Blind SA takes minister Parks Tau to court over treaty delay
Blind SA wants the courts to overturn Minister Parks Tau's decision to delay adopting the Marrakesh Treaty until the Copyright Amendment Bill becomes law. The organisation says the delay keeps blind and print-disabled readers from hundreds of thousands of books.
The Marrakesh Treaty would let accessible versions of published works be produced and exchanged across borders. Blind SA argues the delay has gone on for too long. It says adopting the treaty could immediately widen access to hundreds of thousands of publications across genres.
South Africa's libraries for blind readers hold about 40,000 titles. One online library in the US offers 1.3-million accessible books. Blind SA says converting an average novel into braille costs about R30,000 and takes about a month.
Blind SA president Christoffel de Klerk called the government's reasons for the delay "frivolous". He said the case shows the rights of blind and partially sighted people are not taken seriously. He said learners and students are hit hardest because they lack educational material.
The treaty was adopted on 27 June 2013. About 130 countries have acceded to it.
Key facts
- Who
- Parks Tau (trade, industry and competition minister, whose decision to delay adoption of…); Christoffel de Klerk (president of Blind SA); Blind SA (organisation taking the government to court)
- What
- Blind SA has approached the courts to challenge Parks Tau's decision to delay South Africa's adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty, which would let accessible versions of published works be produced and exchanged across borders. The organisation argues the delay has gone on too long and is keeping blind and print-disabled readers from hundreds of thousands of books.
- When
- 22 October 2026
- Where
- South Africa, United States
- Status
- Reported