Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing, 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

People who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled must have equal access to books and printed material in order to fully and effectively participate in society. The World Health Organisation estimates that 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired: 39 million are blind and 246 million have low vision. The World Blind Union reports that in Europe only 5% of published books are available in an accessible format for visually impaired persons, while in developing countries – where approximately 90% of visually impaired people live – this rate is as low as 1%.

Accessible format copies of books are now usually produced and distributed at national level, by specialised entities, for example libraries for the blind, either under licences or under limitations or exceptions to copyright. However, the lack of an international legal framework allowing for the cross-border exchange of accessible formats produced under a limitation or exception leads to a duplication of effort in the making of such copies, even across countries sharing the same language. This constitutes a problem because of the costs of producing accessible format copies and the limited resources available to the entities serving the blind.

Since January 2011 the European Union has been bound by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which enshrines the right of access to information (Article 21) and the right of persons with disabilities to participate in cultural life on an equal basis with others (Article 30). The Convention has become an integral part of the EU legal order. 25 Member States are parties to the Convention and three countries are finalising the ratification.

In 2009 negotiations started in the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on a possible international treaty introducing limitations and exceptions to copyright for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled, with the objective of facilitating the cross-border exchange of accessible format copies. On 26 November 2012 the Council adopted a Decision authorising the Commission to participate in these negotiations, on behalf of the European Union. The negotiations in WIPO were successfully concluded at the Diplomatic Conference held in Marrakesh from 17 to 28 June 2013, leading to the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled on 27 June 2013.

The Treaty establishes a set of international rules which ensure that there are limitations or exceptions to copyright at national level for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled and enable the cross-border exchange of accessible format copies of published works that have been made under an exception or limitation to copyright in any of the Contracting Parties to the Treaty.

With this proposal for a Council Decision, the Commission seeks authorisation from the Council to sign the Treaty, on behalf of the European Union, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)926: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:926:FIN

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