4th europeana licensing workshop luxembourg

1. New EU copyright exception:
Access to works for blind, visually
impaired, or otherwise print disabled
(VIPs)

3. • only about 7% of published books are made
available globally in accessible formats, such
as Braille, audio and large print, and DAISY
formats.
• In the developing world: less than 1%.
• This situation is partly due to barriers created
by copyright law
(EifL Guide to Marrakesh Treaty)

4. Summary
(Only) blind people’s organizations, libraries and
other so-called “authorized entities” can
produce and send accessible format copies to
„authorized entities“ or VIP´s in other countries.

5. Marrakesh Treaty:
• adopted on June 27, 2013 in Marrakesh
• forms part of the body of international
copyright treaties administered by WIPO
• Its entry into force requires the deposit of 20
instruments of ratification or accession by
eligible parties (2015/11/26: 84 States Signed
Treaty, 11 Ratified)

6. • main goal: to create a set of mandatory
limitations and exceptions for the benefit of
the blind, visually impaired, and otherwise
print disabled (VIPs).

7. Article 4
National Law Limitations and Exceptions
Regarding Accessible Format Copies
• 1. (a) Contracting Parties shall provide in their national
copyright laws for a limitation or exception to the right
of reproduction, the right of distribution, and the right
of making available to the public as provided by the
WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), to facilitate the
availability of works in accessible format copies for
beneficiary persons.
• …
• 4. A Contracting Party may confine limitations or
exceptions under this Article to works which, in the
particular accessible format, cannot be obtained
commercially under reasonable terms for beneficiary
persons in that market.

8. „National“ Law: EU
Art. 5 (3) b Infosoc:
uses, for the benefit of people with a disability,
which are directly related to the disability and of
a non-commercial nature, to the extent required
by the specific disability;

9. National law (here:Germany)
Article 45a
Persons with disabilities
• (1) The reproduction of a work for non-commercial purposes
shall be permissible for, and its distribution exclusively to,
persons whose access to the work, because of a disability, is
not possible or is made considerably more difficult by the
already available means of sensual perception, if such
reproduction is necessary to facilitate access.
• (2) An equitable remuneration shall be paid to the author for
reproduction and distribution; production solely of individual
copies shall be exempted. Claims may only be asserted
through a collecting society.
Cross-border-effect ?

10. • Art 2 Marrakesh treaty
• (c) "authorized entity" means an entity that is authorized
or recognized by the government to provide education,
instructional training, adaptive reading or information
access to beneficiary persons on a non-profit basis. It also
includes a government institution or non-profit
organization that provides the same services to beneficiary
persons as one of its primary activities or institutional
obligations
• Agreed statement concerning Article 2(c): For the
purposes of this Treaty, it is understood that "entities
recognized by the government" may include entities
receiving financial support from the government to provide
education, instructional training, adaptive reading or
information access to beneficiary persons on a non-profit
basis.

11. • Article 5
• Cross-Border Exchange of Accessible Format Copies
• 1. Contracting Parties shall provide that if an accessible format copy
is made under a limitation or exception or pursuant to operation of
law, that accessible format copy may be distributed or made
available by an authorized entity to a beneficiary person or an
authorized entity in another Contracting Party [6].
• 2. A Contracting Party may fulfill Article 5(1) by providing a
limitation or exception in its national copyright law such that:
• (a) authorized entities shall be permitted, without the authorization
of the rightholder, to distribute or make available for the exclusive
use of beneficiary persons accessible format copies to an
authorized entity in another Contracting Party; and
• (b) authorized entities shall be permitted, without the authorization
of the rightholder and pursuant to Article 2(c), to distribute or make
available accessible format copies to a beneficiary person in
another Contracting Party;
• provided that prior to the distribution or making available the
originating authorized entity did not know or have reasonable
grounds to know that the accessible format copy would be used for
other than beneficiary persons [7].
• …

12. Article 6
Importation of Accessible Format Copies
To the extent that the national law of a Contracting
Party would permit a beneficiary person, someone
acting on his or her behalf, or an authorized entity,
to make an accessible format copy of a work, the
national law of that Contracting Party shall also
permit them to import an accessible format copy
for the benefit of beneficiary persons, without the
authorization of the rightholder.

13. Article 7
Obligations Concerning Technological Measures
Contracting Parties shall take appropriate
measures, as necessary, to ensure that when
they provide adequate legal protection and
effective legal remedies against the
circumvention of effective technological
measures, this legal protection does not prevent
beneficiary persons from enjoying the
limitations and exceptions provided for in this
Treaty

14. What has to be made possible (Cross
border) ?
Country A Country B (if part of int.
Treaty / 3StT)
Send AF copy to AE (Art. 5
II a)
AE AE
Distribution only to VIPs
Send AF copy to VIP (Art. 5
II b)
AE VIP
Import allowed, if making
of an own accessible
format is allowed ( Art.6)

15. 2001/29/EC, (Present) Art.6
4. Notwithstanding the legal protection provided for in
paragraph 1, in the absence of voluntary measures taken
by rightholders, including agreements between
rightholders and other parties concerned, Member States
shall take appropriate measures to ensure that
rightholders make available to the beneficiary of an
exception or limitation provided for in national law in
accordance with Article 5(2)(a), (2)(c), (2)(d), (2)(e), (3)(a),
(3)(b) or (3)(e) the means of benefiting from that
exception or limitation, to the extent necessary to benefit
from that exception or limitation and where that
beneficiary has legal access to the protected work or
subject-matter concerned.

16. Recommendation for national implementation of
“Technological Protection Measures”
The most straightforward measure is to allow the
circumvention of TPMs to enable the accessible
formats to be made or distributed, as well as tools
and services needed to undertake the circumvention.
If the law only permits circumvention of the TPM, but
does not permit the tools and services needed by
authorized entities or beneficiaries to undertake the
circumvention, the norm will have limited utility.”
EIfL Guide

17. • What changes are needed in the EU ?