Kalimat Foundation becomes UAE’s first non-profit to secure exceptional publishing rights under Marrakesh Treaty

SHARJAH – Kalimat Foundation (KF) has been authorized by the UAE Ministry of Economy to facilitate access of the visually impaired and print-disabled to published works in line with the terms of the Marrakesh Treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The Foundation is the first non-profit organization in the UAE to obtain such a license.

The issuance of the license enables KF to reproduce, distribute, and make copies of published works available in accessible formats for the blind, visually impaired, and otherwise print disabled, within the country or internationally, without infringing copyright.

Bodour Al Qasimi, Founder and Chairperson of Kalimat Foundation and President of the International Publishers Association, emphasized that the Foundation’s recognition as an authorized entity will allow it to take advantage of the exemptions to copyright under the Marrakesh Treaty to better serve the visually impaired and print-disabled by enabling them to access a wide range of specially adapted books and updated sources of knowledge.

The Chairperson of Kalimat Foundation thanked the Ministry of Economy for their trust in the Foundation, which reflects the support provided by the nation’s wise leadership to all cultural institutions and their belief in the importance of making knowledge accessible to all segments of the community. She pointed out that the copyright exemption attained through the treaty would strengthen KF's programmes and initiatives targeting children, which aim to uphold their right to access books and knowledge sources.

H.E. Abdulla Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, said: “The UAE is keen to develop its laws and regulations regarding intellectual property (IP) and copyright protection in line with international best practices. The Federal Decree-Law No. (38) of 2021 on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights empowers differently-abled people with visual impairment to gain access to knowledge and helps them further their participation in cultural life, boost  creativity, and harness the benefits of technological progress in publishing through the country’s accession to the Marrakesh Treaty.”

Furthermore, H.E. Al Saleh pointed out that granting the first accessible format copy license to the Kalimat Foundation to facilitate access to published works for the blind and print-disabled under the Marrakesh Treaty reflects the UAE’s commitment to nurturing intellectual and creative works that target the differently-abled and reinforces its position as a distinguished global hub for creativity and innovation.

The license secured by Kalimat Foundation enables it to upload and download books in the Epub3 format from WIPO's ABC Global Book Service to increase the number of books available to the visually impaired or persons with print disabilities around the world. KF is focused on adding more  Arabic titles to this segment for the community. Through a partnership agreement signed in 2019 with Knowledge without Borders's cultural initiative – ‘1001 Titles', KF has launched 100 titles in Epub3 to enable the visually impaired or persons with print disabilities to gain access to rich content.

Marrakesh Treaty

The Marrakesh Treaty was adopted on June 27, 2013, and came into force on September 30, 2016. It requires contracting parties to introduce a standard set of limitations and exceptions to copyright rules to permit reproduction, distribution, and making available of published works in formats designed to be accessible to persons who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled to enable them to have access to copyrighted content.

Through its Ara initiative, which aims to support blind and visually impaired children by facilitating the production of accessible Arabic content, Kalimat Foundation has provided more than 20,000 titles in various formats in 36 locations in six MENA countries.