The United Arab Emirates has joined the international treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)' --- the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities.
The two treaties were signed in Geneva at the WIPO headquarters by Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri in the presence of WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry, Abdullah Al Saleh, and Assistant Under-Secretary for the Intellectual Property Sector, Dr. Ali Al Hosani, apart from other senior U.A.E. and WIPO officials.
Al Mansouri said, "The United Arab Emirates ensures full transparency for the intellectual property in the business community, based on innovations in various fields, including technical. In this context, the national laws are not limited to intellectual property protection laws, but exceed them to support innovators in line with the highest international standards." He added that the treaty signed by the U.A.E. will ensure greater success for all workers in the production and technical sector, and provide better care and legal protection to their business and artistic innovations.
The Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances is a multilateral treaty, which regulates copyright for audiovisual performances and expands the performers' rights. It was adopted on 26 June 2012 by the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, in which 156 WIPO member states, six intergovernmental and six non-governmental organisations participated. Forty-eight countries signed the treaty on 26 June, 2012, followed by 19 other countries in 2012 and 2013. Five signatory states -- Botswana, China, Japan, Slovakia, and Syria -- have ratified the treaty.
According to WIPO, "The new treaty brings audiovisual performers into the fold of the international copyright framework in a comprehensive way for the first time." The treaty has been praised by artists and performers rights' activists of many countries and was endorsed by some activist non-governmental organizations, including Knowledge Ecology International.
The Marrakesh Treaty focuses on copyright exceptions to facilitate the creation of accessible versions of books and other copyrighted works. 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.