Barbados became the 118th country to accede to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Marrakesh Treaty, which facilitates access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled.
Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Barbados to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Geneva, Matthew Wilson, presented the country’s instrument of accession to the Director General of the WIPO, Daren Tang, this morning.
The Treaty boosts access to specially-adapted books for persons who are visually impaired or print disabled, which would assist in expanding their learning, education and leisure opportunities.
The WIPO-administered Marrakesh Treaty makes the production and international transfer of specially-adapted books for people with blindness or visual impairments easier. It does this by establishing a set of limitations and exceptions to traditional copyright law.
The Marrakesh Treaty will not only allow the blind, visually impaired, and otherwise print disabled in Barbados access to libraries with accessible books but to capacity building projects for training local instructors to develop accessible works.
Following the presentation of the instrument, to Director General Tang, Ambassador Wilson discussed WIPO’s interest in collaborating with Barbados, to operationalise the treaty and ensure that blind and visually impaired persons in Barbados, especially children, have access to the more than 600,000 titles available through WIPO’s ‘ABC book service’.
Mr. Wilson also suggested that in addition to books, policy documents could also be translated to accessible formats, and proffered that the Bridgetown Initiative policy document, currently being advocated at the global level, could be translated into an accessible format.
In accepting the instrument, Mr. Tang lauded Barbados’ efforts at prioritising intellectual property as an important feature in its growth story and for its clear reflection as a small country that is punching above its weight.
The presentation of the instrument was witnessed by WIPO’s Deputy Director General for Copyright and Creative Industries Sector, Sylvie Forbin; Director of the WIPO Copyright Law Division, Michele Woods; Head of Section for the Caribbean in the Division for Latin America and the Caribbean, Carol M. Simpson, and First Secretary, Shani Griffith-Jack.
The Marrakesh Treaty was adopted on June 27, 2013, and entered into force on September 30, 2016.