Marrakesh Treaty to improve print-disabled persons’ access to publications: official
Vietnam’s participation in and implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty will be useful to promoting the disabled’s access to a richer diversity of publications, said Pham Thi Kim Oanh, Deputy Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Pham Thi Kim Oanh, Deputy Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam, addresses the conference in HCM City on September 12. (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam’s participation in and implementation of the MarrakeshTreaty will be useful to promoting the disabled’s access to a richerdiversity of publications, said Pham Thi Kim Oanh, Deputy Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnamunder the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Oanh made the remarks while addressinga conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 12 to disseminate the basiccontents of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access toPublished Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or OtherwisePrint Disabled.
The official said the creation of accessibleformats of published works such as braille, audio, electronic, and signlanguage transcriptions is becoming increasingly important in Vietnam to ensureprint-disabled persons can exercise their rights to equality and integrate intothe community.
She held that to carry out thetreaty, it is necessary to step up the dissemination of its contents, continueperfecting legal regulations on copyrights and related rights, and prepare theconditions necessary for the conversion, exchange, export, and import of copiesin accessible formats.
Citing a report by the World Blind Union,Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Blind Association Dinh Viet Anh said nearly 1%of the books published in developed countries are converted into accessibleformats for print-disabled persons.
In Vietnam, the shortage of books inaccessible formats is currently a barrier to education, jobs and self-developmentfor persons with disabilities, especially over 1 million visually-impaired people.
Given this, Anh noted, theimplementation of the Marrakesh Treaty will help improve print-disabled persons’ access topublications through the use of exceptions to copyright rules.
The treaty plays an important role ineliminating barriers facing persons with print disabilities, thus helping boostthe equal access to information as well as education and job opportunities forthem, she added.
The Marrakesh Treaty,adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in June 2013,consists of 93 member states and officially came into force in Vietnam on March6, 2023. It aims tocreate a legal environment for improving the access to published works for thedisabled unable to access print publications in normal ways, and create areasonable balance between copyright protection and common interests./.
A document on Vietnam’s participation in the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled has been handed over to Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Daren Tang for legal copyrighting.
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Pham Thi Kim Oanh, Deputy Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam, addresses the conference in HCM City on September 12. (Photo: VNA) 
