The treaty allows for copyright exceptions to facilitate the creation of accessible versions of books and other copyrighted works for visually impaired persons. It sets a norm for countries ratifying the treaty to have a domestic copyright exception covering these activities and allowing for the import and export of such materials. Sixty three countries signed the treaty as of the close of the diplomatic conference in Marrakesh. The ratification of 20 states was required for the treaty to enter into effect; the 20th ratification was received on 30 June 2016, and the treaty entered into force on 30 September 2016.
Ratification
India was the first country to ratify the treaty, on 24 July 2014. As of October 15, 2018, 80 countries have signed the Treaty and 97 states have ratified it including EU's 28 member-states who ratified as one entity, and most recently Belarus The European Union ratified the treaty for all 28 members on October 1, 2018. The provisions of the Treaty went into effect across the EU on January 1, 2019. On September 20, 2017, the EU Commission published a directive and a regulation on the Marrakesh treaty that had to be transposed into national law, in all 28 member states; the deadline for transposition was October 11, 2018. Member states were required to update their national laws to implement the Treaty's requirements later in 2018. This followed a lengthy and occasionally controversial process that began shortly after the treaty was initially passed. In March 2015, the Council of the European Union accused the European Commission of delaying the adoption of the treaty by EU and called upon the Commission "to submit without delay the necessary legislative proposal". There was continued opposition by some EU member states. On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Senate approved it and the implementation bill without apparent opposition; the House approved S.2559 via unanimous consent on September 25, 2018. The bill and the Treaty were signed into law by the President Trump on October 9, 2018. As a result, on February 8, 2019, the United States of America formally joined the treaty.
