The project reCreating Europe examines stakeholders’ perspectives on the European copyright regulatory framework to promote a creative, diverse, and accessible Europe. Work Package (WP) 2 – End users and access to culture focuses on the role of end-users’ rights, interests, expectations, and behaviours vis-à-vis copyright rules. Task 2.5 - Empirical case studies on the effectiveness of regulatory measures to increase digital access to academics and people with visual impairments encompasses two empirical case studies assessing the impact of regulatory responses to paradigmatic access issues: (i) academics and the research exception, and (ii) visually impaired people and the so-called Marrakesh VIP exception. The two case studies are independently carried out. However, close communication and collaboration between the research teams in the case study design will allow comparability of data gathered. This interim report outlines the objectives of the two case studies, reviews relevant literature supporting the analysis of the case studies, lays out the specific research questions, and the methodology followed for the sampling and data collection. Please note: a screen-reader accessible version of this report can be downloaded via this link https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=19bukOxlG8qDgIK9PrVdce3ox2oL0q4oL