Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee marked up Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Bob Corker’s (R-TN) bipartisan bill to amend the U.S. Copyright Act to ensure compliance with the Marrakesh Treaty adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2013.
The Marrakesh Treaty requires countries to enact copyright exceptions that allow the creation and distribution of accessible format copies such as braille, audiobooks, or digital files for consumers. Among other things, the treaty enables the importation and exportation among treaty members of accessible versions of printed works. Public Knowledge supports implementing the treaty and urges Congress to act to provide equal access to printed materials for those with disabilities.
The following can be attributed to Meredith Rose, Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge:
“We applaud the Committee for working tirelessly to ensure the U.S.’s implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty. This bill updates the law to better serve all consumers, by removing barriers to accessibility for those with print disabilities. We wholeheartedly support this bill and look forward to working with stakeholder groups to ensure its continued success.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.