The Marrakesh Treaty

SUMMARY OF:

The Marrakesh Treaty on print access for visually impaired persons

Decision (EU) 2018/254 on the conclusion of the Marrakesh Treaty

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE TREATY AND OF THE DECISION?

The Marrakesh Treaty aims to improve the availability and cross-border exchanges of certain works and other protected subject matter in accessible formats for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled.

The decision authorises the conclusion of the treaty by the EU.

The Marrakesh Treaty has been implemented in EU law by Directive (EU) 2017/1564 and Regulation (EU) 2017/1563.

KEY POINTS

The Marrakesh Treaty requires contracting parties to allow for exceptions or limitations to copyright and related rights to reproduce and disseminate copies, in accessible formats, of certain works and other protected subject matter, and for the international circulation of those copies.

Beneficiary persons

The beneficiary persons under the treaty are those affected by a range of disabilities that interfere with the effective reading of printed material. They comprise persons who are blind, or have a learning, physical or visual disability that prevents them from reading and understanding printed material, or holding or manipulating books or other printed works (beneficiary persons under the treaty).

This includes works ‘in the form of text, notation and/or related illustrations, whether published or otherwise made publicly available in any media’, including audiobooks.

The treaty also recognises the role of authorised entities which may, on a non-profit basis, make accessible format copies of published works, for non-commercial lending or electronic distribution, as long as access to the work is lawful, making only those changes needed to make the work accessible, and supplying the copies only for use by beneficiary persons.

Exceptions or limitations to copyright, including for import and export

The treaty requires the parties to introduce an exception or a limitation to national copyright laws to allow the reproduction and dissemination of accessible format copies.

In addition, in order to facilitate international circulation of books available in accessible format copies, the treaty requires parties to allow the import and export of accessible format copies under certain conditions:

a copy may be imported without rightsholder authorisation;
accessible format copies can be exported by an authorised entity to a beneficiary person or other authorised entity for the exclusive use of the works by beneficiary persons.

Parties to the treaty

Membership of the treaty is open to World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) members and the EU. The treaty requires WIPO to establish an ‘information access point’ to allow the voluntary sharing of information and the identification of authorised entities. It also establishes an Assembly of the Contracting Parties whose main task is to maintain and develop the treaty.

EU ratification

On 13 September 2017, Regulation (EU) 2017/1563 and Directive (EU) 2017/1564 introduced into EU law the new mandatory exception to copyright rules, in line with the treaty. On 15 February 2018, Council Decision (EU) 2018/254 approved the conclusion of the treaty prior to full ratification.

FROM WHEN DOES THE TREATY APPLY?

The Marrakesh Treaty entered into force on 30 September 2016, 3 months after the required number of 20 parties to the treaty was reached.

The Council decision approving the treaty’s conclusion was adopted on 15 February 2018, with EU ratification of the treaty following on 12 October 2018.

BACKGROUND

The EU Court of Justice ruled in 2017 that the EU has exclusive competence and that the Marrakesh Treaty may be concluded by the EU acting on its own, without the participation of individual EU countries.

Parties to the treaty have the freedom to implement its provisions taking into account their own legal systems and practices, complying with the three-step test obligations established in Article 9(2) of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Under the convention, any exception or limitation must not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and must not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author.

For more information, see:

Implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in EU law (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled (OJ L 48, 21.2.2018, pp. 3-11)

Council Decision (EU) 2018/254 of 15 February 2018 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 (OJ L 48, 21.2.2018, pp. 1-2)