The Role of the Marrakesh Treaty in Supporting Access to Printed Material for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired: A Critical Discussion of the Results of an Empirical Study Conducted in Six European Countries

Abstract

Less than 7% of published works are accessible. To overcome this book famine, the Marrakesh Treaty was enacted with the view of enhancing access to published works for people with visual impairments, blind people, and people that are otherwise print-disabled. Leveraging survey data from six European countries (Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, and the Netherlands), we investigate the respondents’ knowledge of the Marrakesh Treaty and whether they experienced improved access to printed material after its implementation. The results of the survey show that people who are blind and use braille printers are more likely to report an improvement in accessing printed material, suggesting that the exceptions provided for in the Marrakesh Treaty best support the reproduction and availability of copyrighted works in braille rather than other formats.

Keywords

• Marrakesh Treaty
• accessibility
• assistive technology
• people who are blind
• people with visual impairments
• copyright law