Suchergebnisse

Less than 7% of published works are accessible. To overcome this book famine, the Marrakesh Treaty was enacted with the view of enhancing access to published works for people with visual impairments, blind people, and people that are otherwise print-disabled. Leveraging survey data from six European countries (Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, and the Netherlands), we investigate the respondents' knowledge of the Marrakesh Treaty and whether they experienced improved access to printed material after its implementation. The results of the survey show that people who are blind and use braille printers are more likely to report an improvement in accessing printed material, suggesting that the exceptions provided for in the Marrakesh Treaty best support the reproduction and availability of copyrighted works in braille rather than other formats.

The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (Marrakesh Treaty) aims to enable the creation and cross-border exchange of copyrighted works in formats that are accessible to individuals with disabilities. To that end, it requires Contracting Parties to introduce a set of limitations and exceptions to existing copyright rules. Following Opinion 3/15 of the Court of Justice, the Marrakesh Treaty was concluded by the European Union (EU) on behalf of its Member States. It was implemented by means of a Directive governing the substantive rights of reproduction, distribution and making available of published works in accessible formats, and a Regulation governing the cross-border exchange of accessible format works with Third Countries, both based on Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This article examines the role of the Marrakesh Directive and Regulation in enhancing access to printed material to persons with disabilities. In that connection, it discusses common trends and perceptions of such a Marrakesh framework on the basis of empirical research consisting of a set of semi-structured interviews conducted with key stakeholders across twelve Member States. It locates the Directive and Regulation within the growing body of EU legislation that aims to ensure accessibility of an array of materials, products and services for persons with disabilities, while driving forward economic integration. In doing so, it conceives of the Marrakesh Directive and Regulation as part of the broader remit of EU disability law, which is an emerging cross-cutting area of EU action. On the whole, this article argues that the Marrakesh Treaty and its implementing legislation contribute to the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities within the internal market, but form just one piece – albeit an important one – of the accessibility 'jigsaw'.
Marrakesh Treaty, Directive 2017/1564/EU (Marrakesh Directive), Disability, Copyright exceptions, Accessibility, European Accessibility Act, European Union Law, Implementation, Empirical Research

Article 30 of the UN Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges States Parties to ensure accessibility of cultural goods, services and heritage and to adopt measures enabling persons with disabilities to utilize their artistic potential. However, people with disabilities experience barriers to engagement in cultural life as audiences and as creators. This article presents a narrative literature review that classifies barriers and facilitators to cultural participation identified in previous studies. It does so under five headings: (1) lack of effective/adequate legislation, policies and legal standards; (2) lack of funding and/or of adequate services; (3) negative attitudes; (4) lack of accessibility; (5) lack of consultation with, and involvement of, persons with disabilities in cultural organisations. This provides a novel contribution to the state of art by synthesising findings from different yet related fields. It forms the basis for future multi-method research addressing barriers to participation in culture.

In 2014, the European Joint Procurement Agreement (JPA) was introduced as an innovative instrument to organise the procurement of vaccines and medications in preparation for pandemics. An overriding purpose of the JPA is to secure equitable and cost-effective access to medical supplies for participating EU Member States during serious health crises. This article aims to understand the current use of the JPA in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-analysis of the recent use of the JPA, the article will discuss how the regional procurement mechanism can be strengthened to support the development of a European Health Union. In particular, the article will firstly question whether the four recent JPA procurement actions facilitated equitable access to medical supplies and services. Secondly, it will ask whether the centralised procurement actions preserved the integrity of the Internal Market. The importance and originality of this study are that it addresses an instrument, the JPA, which has been largely overlooked by legal scholars, and it explores how the provisions for the joint procurement of medical countermeasures as included in Article 5 of Decision 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border threats to health could be extended to support the functioning of a European Health Union.