Making copies for people with print disabilities

The Marrakesh Treaty's formal name is the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. It provides an international legal framework for copyright exceptions that allows for the reproduction, distribution and cross-border exchange of copyright works in accessible formats – such as braille, audio and large print books – between countries party to the Treaty.

What is a print disability? 

The Copyright Act 1994 (the Act) has been amended to implement the Treaty and entered into force on 4 January 2020.  The Act defines a print disability, in relation to a person as:

• An impairment that prevents the person from enjoying a printed copyright work to the same degree as a person who does not have that impairment; but 
• Excludes an impairment of visual function that can be improved, by the use of corrective lenses, to a level that is normally acceptable for reading without a special level or kind of light.

What can the University do?

The University of Auckland is an “Authorised Entity” under the Act and permits staff can carry out the following activities: 

• Make and distribute accessible format copies of literary and artistic works within New Zealand without seeking the permission of the owner of the copyright in these works.
• Export these copies to other Marrakesh member countries.
• Import accessible format copies made by authorised entities in other Marrakesh member countries.

Authorised entities when copying or importing works must also: 

• Take all reasonable steps to notify the owner of the copyright in the work of its intention to make an accessible format copy; and 
• Only provide copies to persons who have a print disability, persons acting on their behalf, or other authorised entities; and 
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure that the copy respects the integrity of the original work, as far as is reasonably possible and taking into account changes needed to make the work accessible in the alternative format.
• Keep records of the copies they have made, or received from other authorised entities or persons with print disabilities.

What can a person with a print disability do?

A person with a print disability or a person acting on their behalf can carry out the following activities:

• Make accessible format copies of literary and artistic works without the permission of the owner of the copyright in those works, if the copies are intended for the use of the person with a print disability.
• Import into New Zealand an accessible format copy of a work from an Authorised Entity in another Marrakesh Treaty country without the permission of the owner of the copyright in the work; and 
• Provide the accessible format copy that was made or imported to an Authorised Entity in New Zealand. 
  

What is an accessible format copy?

An “accessible format copy” is defined in the Act as: “a copy of a published literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work, or a part of the work, in an alternative manner or form that persons who have a print disability access to the work.”