..Blind Union Prepare for Fight over Publisher ‘Compensation’
European Parliament today finally adopted the legal instruments to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty on access to reading material for the visually impaired.
The treaty, adopted by the members of the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2013 and effective since last year, was subject to controversies due to lobbying from publishers in the European Union, members of Parliament said today in Strasbourg before the vote.
EU member states, after today’s vote, have one year to implement this ruling. The European Blind Union (EBU) expressed frustration saying,
“We consider this in contradiction with the right-to-read objectives of the Marrakesh Treaty,”