SEA Panamá

On 18 March 2015, modifications to the Copyright Legislation in Mexico were made with the aim of adapting the existing legislation to the Marrakesh Treaty and the publication of texts for Persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled. Mexican copyright holders claimed that that the draft did not limit appropriately the formats of publications and the type of disabilities which were subject to the Treaty related exceptions, which, in turn, could open the door for unremunerated reproduction of copyrighted works beyond the intention of the Treaty, potentially causing serious damages to the publishing industry. The Mexican Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) has now ruled in 5 different cases stating that the modifications introduced in 2015 are ineffective and unclear. It added the following precepts to provide clarity and protect the interest of the rightholders:

1) Published works protected by copyright can be used as long as their normal exploitation is not affected, therefore they need to be adequate to the accessible formats and the technology that are required for the different types of disabilities

2) The works can be used without the copyright holder permission and without remuneration

3) In all cases the source shall be mentioned

4) The content cannot be altered

The official communication from the SCJN on the matter is available in Spanish here (page 26).