The Marrakesh Copyright Treaty for those with visual disabilities and its implications in the European Union and in the United Kingdom

Abstract

A review is provided of the current state of play for the Marrakesh Treaty providing exceptions to copyright, allowing those with visual disabilities or organisations acting on their behalf to make accessible copies of works, in order to assist those with such visual disabilities. A key feature of this Treaty is the fact that it is the first international copyright treaty that gives users, as opposed to copyright holders, explicit rights that cannot be overridden by contract or by technical protection measures. Another key feature is that it provides users with the possibility of receiving ‘accessible copies’ of works from abroad. The current situation regarding implementation of the Treaty with 88 countries signing up to it, but only 25 so far having ratified it, is provided, together with an analysis of the position in the European Union (EU) and an analysis of the United Kingdom’s curiously inconsistent attitude towards the Treaty, when compared to its own even more generous provisions for those with all disabilities, not just visual ones. An explanation of this inconsistent approach – the intense euroscepticism of the UK Government leading to its unwillingness to let the EU pass directives, together with the manner in which the problem has been bypassed by the European Court of Justice – is given.