The Marrakesh Treaty allows people with print disabilities to access more books and other print material in formats that are accessible to them.
The Directive and Regulation for the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in EU law were published in the Official Journal on 20 September 2017. The deadline for Member States to transpose the Directive into national law ended on 11 October 2018. The Regulation entered into application on the 12 October 2018.
The Directive
The Directive on certain permitted uses of certain works (.pdf) and other subject matter protected by copyright and related rights for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled establishes a mandatory exception to copyright and related rights.
All language version of the Directive are available in EUR-Lex.
The Regulation
The Regulation provides for a copyright exception (.pdf) that permits the cross-border exchange of accessible format copies of certain works and subject matter that are ordinarily protected by copyright and related rights. This is for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled. The Regulation will permit the cross-border exchange of copies made under the exception between the EU and third countries that are parties to the Treaty.
All language versions of the Regulation are available in EUR-Lex.
Lists of authorised entities in Member States
Under Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2017/1564 the Member States have an obligation to provide the Commission with the contact information they have received from authorised entities within the legal framework of Directive (EU) 2017/1564 on certain permitted uses of certain works and other subject matter protected by copyright and related rights for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled.
The term ‘authorised entity’ in the context of this legal instrument means an entity that is authorised or recognised by a Member State to provide education, instructional training, adaptive reading or information access to beneficiary persons on a non-profit basis. It also includes a public institution or non-profit organisation that provides the same services to beneficiary persons as one of its primary activities, institutional obligations or as part of its public-interest missions.
Download the table of authorised entities (.pdf)
This information will be regularly updated with further information received from Member States.
Latest News
The European Commission published the fourth State of the Digital Decade report, showing that Europe has made progress on its 2030 digital transformation targets, such as secure and sustainable digital infrastructures and the digitalisation of public services – but the challenge now is delivering results at scale, speed and consistency.
The State of the Digital Decade 2026 report assesses the EU’s progress toward the 2030 Digital Decade targets.
The European Commission will engage with consumers and publishers by the end of 2026 to explore ways to improve industry standards, as a response to the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) ‘Stop Destroying Videogames'.
The European Commission has launched a call for evidence to gather feedback on possible targeted measures to modernise the EU copyright framework, as well as on the practical impact and effectiveness of the rules introduced by the 2019 Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market.
Related Content
Big Picture