IPA has supported the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty by promoting inclusive publishing, raising publisher awareness, fostering stakeholder collaboration, and providing training through the WIPO Accessible Books Consortium (ABC), which is a public-private partnership that seeks to implement the objectives of the Marrakesh Treaty at a practical level. ABC delivers meaningful impact: the ABC Global Book Service now offers 1.2 million titles in accessible formats, including braille, audio, DAISY, EPUB, large print, and electronic text, in 80 languages through 150 participating authorized entities (over 50% in developing countries). 

Commenting on the treaty’s anniversary, Michele Woods, Director of WIPO’s Copyright Law Division, stated: Today we celebrate the tremendous progress made in delivering on the promise of the Marrakesh Treaty over the ten years following its entry into force […] From “The Miracle of Marrakesh” at its adoption with the encouragement of Stevie Wonder, the number of countries covered by the Treaty has grown to more than 130 and more than 1.2 million titles are now available through the WIPO ABC Global Book Service. There’s still a lot more work to be done, but today we can mark these major achievements while looking forward to the next 10 years. Read more here. 

Earlier this year, during the Marrakesh Treaty Assembly, Mr. Santosh Kumar Rungta, President of the World Blind Union, delivered a statement reflecting on the potential impact of the Treaty: The success of the Marrakesh Treaty will not be measured by the number of ratifications, but by the number of lives transformed through equal access to published works. Let this Assembly commit to ending the global book famine by ensuring that no person who is blind, deafblind, or otherwise print disabled is denied timely access to books in the accessible format of their choice, including braille, during the next phase of the Treaty’s implementation. Read more here.

You can access more information about the Accessible Books Consortium and the ABC Global Book Service here.