Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the cross-border exchange between the Union and third countries of accessible format copies of certain works and other subject-matter protected by copyright and related rights for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled

The proposed Regulation will allow the Union to fulfil an international obligation under the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. The Marrakesh Treaty was adopted in 2013 at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) with the aim of facilitating the availability and cross-border exchange of books and other print material in accessible formats around the world. It was signed by the Union in April 2014.

The Union has thus made a political commitment to implement the Treaty, which both the Council and the European Parliament have since strengthened. The Commission separately presented a Proposal for a Council Decision for the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty by the Union in October 2014. In May 2015, the Council submitted a request to the Commission in which it underlined its full commitment to the rapid entry into force of the Marrakesh Treaty and asked the Commission to submit, without delay, a legislative proposal to amend the Union legal framework in accordance with the Treaty.

This proposed Regulation therefore ensures that accessible format copies that have been made in any Member State in accordance with national provisions adopted pursuant to the related Directive may be exported to third countries that are parties to the Marrakesh Treaty. In addition, the Regulation allows the import of accessible format copies made in accordance with the Marrakesh Treaty in third countries that are parties to the Treaty, for the benefit of beneficiary persons in the Union. Both beneficiary persons and authorised entities established in the Union should be able to obtain such copies and those copies should be able to circulate in the internal market under the same conditions as accessible format copies made in the Union.

EUR-Lex: COM(2016)595: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2016:595:FIN

ESO: Background information: The Marrakesh Treaty [EPRS Study, November 2016] http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-marrakesh-treaty/

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