The Minister for Justice and Attorney General in the wake of her call to the floor of Parliament has indicated that the Marrakesh Treaty ratified by Ghana will enter into force in August this year.
Appearing before the plenary this week, the Minister stated that a first stakeholders’ meeting was held at the Copyright Office on Friday, April 13 and the outcome of the meeting will be forwarded with instructions to the Legislative Drafting Division of the Office of the Attorney General to effect the requisite amendments to the Copyright Act, Act 690.
Miss Akuffo further pointed out that certain initiatives must be put in place to ensure effective implementation.
“to ensure a full implementation of the Treaty, the Copyright Office will have to initiate a process of amending Section 19 of the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) to include provisions for the blind and visually impaired persons. The amendment of the law will enable the blind and visually impaired persons to have access to published works in accessible format like, Braille, audio books and large prints. Also, to sensitise stakeholders on the proposed amendment, the Copyright Office has initiated stakeholders’ engagement on the proposed amendments to solicit contributions that will promote the actualisation of the goal of the Treaty”.
Background of Treaty
The Marrakesh Treaty, which seeks to facilitate access to published works for the visually impaired was adopted on June 27, 2018 at a Diplomatic Conference organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Marrakesh in the Kingdom of Morocco after over a decade of international negotiations.
The main objective of the treaty is to improve access to copyright works for persons with print disability and the visually impaired around the World.
In a Cabinet meeting held in June last year, Cabinet granted policy approval to the treaty for it to be laid in Parliament for ratification.
At the fifth sitting of the third meeting of Parliament held in October 2017, a resolution was passed to ractify the Treaty.
President Akufo-Addo has since executed the Instrument of Ratification of the Treaty and was deposited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
