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Good News about the Marrakesh Treaty

Thursday, June 30, 2016

There is big news today about the WIPO Marrakesh Treaty. The news announcement means there is now an international framework for countries to share books in accessible formats, and we can begin exchanging such books across borders beginning on September 30th, 2016. This treaty is important for many reasons, and if you have 15 minutes, we encourage you to watch this TED talk from Australian advocate Maryanne Diamond.

For basic background information, you can read more about the Treaty on our Marrakesh information page. In short, we’re thrilled at how quickly we’ve been able to go from the introduction of Bill C-11 in the House of Commons on March 24, to being the 20th country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.

The countries that have ratified the Marrakesh Treaty currently include, in order of pens being on paper, India, El Salvador, United Arab Emirates, Mali, Uruguay, Paraguay, Singapore, Argentina, Mexico, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Australia, Brazil, Peru, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Israel, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala and Canada.

We look forward to exchanging books with organisations from these countries soon.