Join us Tuesday, October 20, to learn about an important pending international copyright agreement. Krista Cox, director of public policy initiatives for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), was part of the Diplomatic Conference that concluded the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. The campus and the public are invited to her talk, 1:00-2:30 p.m., in the Hodges Library auditorium.

The Marrakesh Treaty creates minimum limitations and exceptions to copyright for those with print disabilities and, importantly, allows for the cross-border sharing of accessible format copies. Over the last two years, ten countries have ratified the Marrakesh Treaty (twenty are needed for entry into force) and the Obama Administration is preparing to send its ratification package to the US Senate.

The treaty was negotiated by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations that encourages creative activity and protects intellectual property throughout the world. The Marrakesh Treaty is the first international copyright treaty focused on limitations and exceptions. Ratification of the treaty would not only benefit those in developing countries, but also would benefit those in the United States, particularly those looking to learn a foreign language or those who do not speak English as a first language.

As ARL’s director of public policy initiatives, Cox monitors legislative trends and participates in ARL’s outreach to the Executive Branch and the US Congress. She received her JD from the University of Notre Dame and her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the State Bar of California.