Ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty and New Opportunities for Libraries in Providing the Constitutional Rights of Persons with Visual Impairment

Abstract

The article outlines the possibilities of ensuring proper access for persons with visual impairments to published works on the same terms as for persons with normal vision, provided that the countries accede to the Marrakesh Treaty. The provisions of the Marrakesh Treaty, which establish general obligations regarding restrictions under the Berne Convention, namely the permission to reproduce works in certain specialcases, provided that such reproduction does not harm the normal use of the work anddoes not affect the legitimate interests of the author. The provisions of the MarrakeshTreaty apply to works in the form of text, music and/or related illustrations, published or otherwise made public by any means of information, including audiobooks. There is a shortage of copies of available works in accessible formats in the world. It turns out that the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty into national law will enable libraries to create and distribute copies of works in an accessible format for the visually impaired. The experience of Bookshare and the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC), which pave the way for international academic, artistic and other reading for visually impaired persons, is revealed. Bookshare is a US-based nonprofit project that offers the largest collection of available titles, copies of works in a format accessible for visually impaired. The ABC was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization in June 2014 and includes the World Blind Union (WBU), the DAISY Consortium, the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the International Authors Forum, the International Publishers Association, and the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations. The ABC operates in accordance with the EIFL guide lines for libraries on the application of the Marrakesh Treaty, according to which the authorities may be any specialized agencies that provide services to the visually impaired, including libraries, both universal and specialized. It is noted that the Central Specialized Library for the Blind named after Mykola Ostrovsky recently became a member of the ABC, which significantly expands the search for books and brings the library to the international level.

Keywords

• library, marrakesh treaty, copyright, inclusive education, visually impaired, intellectual property law, v. i. vernadsky national library of ukraine.