Disability Rights Objectives and Copyright Obstacles: Analysing the Efficacy of the Marrakesh Treaty as a Copyright Solution to the Global Book Famine

Being able to access the written word and participate fully in cultural life and the education system are fundamental aspects of human development and flourishing. For persons who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled, the enjoyment of these facets has been severely constrained. A key challenge in this respect is the ‘global book famine,’ referring to the reality faced by the world’s population of 285 million blind and visually impaired persons who, according to 2016 estimates, were able to access only 1-7% of books in a format accessible to them. Although Article 30 (3) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) obliges State Parties to take all appropriate steps to ensure that intellectual property laws do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials, the international copyright law regime and national policies on copyright protection have continued to present obstacles to access. This led to the subsequent adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty (2016) which aims to facilitate access to published works by creating mandatory exceptions and limitations to the exclusive rights of authors.

The efficacy of the Marrakesh Treaty in achieving this objective is critically analysed within this thesis. Reconciliatory perspectives are offered on the sensitive relationship between the spheres of copyright and disability rights legal theory, with particular consideration of the role of the international copyright law regime in creating and aggravating the global book famine. A critical exposition of the formulation of the Marrakesh Treaty’s provisions is undertaken, along with a comprehensive global mapping of the Treaty’s implementation thus far. Overall, a roadmap of original policy and legislative proposals targeted at strengthening the efficacy of the Marrakesh Treaty in facilitating access to published works is contributed to knowledge.