Marrakesh VIP Treaty

For other uses, see Marrakesh Treaty (disambiguation).

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^[2]) is a treaty on copyright adopted in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 27 June 2013.^[3][4][5] 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.^[3] As of November 2024, the treaty has 98 contracting parties covering 124 WIPO Member States because the European Union joined as a block.^[6]

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[1]
Parties	98 (124 countries including EUs 27 member states)
Depositary	World Intellectual Property Organization

History

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]

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

Ratification

India was the first country to ratify the treaty,^[17][18] on 24 July 2014. As of October 15, 2018,^[19] 80 countries have signed the Treaty and 124 states have ratified it including EU's 28 member-states who ratified as one entity (notification number 45),^[20][1] and most recently Georgia.^[21]

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.^[22]

The UK left the EU on January 31, 2020.^[23] 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.^[24] 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.^[25] Member states were required to update their national laws to implement the Treaty's requirements later in 2018.^[26] 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".^[27][28] There was continued opposition by some EU member states.^[29]

On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Senate approved it and the implementation bill S. 2559^[30] 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.^[31][32][33] As a result, on February 8, 2019, the United States of America formally joined the treaty.^[34]

Countries which have ratified the treaty

By November 26, 2024, 98 Contracting Parties (124 countries) worldwide had ratified or acceded to the Marrakesh treaty.^[35] See table below:

Contracting Party	Signature	Instrument	In Force
Afghanistan	June 28, 2013	Ratification: July 26, 2018	October 26, 2018
Argentina	May 21, 2014	Ratification: April 1, 2015	September 30, 2016
Armenia		Accession: June 1, 2022	September 1, 2022
Australia	June 23, 2014	Ratification: December 10, 2015	September 30, 2016
Austria	June 25, 2014
Azerbaijan		Accession: September 24, 2018	December 24, 2018
Bangladesh		Accession: September 26, 2022	December 26, 2022
Barbados		Accession: February 20, 2023	May 20, 2023
Belarus		Accession: July 22, 2020	October 22, 2020
Belgium	June 25, 2014		See European Union
Belize		Accession: November 9, 2018	February 9, 2019
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)		Accession: March 12, 2019	June 12, 2019
Bosnia and Herzegovina	June 28, 2013	Ratification: January 20, 2021	April 20, 2021
Botswana		Accession: October 5, 2016	January 5, 2017
Brazil	June 28, 2013	Ratification: December 11, 2015	September 30, 2016
Burkina Faso	June 28, 2013	Ratification: July 31, 2017	October 31, 2017
Burundi	June 28, 2013
Cabo Verde		Accession: February 22, 2019	May 22, 2019
Cambodia	June 28, 2013
Cameroon	June 28, 2013	Ratification: October 5, 2021	January 5, 2022
Canada		Accession: June 30, 2016	September 30, 2016
Central African Republic	June 28, 2013	Ratification: August 19, 2020	November 19, 2020
Chad	June 28, 2013
Chile	June 28, 2013	Ratification: May 10, 2016	September 30, 2016
China[note 1]	June 28, 2013	Ratification: February 5, 2022[36]	May 5, 2022
Colombia	June 28, 2013
Comoros	June 28, 2013	Ratification: January 25, 2021	April 25, 2021
Congo	June 28, 2013
Cook Islands		Accession: March 19, 2019	June 19, 2019
Costa Rica	June 28, 2013	Ratification: October 9, 2017	January 9, 2018
Côte d'Ivoire	June 28, 2013
Cyprus	June 28, 2013		See European Union
Czech Republic	June 24, 2014
Democratic People's Republic of Korea	June 28, 2013	Ratification: February 19, 2016	September 30, 2016
Denmark	June 28, 2013		See European Union
Djibouti	June 28, 2013
Dominican Republic	June 28, 2013	Ratification: June 5, 2018	September 5, 2018
Ecuador	May 8, 2014	Ratification: June 29, 2016	September 30, 2016
El Salvador	October 11, 2013	Ratification: October 1, 2014	September 30, 2016
Ethiopia	June 28, 2013	Ratification: November 2, 2020	February 2, 2021
European Union (EU)	April 30, 2014	Ratification: October 1, 2018	January 1, 2019
Finland	June 20, 2014		See European Union
France	April 30, 2014
Georgia		Accession: November 26, 2024	February 26, 2025
Germany	June 20, 2014		See European Union
Ghana	June 28, 2013	Ratification: May 11, 2018	August 11, 2018
Greece	April 30, 2014		See European Union
Guatemala	June 2, 2014	Ratification: June 29, 2016	September 30, 2016
Guinea	June 28, 2013
Haiti	June 28, 2013
Holy See	June 28, 2013
Honduras		Accession: March 29, 2017	June 29, 2017
Iceland		Accession: December 9, 2021	March 9, 2022
India	April 30, 2014	Ratification: June 24, 2014	September 30, 2016
Indonesia	September 24, 2013	Ratification: January 28, 2020	April 28, 2020
Iran (Islamic Republic of)	June 27, 2014
Iraq		Accession: April 23, 2024	July 23, 2024
Ireland	June 20, 2014		See European Union
Israel		Accession: March 21, 2016	September 30, 2016
Jamaica		Accession: May 28, 2024	August 28, 2024
Japan		Accession: October 1, 2018	January 1, 2019
Jordan	June 28, 2013	Ratification: June 26, 2018	September 26, 2018
Kazakhstan
Kenya	June 28, 2013	Ratification: June 2, 2017	September 2, 2017
Kiribati		Accession: July 31, 2019	October 31, 2019
Kyrgyzstan		Accession: May 15, 2017	August 15, 2017
Lebanon	June 28, 2013
Lesotho		Accession: April 30, 2018	July 30, 2018
Liberia		Accession: October 6, 2016	January 6, 2017
Liechtenstein		Accession: September 22, 2021	December 22, 2021
Lithuania	September 27, 2013		See European Union
Luxembourg	June 28, 2013		See European Union
Malawi		Accession: July 14, 2017	October 14, 2017
Malaysia		Accession: March 31, 2022	June 30, 2022
Mali	June 28, 2013	Ratification: December 16, 2014	September 30, 2016
Marshall Islands		Accession: February 8, 2019	May 8, 2019
Mauritania	June 28, 2013
Mauritius	June 28, 2013	Ratification: January 11, 2021	April 11, 2021
Mexico	June 25, 2014	Ratification: July 29, 2015	September 30, 2016
Mongolia	June 28, 2013	Ratification: September 23, 2015	September 30, 2016
Montenegro		Accession: March 8, 2022	June 8, 2022
Morocco	June 28, 2013	Ratification: May 15, 2019	August 15, 2019
Mozambique	August 22, 2013
Namibia	August 12, 2013
Nepal	June 28, 2013
New Zealand		Accession: October 4, 2019	January 4, 2020
Nicaragua		Accession: January 16, 2020	April 16, 2020
Nigeria	June 28, 2013	Ratification: October 4, 2017	January 4, 2018
Norway	June 20, 2014	Ratification: August 31, 2021	November 30, 2021
Pakistan		Accession: March 12, 2024	June 12, 2024
Panama	June 28, 2013	Ratification: February 10, 2017	May 10, 2017
Paraguay	June 28, 2013	Ratification: January 20, 2015	September 30, 2016
Peru	June 28, 2013	Ratification: February 2, 2016	September 30, 2016
Philippines		Accession: December 18, 2018	March 18, 2019
Poland	June 24, 2014		See European Union
Qatar		Accession: October 24, 2018	January 24, 2019
Republic of Korea	June 26, 2014	Ratification: October 8, 2015	September 30, 2016
Republic of Moldova	June 28, 2013	Ratification: February 19, 2018	May 19, 2018
Russian Federation		Accession: February 8, 2018	May 8, 2018
Rwanda		Accession: October 25, 2021	January 25, 2022
Saint Kitts and Nevis		Accession: July 8, 2024	October 8, 2024
Saint Lucia		Accession: June 11, 2020	September 11, 2020
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines		Accession: September 5, 2016	December 5, 2016
San Marino		Accession: June 2, 2020	September 2, 2020
Sao Tome and Principe	June 28, 2013	Ratification: October 15, 2020	January 15, 2021
Saudi Arabia		Accession: November 21, 2018	February 21, 2019
Senegal	June 28, 2013
Serbia		Accession: February 24, 2020	May 24, 2020
Sierra Leone	June 28, 2013
Singapore		Accession: March 30, 2015	September 30, 2016
Slovenia	May 16, 2014
Sri Lanka		Accession: October 5, 2016	January 5, 2017
Sudan	June 28, 2013
Switzerland	June 28, 2013	Ratification: February 11, 2020	May 11, 2020
Syrian Arab Republic	November 22, 2013
Tajikistan		Accession: February 27, 2019	May 27, 2019
Thailand		Accession: January 28, 2019	April 28, 2019
Togo	June 28, 2013
Trinidad and Tobago		Accession: October 4, 2019	January 4, 2020
Tunisia	June 28, 2013	Ratification: September 7, 2016	December 7, 2016
Turkey	November 1, 2013
Turkmenistan		Accession: October 15, 2020	January 15, 2020
Uganda	June 28, 2013	Ratification: April 23, 2018	July 23, 2018
Ukraine		Accession: June 8, 2023	September 8, 2023
United Arab Emirates		Accession: October 15, 2014	September 30, 2016
United Kingdom	June 28, 2013	Ratification: October 1, 2020	January 1, 2021
United Republic of Tanzania		Accession: April 8, 2020	July 8, 2020
United States of America	October 2, 2013	Ratification: February 8, 2019	May 8, 2019
Uruguay	June 28, 2013	Ratification: December 1, 2014	September 30, 2016
Uzbekistan		Accession: March 7, 2022	June 7, 2022
Vanuatu		Accession: May 6, 2020	August 6, 2020
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)		Accession: October 2, 2019	January 2, 2020
Viet Nam		Accession: December 6, 2022	March 6, 2023
Zimbabwe	October 2, 2013	Ratification: September 12, 2019	December 12, 2019

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".^[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.

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.
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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_100
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.
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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.
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35. "WIPO-Administered Treaties". Wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
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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.