Japan Joins Marrakesh Treaty For Copyright Exceptions, Serving People With Visual Impairments

If you are reading this, you probably are one of the many people blessed with little or no visual impairment. However, there are many people who are visually disabled or impaired. For them, the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, a project of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in force since September 2016, opens the door to greater opportunities to literature around the world.

Japan's Diet voted unanimously to join the Marrakesh Treaty. UN Ambassador Junichi Ihara submitted official instrument of accession on October 1, 2018 to WIPO. With this document, Japan is set to implement the Marrakesh Treaty from January 1, 2019.