Georgia Joined the Marrakesh Treaty

According to the resolution of the Parliament of Georgia of September 17, 2024, Georgia joined the “Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled” of June 27, 2013 (hereinafter – the Marrakesh Treaty).

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the World Intellectual Property Organization by the conclusion of March 21, 2023, gave a recommendation to Georgia regarding ratification and implementation of the “Marrakesh Treaty” on the national level. At the time of ratification of the Treaty, it was necessary to amend the existing legislation,  thus, by the co-authorship of Sakpatenti, on the basis of the Marrakesh Treaty, amendments were prepared and entered in the Law of Georgia “On Copyright and Related Rights” (Law of December 15, 2023).

To ensure full-fledged implementation of the “Marrakesh Treaty”, by the Order of Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Chairman of Sakpatenti, the Rule of Granting the Status of an Authorized Entity to an Institution, Cancellation of this Status and Provision of Information to the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia – “Sakpatenti” was also defined. As regards the concept of an authorized entity, it is established by the Marrakesh Treaty proper and means an entity that is authorized by the government to provide education, instructional training, adaptive reading or information access to beneficiary persons. Authorized entities shall be permitted to supply an accessible format copy of a work by non-commercial lending or by electronic communication. On May 2 of the current year, LEPL Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, and on August 23 – Tbilisi Public School №202 applied to Sakpatenti with a request to grant the above-mentioned status. As a result, by the Order of Chairman of Sakpatenti, the status of an authorized entity was granted to Tbilisi State University on May 29, and to  Public School №202 – on September 18.

Proceeding from the reality in Georgia, one of the main challenges is  provision of education, instructional training, adaptive reading and information access to persons having a visual impairment or a reading disability. According to 2022 data, the number of persons with a visual impairment (including blindness) in Georgia was 8224 persons, of these – 1515 juveniles. On the basis of the Marrakesh Treaty, authorized entities will have an opportunity, in cooperation with authorized entities of other countries, to care constantly to expand the number of works published in accessible formats, available to them, which, in itself, will help beneficiary persons to obtain adapted formats of printed works existing at the local and the international level easily and without financial expenses. 

The Marrakesh Treaty unites 92 countries and provides for specific measures, establishes a set of limitations and exceptions to copyright and related rights exclusively for people with reading disabilities, supports creation of specially-adapted materials and their international circulation without spending considerable financial resources. Namely: the Treaty requires from contracting parties to implement limitations and exceptions in their national legislations so that to allow reproduction, distribution and making available of works to persons who are blind, visually impaired or have other disability, including those who  are unable to hold a book.