Marrakesh VIP Treaty

The treaty seeks to remedy a "book famine" for people who are unable to access standard print materials.[7] Before the implementation of the treaty, the World Blind Union estimated that over 90% of copyrighted works were not produced in accessible formats;[8] in developing countries, this number drops to around 1% of published materials.[9]

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.[10] 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."[10] 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.[11] In contrast, Australia prior to the treaty already had copyright exemptions that applied to all literary and dramatic works.[12] Establishing a treaty had as a goal creating one set of rules to help facilitate sharing of all manner of works across international borders.[13]

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;[14] the 20th ratification was received on 30 June 2016, and the treaty entered into force on 30 September 2016.[15][16]

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 ".[37] 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.

• 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.