accessible-format copies of published works. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a press release on the adoption of the Treaty, available at (link resource) uspto.gov/news/pr/2013/13-21.jsp, as did the U.S. Copyright Office, available at (link resource) copyright.gov/newsnet/2013/510.html. The White House statement on the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty is available at (President's Subdomain) whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/28/landmark-treaty-visually-impaired. The U.S. closing statement at the diplomatic conference is available at (link resource) geneva.usmission.gov/2013/06/27/wipo-marrakesh/ and includes the following:

…We are proud to have participated in a Diplomatic Conference that has produced … an international agreement to significantly improve access to printed works for persons with print disabilities while preserving the integrity of the international copyright system.

Some Aspects of Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled

…[W]e have always said that crafting an international instrument on copyright exceptions for persons with print disabilities is just one step on the road to ensuring that the blind and others with print disabilities have a chance to get the information and education they need and to live independently as full citizens in their communities.

Developments

But our efforts today are really just the beginning of a new chapter in the struggle of the blind. Not only will Member States have to ratify this treaty, but scores of countries need to join the approximately 60 Member States that have clear exceptions in their national copyright laws for the blind; additional authorized entities will have to be established and capacity built; confidence in cross-border exchange of accessible format copies will have to increase as the new international legal framework sets in.

Details

The United States signed the Marrakesh Treaty in Geneva on October 2, 2013.

Resources

Notes

  1. Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law

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