So far, 123 countries have ratified or acceded to the Marrakesh Treaty, including those which joined subsequent to the European Union’s ratification. This represents almost 2/3 of the countries of the world, an impressive achievement for a Treaty that was only voted through ten years ago, and only entered into force in September 2016. IFLA has for a number of years been sharing its Marrakesh Monitoring Report, looking at how well countries are doing at turning the goals of the Treaty into national legislation that really does lift unnecessary copyright-related barriers to making, sharing and receiving accessible formal copies of works. Based on the edition published in February 2023, this paper offers some glimpses at what we can see from the data. UPDATED 27 MAY 2023

The Marrakesh Treaty has led to countries opening up their copyright laws and allowing the reproduction of accessible books. However, there are still many limitations. For example, 18.7% of the participating countries have a commercial availability check, and 38% have a secondary law that might require a check. Hopefully, the European Accessibility Act fully taking effect in June, 2025 will lead to a proliferation of accessible books provided by publishers. #accessibility