Marrakesh VIP Treaty

Marrakesh VIP Treaty

Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works to Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities
Map of countries were the Treaty is currently in force.
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	80 (106 countries including EUs 27 member states)
Depositary	World Intellectual Property Organization

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 27th 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 August 2021, the treaty has 79 contracting parties covering 105 WIPO Member States because the Union joined as a block.^[6]

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;^[7] the 20th ratification was received on 30 June 2016, and the treaty entered into force on 30 September 2016.^[8][9]

Ratification[]

India was the first country to ratify the treaty,^[10][11] on 24 July 2014. As of October 15, 2018,^[12] 80 countries have signed the Treaty and 105 states have ratified it including EU's 28 member-states who ratified as one entity (notification number 45),^[13][1] and most recently Norway ^[14]

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.^[15]

The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020.^[16] but is covered by the EU:s ratification of the treaty until December 31, 2020. The UK deposited their instrument of ratification on 1 October 2020.^[17] This means that on 1 January 2021 the UK will become 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.^[18] Member states were required to update their national laws to implement the Treaty's requirements later in 2018.^[19] 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".^[20][21] There was continued opposition by some EU member states.^[22]

On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Senate approved it and the implementation bill S. 2559^[23] 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 the President Trump on October 9, 2018.^[24][25][26] As a result, on February 8, 2019, the United States of America formally joined the treaty.^[27]

Countries which have ratified the treaty[]

By 31 August 2021, 80 Contracting Parties (106 countries) around the world had ratified or acceded to the Marrakesh treaty (WIPO can be a bit slow updating this page so if you don´t find the latest country in the list below that the reason.^[28] See table below:

References[]