The "Marrakesh Treaty" takes effect in China: a new starting point for copyright to help cultural inclusion-Industry News-Shenzhen deep trust patent Agency Co., LTD

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The "Marrakesh Treaty" takes effect in China: a new starting point for copyright to help cultural inclusion

Release Time：

2022-05-16

On the afternoon of May 16, at a special press conference jointly organized by the State Intellectual Property Office and the National Copyright Administration, Zhao Xiuling, deputy director of the Copyright Administration Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department, discussed the official entry into force of the Marrakesh Treaty in China and how to implement it. An introduction was made. She said that the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in China is another milestone in the copyright industry and a new starting point for copyright to help cultural inclusion.

On the afternoon of May 16, at a special press conference jointly organized by the State Intellectual Property Office and the National Copyright Administration, Zhao Xiuling, deputy director of the Copyright Administration Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department, discussed the official entry into force of the Marrakesh Treaty in China and how to implement it. An introduction was made. She said that the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in China is another milestone in the copyright industry and a new starting point for copyright to help cultural inclusion.

On May 16, the State Intellectual Property Office and the National Copyright Administration jointly held a special press conference. The picture shows the press conference site. (Photo courtesy of the State Intellectual Property Office)

01The Chinese government contributed Chinese strength to the successful conclusion of the treaty

The full name of the Marrakesh Treaty is the Marrakesh Treaty on Facilitating Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired or Other Print Disabled. The treaty is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. It was adopted in Marrakech, Morocco on June 27, 2013, and officially entered into force in September 2016. There are currently 88 contracting parties. The treaty requires all contracting parties to stipulate copyright limitations and exceptions to protect the rights of people with print disabilities to equally appreciate works and receive education. It is the only human rights treaty in the field of copyright in the world so far. The treaty stipulates that the beneficiaries include not only blind people, but also visually impaired people and other print disabled people in a broader sense, and the forms of using the works include Braille version, large print version or audio book and other accessible formats. The treaty provides copyright limitations and exceptions for the production of accessible formats, facilitates cross-border exchange and import of accessible formats, and solves the problem of lack of accessible formats.

Zhao Xiuling introduced at the meeting that according to data from the World Health Organization, there are 253 million visually impaired people in the world. There are 17.32 million visually disabled people in China, and the number of people with other reading disabilities is even larger. For the blind, visually impaired and other people with reading disabilities, the most effective way to appreciate learning and receive education is to read Braille books, large print books, audio books and other accessible formats. However, its production costs are high, and copyright licensing is one of the larger expenses. Currently, of the millions of books published every year around the world, less than 10% are available in accessible formats for people with dyslexia. People with dyslexia themselves are a disadvantaged group and it is very difficult to bear these costs. According to statistics, during the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, more than 10,000 works in accessible formats such as Braille, audio, and large-print reading materials were published in my country. However, compared with the types of books and journals published at the same time, there are still relatively few works in accessible formats, and people with dyslexia still face the problem of few choices and insufficient accuracy when enjoying reading services.

China has always attached great importance to ensuring the equal rights of dyslexics to appreciate works and receive education. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the cause of disabled people and cared about the equal participation of disabled people and other disadvantaged groups in cultural life and sharing the fruits of civilized development. The Chinese government played an active and constructive role in the negotiation process of the Marrakesh Treaty and contributed to the successful conclusion of the treaty. China signed the treaty on June 28, 2013.Since then, China has done a lot of fruitful work to promote the entry into force of the Marrakesh Treaty in China. On November 11, 2020, the Copyright Law was revised for the third time and came into effect on June 1, 2021, which extended the scope of fair use from the original "conversion of published works into braille for publication" to "people with reading disabilities" "Provide published works to readers in an accessible manner that they can perceive." These have prepared the legislation for the ratification and implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty.On October 23, 2021, the 31st meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress decided to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty. On February 5, 2022, China deposited the instrument of ratification of the treaty with the World Intellectual Property Organization. On May 5, 2022, the "Marrakesh Treaty" officially entered into force for China.

Zhao Xiuling emphasized that the entry into force of the Marrakesh Treaty in China is a major event in the development of China's copyright industry, and is an important manifestation of copyright work's implementation of the Party Central Committee and the State Council's recommendations on developing the cause of persons with disabilities and promoting the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. The entry into force of the treaty will greatly enrich the spiritual and cultural life of people with dyslexia in my country, improve their educational level, further demonstrate the warmth and superiority of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics that "adhere to the people first and adhere to the people-centered", and highlight our country's positive It is a responsible major country that participates in the development of global causes for persons with disabilities and intellectual property governance, and promotes the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

02After the treaty is implemented, implementation work will be carried out in five aspects

Talking about how to implement the Marrakesh Treaty after it takes effect in China, Zhao Xiuling said that the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National Copyright Administration) will implement the treaty in five aspects.

The first is to further improve supporting systems, formulate implementation measures that are in line with China's actual conditions, ensure that important concepts such as people with print disabilities, accessible formats, and authorized entities are consistent with the treaty, and clarify the rules that should be followed when producing and providing accessible formats; The second is to strengthen the guidance and supervision of authorized entities, guide relevant institutions to abide by corresponding business specifications when producing and providing accessible formats, strengthen supervision of violations of treaty implementation measures, and ensure that the works are provided for the use of works by people with reading disabilities. Copyright convenience, while avoiding unreasonable damage to the legitimate rights and interests of copyright owners; third, increase publicity and promotion, especially to copyright owners, people with dyslexia, and institutions that produce and provide accessible formats for people with dyslexia, etc. Stakeholders focus on publicity and promotion; the fourth is to strengthen international cooperation, strengthen cooperation with international organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Accessible Books Federation, promote the cross-border exchange of works in accessible formats, and enrich the resources of foreign works for people with dyslexia in my country. At the same time, we will expand the dissemination coverage of my country's excellent works among dyslexics in other countries; fifth, we will further deepen international copyright cooperation with all parties including the World Intellectual Property Organization, tell the copyright story of China's implementation of the "Marrakesh Treaty", and provide The balanced, inclusive, and sustainable development of global copyright will contribute more to China’s strength.

03The Marrakesh Treaty applies to Hong Kong, but not to Macau.

In response to the question raised by reporters about whether the Marrakesh Treaty applies to Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, Zhao Xiuling said that when my country ratified the Marrakesh Treaty, it specifically made a statement on the applicability of the treaty to Hong Kong and Macao.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region applies the Marrakesh Treaty and, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, paragraph 4, of the Treaty, limits the copyright exceptions stipulated in this article to specific accessible formats that cannot be obtained in the market from commercial channels on reasonable terms for the beneficiaries. Works; Until further notice from the Chinese government, the "Marrakesh Treaty" does not apply to the Macao Special Administrative Region. Because in accordance with the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the National Copyright Administration has consulted the SAR government on the applicability of the treaty to Hong Kong and Macao. The Hong Kong SAR government stated that it applies to the Marrakesh Treaty and stated that the copyright exception stipulated in Article 4 of the treaty will be limited to works in the market that cannot be obtained from commercial channels on reasonable terms for beneficiaries in specific accessible formats; the Macao SAR government stated that it will not The Marrakesh Treaty shall apply until relevant laws are revised and applicable conditions are met.

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