Compliance with the Marrakesh Treaty

By BKM | Berkemeyer

In order to comply with the requirements of the Marrakesh Treaty, a WIPO agreement which came into force in 2016, Paraguay’s government approved Resolution N°31.561, which orders the Ministry of Education and Sciences to update the conditions of its call for tenders to acquire textbooks.

The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled was adopted by the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2013. Its main goal is to increase access to books, magazines and other printed materials for people with print disabilities, making it easier for accessible copies to be created and shared across international borders.

Each country that adopts the Marrakesh Treaty is required to create one or more limitations or exceptions to copyright law. Under such limitations or exceptions, any work can be copied to convert it into an accessible format. Works include audiobooks as well as text, notation and related illustration, while an accessible format is any format (including digital) that enables a beneficiary to read or access the content as feasibly and comfortably as someone who is not print disabled.