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Marrakesh VIP Treaty

Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works to Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities
Map of countries where the Treaty is in force as of November 2023.
Type	Multilateral
Signed	28 June 2013 (2013-06-28)
Location	Marrakesh, Morocco
Effective	30 September 2016 (2016-09-30)
Condition	Ratification of 20 states
Signatories	80
Parties	97 (123 countries including EUs 27 member states)
Depositary	World Intellectual Property Organization

The Marrakesh VIP Treaty (formally the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, colloquially Marrakesh Treaty or MVT) is a treaty on copyright adopted in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 27 June 2013. It achieved the deposit of 20 instruments of ratification or accession by eligible parties needed for entry into force on June 30, 2016 and entered into force three months later, on September 30, 2016. As of February 2023, the treaty has 97 contracting parties covering 123 WIPO Member States because the European Union joined as a block.

History

The treaty seeks to remedy a "book famine" for people who are unable to access standard print materials. Before the implementation of the treaty, the World Blind Union estimated that over 90% of copyrighted works were not produced in accessible formats; in developing countries, this number drops to around 1% of published materials.

Before the treaty was signed, under one third of countries provided a copyright exception to allow the sharing of works to people with disabilities without the copyright holders permission. However, even when these copyright exemptions were present, individual countries could not share materials between themselves. As an example, the World Blind Union notes: "In Spain, for example, there are approximately 100,000 accessible books, whereas Argentina has only about 25,000. Yet Spain's accessible books cannot be exported legally to Argentina or to other Spanish-speaking countries." Additionally, where copyright exemptions did exist, they were not always uniform in nature. The United States has long had the Chafee Amendment, which among other things allows for the existence of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. However, this copyright exemption before the treaty only applied to previously published nondramatic literary works. In contrast, Australia prior to the treaty already had copyright exemptions that applied to all literary and dramatic works. Establishing a treaty had as a goal creating one set of rules to help facilitate sharing of all manner of works across international borders.

Treaty

The treaty allows for copyright exceptions to facilitate the creation of accessible versions of books and other copyrighted works for visually impaired persons. It sets a norm for countries ratifying the treaty to have a domestic copyright exception covering these activities and allowing for the import and export of such materials.

Sixty-three countries signed the treaty as of the close of the diplomatic conference in Marrakesh. The ratification of 20 states was required for the treaty to enter into effect; the 20th ratification was received on 30 June 2016, and the treaty entered into force on 30 September 2016.

Ratification

India was the first country to ratify the treaty, on 24 July 2014. As of October 15, 2018, 80 countries have signed the Treaty and 123 states have ratified it including EU's 28 member-states who ratified as one entity (notification number 45), and most recently Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The European Union ratified the treaty for all 28 members on October 1, 2018. The provisions of the Treaty went into effect across the EU (including in the United Kingdom) on January 1, 2019.

The UK left the EU on January 31, 2020. but was covered by the EU's ratification of the treaty until December 31, 2020. The UK deposited their instrument of ratification on October 1, 2020. This meant that on January 1, 2021, the UK became a contracting party in its own right.

On September 20, 2017, the EU Commission published a directive and a regulation on the Marrakesh treaty that had to be transposed into national law, in all 28 member states; the deadline for transposition was October 11, 2018. Member states were required to update their national laws to implement the Treaty's requirements later in 2018. This followed a lengthy and occasionally controversial process that began shortly after the treaty was initially passed. In March 2015, the Council of the European Union accused the European Commission of delaying the adoption of the treaty by EU and called upon the Commission "to submit without delay the necessary legislative proposal". There was continued opposition by some EU member states.

On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Senate approved it and the implementation bill S. 2559 without apparent opposition; the House approved S.2559 via unanimous consent on September 25, 2018. The bill and the Treaty were signed into law by President Trump on October 9, 2018. As a result, on February 8, 2019, the United States of America formally joined the treaty.

Countries which have ratified the treaty

By July 8, 2024, 97 Contracting Parties (123 countries) around the world had ratified or acceded to the Marrakesh treaty. See table below:

Notes

1. As declared in the instrument, the treaty applies to both Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR, but not yet apply to Macau SAR.

Initiatives

The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC), launched in 2014, was conceived as "one possible initiative, among others, to concretely achieve the goals of the Marrakesh Treaty". ABC aims to increase the number of books worldwide in accessible formats – such as braille, audio and large print – and to make them available to people who are blind, have low vision or are otherwise print disabled.

References

1. ^ "WIPO-Administered Treaties". Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
2. "Summary of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled". World Intellectual Property Organization. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
3. ^ "Summary of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (MVT) (2013)". Wipo.int. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
4. "Diplomatic Conference to Conclude a Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities". World Intellectual Property Organization. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
5. "Between the lines: Blind people defeat lobbyists in a tussle about copyright". The Economist. 20 July 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
6. "Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled". Wipo.int. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
7. Kaminski, Margot E.; Yanisky-Ravid, Shlomit (2014). "The Marrakesh Treaty For Visually Impaired Persons: Why A Treaty Was Preferable To Soft Law". University of Pittsburgh Law Review. 75 (3): 259. doi:10.5195/lawreview.2014.338.
8. "Marrakesh Treaty". World Blind Union. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
9. "Ending the book famine : The Marrakesh Treaty". The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
10. ^ Laurence R. Helfer; Molly K. Land; Ruth L. Okediji; Jerome H. Reichman. The World Blind Union Guide to the Marrakesh Treaty. World Blind Union. p. 13. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
11. "Understanding the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act" (PDF). copyirght.gov. United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
12. "Marrakesh Treaty implementation options paper" (PDF). Attorney-General's Department. 2014-11-01. p. 4. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
13. "The Marrakesh Treaty – Helping to end the global book famine" (PDF). WIPO. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
14. "Stevie Wonder hails landmark WIPO treaty boosting access to books for blind and visually impaired persons". World Intellectual Property Organization. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
15. Canada's Accession to Marrakesh Treaty Brings Treaty into Force, WIPO Press Release, June 30, 2016, archived from the original on July 4, 2016, retrieved July 6, 2016
16. David Hammerstein. "Marrakesh Treaty: Day 1". Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
17. "TREATY/MARRAKESH/1: [Marrakesh Treaty] Ratification by the Republic of India". Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
18. Joshua, Anita (2014-07-02). "India ratifies Marrakesh Treaty for visually impaired". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
19. "Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled" (PDF). Wipo.int. 24 February 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
20. "TREATY/MARRAKESH/45: [Marrakesh Treaty] Ratification by the European Union". Archived from the original on 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
21. https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/treaties/notifications/details/treaty_marrakesh_99
22. @WIPO (October 1, 2018). "European Union 🇪🇺 joins the "books for blind" 📚 #MarrakeshTreaty, now covering 70 countries across the globe:…" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019 – via Twitter.
23. "EUR-Lex - 32017L1564". Eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
24. "TREATY/MARRAKESH/75: [Marrakesh Treaty] Ratification by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Wipo.int. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
25. "Implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in EU law". 6 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
26. European Blind Union. "The Marrakesh Treaty". Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
27. "Marrakesh in the EU: facing the excuses and delay tactics after Council statement". IP Policy Committee blog. TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
28. "Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled — Guidance for further work" (PDF). Council of the European Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
29. David Hammerstein. "Germany moves against "right to read" Marrakesh Treaty for visually-impaired persons". Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
30. "Legislative Search Results". Archived from the original on 2019-02-06. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
31. "President Donald J. Trump Signs H.R. 46, H.R. 2259, H.R. 4854, H.R. 4958, S. 791, S. 1668 and S. 2559 into Law". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2018-10-10 – via National Archives.
32. Alan K. Ota. With Only One Vote, McConnell Approves Treaty for the Blind Archived 2018-07-02 at the Wayback Machine, Roll Call. 29 June 2018
33. "Actions - S.2559 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act". 2018-10-09. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
34. "USA Joins Marrakesh Treaty as 50th Member". wipo.int. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
35. "WIPO-Administered Treaties". Wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
36. "TREATY/MARRAKESH/87: [Marrakesh Treaty] Ratification by the People's Republic of China". Wipo.int.
37. "Bright days ahead for blind learners". Monitor. 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2022-05-09.

External links

• The Marrakesh Treaty on WIPO
• Contracting Parties > Marrakesh VIP Treaty (WIPO official list of signatories)
• The full text of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled (in English) in the WIPO Lex database — official website of WIPO.

• World Intellectual Property Organization treaties
• 2013 in Morocco
• Treaties concluded in 2013
• Copyright treaties
• Treaties of Argentina
• Treaties of Australia
• Treaties of Brazil
• Treaties of Canada
• Treaties of Chile
• Treaties of Ecuador
• Treaties of El Salvador
• Treaties of Guatemala
• Treaties of India
• Treaties of Indonesia
• Treaties of Israel
• Treaties of Mali
• Treaties of Mexico
• Treaties of Mongolia
• Treaties of North Korea
• Treaties of Paraguay
• Treaties of Peru
• Treaties of Singapore
• Treaties of South Korea
• Treaties of the United Arab Emirates
• Treaties of the United States
• Treaties of Uruguay
• Treaties entered into force in 2016
• Blindness equipment