Difference between revisions of "Berne Convention"

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(Copied from Wikipedia GFDL, Revised 01:12, 10 September 2008 by 74.58.89.71)
 
(Some updating, removing WP links)
 
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{{otheruses|Berne Convention}}
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[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works&limit=500&action=history  Link to Wikipedia Article history.]
 
 
 
[[Image:Berne Convention.png|thumb|350px|[[List of countries party to the Berne Convention|Berne Convention signatory countries]] (in blue).]]
 
[[Image:Berne Convention.png|thumb|350px|[[List of countries party to the Berne Convention|Berne Convention signatory countries]] (in blue).]]
 
The '''Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works''', usually known as the '''Berne Convention''', is an international agreement governing [[copyright]], which was first accepted in [[Berne]], [[Switzerland]] in 1886.  
 
The '''Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works''', usually known as the '''Berne Convention''', is an international agreement governing [[copyright]], which was first accepted in [[Berne]], [[Switzerland]] in 1886.  
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
 
 
The Berne Convention was developed at the instigation of [[Victor Hugo]] as the [[Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale]].  Thus it was influenced by the French "[[French copyright law|right of the author]]" (''droit d'auteur''), which contrasts with the [[Common Law|Anglo-Saxon]] concept of "copyright" which only dealt with economic concerns.  Under the Convention, copyrights for [[creative works]] are automatically in force upon their creation without being asserted or declared. An author need not "register" or "apply for" a copyright in countries adhering to the Convention. As soon as a work is "fixed", that is, written or recorded on some physical medium, its author is automatically entitled to all copyrights in the work and to any [[derivative work]]s, unless and until the author explicitly disclaims them or until the copyright expires. Foreign authors are given the same rights and privileges to copyrighted material as domestic authors in any country that signed the Convention.
 
The Berne Convention was developed at the instigation of [[Victor Hugo]] as the [[Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale]].  Thus it was influenced by the French "[[French copyright law|right of the author]]" (''droit d'auteur''), which contrasts with the [[Common Law|Anglo-Saxon]] concept of "copyright" which only dealt with economic concerns.  Under the Convention, copyrights for [[creative works]] are automatically in force upon their creation without being asserted or declared. An author need not "register" or "apply for" a copyright in countries adhering to the Convention. As soon as a work is "fixed", that is, written or recorded on some physical medium, its author is automatically entitled to all copyrights in the work and to any [[derivative work]]s, unless and until the author explicitly disclaims them or until the copyright expires. Foreign authors are given the same rights and privileges to copyrighted material as domestic authors in any country that signed the Convention.
  
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==Content==
 
==Content==
 
 
The Berne Convention requires its signatories to recognise the copyright of works of authors from other signatory countries (known as members of the ''Berne Union'') in the same way it recognises the copyright of its own nationals. For example, French copyright law applies to anything published or performed in France, regardless of where it was originally created.
 
The Berne Convention requires its signatories to recognise the copyright of works of authors from other signatory countries (known as members of the ''Berne Union'') in the same way it recognises the copyright of its own nationals. For example, French copyright law applies to anything published or performed in France, regardless of where it was originally created.
  
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Although the Berne Convention states that the copyright law of the country where copyright is claimed shall be applied, article 7.8 states that "unless the legislation of that country otherwise provides, the term shall not exceed the term fixed in the country of origin of the work", i.e. an author is normally not entitled a longer copyright abroad than at home, even if the laws abroad give a longer term. This is commonly known as "the [[rule of the shorter term]]". Not all countries have accepted this rule.
 
Although the Berne Convention states that the copyright law of the country where copyright is claimed shall be applied, article 7.8 states that "unless the legislation of that country otherwise provides, the term shall not exceed the term fixed in the country of origin of the work", i.e. an author is normally not entitled a longer copyright abroad than at home, even if the laws abroad give a longer term. This is commonly known as "the [[rule of the shorter term]]". Not all countries have accepted this rule.
  
== Copyright and information technology ==
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==Copyright and information technology==
 
 
 
The [[World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty]] was adopted in 1996 to address the issues raised by [[information technology]] and the [[internet]], which were not addressed by the Berne Convention.
 
The [[World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty]] was adopted in 1996 to address the issues raised by [[information technology]] and the [[internet]], which were not addressed by the Berne Convention.
  
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[[Category:Treaties administered by WIPO]]
 
[[Category:Treaties administered by WIPO]]
 
[[Category:1886 in law]]
 
[[Category:1886 in law]]
 
[[cs:Bernská úmluva o ochraně literárních a uměleckých děl]]
 
[[da:Bernerkonventionen (ophavsret)]]
 
[[de:Berner Übereinkunft zum Schutz von Werken der Literatur und Kunst]]
 
[[es:Convenio de Berna]]
 
[[eo:Konvencio de Berno]]
 
[[fr:Convention de Berne pour la protection des œuvres littéraires et artistiques]]
 
[[ko:베른 협약]]
 
[[id:Konvensi Bern tentang Perlindungan Karya Seni dan Sastra]]
 
[[it:Convenzione di Berna per la protezione delle opere letterarie e artistiche]]
 
[[he:אמנת ברן]]
 
[[ms:Konvensyen Berne bagi Perlindungan Karya Sastera dan Seni]]
 
[[nl:Conventie van Bern (1886)]]
 
[[ja:文学的及び美術的著作物の保護に関するベルヌ条約]]
 
[[no:Bernkonvensjonen]]
 
[[pl:Konwencja berneńska o ochronie dzieł literackich i artystycznych]]
 
[[pt:Convenção da União de Berna]]
 
[[sk:Bernská dohoda o ochrane literárnych a umeleckých diel]]
 
[[sv:Bernkonventionen för skydd av litterära och konstnärliga verk]]
 
[[vi:Công ước Bern]]
 
[[tr:Edebi ve sanatsal eserlerin korunmasına dair Bern Konvansiyonu]]
 
[[uk:Бернська конвенція про охорону літературних і художніх творів]]
 
[[zh:伯尔尼公约]]
 

Latest revision as of 21:09, 19 September 2008

Link to Wikipedia Article history.

The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland in 1886.

History

The Berne Convention was developed at the instigation of Victor Hugo as the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale. Thus it was influenced by the French "right of the author" (droit d'auteur), which contrasts with the Anglo-Saxon concept of "copyright" which only dealt with economic concerns. Under the Convention, copyrights for creative works are automatically in force upon their creation without being asserted or declared. An author need not "register" or "apply for" a copyright in countries adhering to the Convention. As soon as a work is "fixed", that is, written or recorded on some physical medium, its author is automatically entitled to all copyrights in the work and to any derivative works, unless and until the author explicitly disclaims them or until the copyright expires. Foreign authors are given the same rights and privileges to copyrighted material as domestic authors in any country that signed the Convention.

Before the Berne Convention, national copyright laws usually only applied for works created within each country. Consequently, a work published in United Kingdom (UK) by a British national would be covered by copyright there, but could be copied and sold by anyone in France. Likewise, a work published in France by a French national could be copyright there, but could be copied and sold by anyone in the UK.

The Berne Convention followed in the footsteps of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883, which in the same way had created a framework for international integration of the other types of intellectual property: patents, trademarks and industrial designs.

Like the Paris Convention, the Berne Convention set up a bureau to handle administrative tasks. In 1893, these two small bureaux merged and became the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property (best known by its French acronym BIRPI), situated in Berne. In 1960, BIRPI moved to Geneva, to be closer to the United Nations and other international organizations in that city. In 1967, it became the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and in 1974 became an organization within the United Nations.

The Berne Convention was revised in Paris in 1896 and in Berlin in 1908, completed in Berne in 1914, revised in Rome in 1928, in Brussels in 1948, in Stockholm in 1967 and in Paris in 1971, and was amended in 1979. The UK signed in 1887 but did not implement large parts of it until 100 years later with the passage of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

The United States initially refused to become party to the Convention since it would have required major changes in its copyright law, particularly with regard to moral rights, removal of general requirement for registration of copyright works and elimination of mandatory copyright notice. This led to the Universal Copyright Convention in 1952 to accommodate the wishes of the United States. But on March 1, 1989, the U.S. "Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988" came into force and the United States became a party to the Berne Convention, making the Universal Copyright Convention obsolete.

Since almost all nations are members of the World Trade Organization, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights requires non-members to accept almost all of the conditions of the Berne Convention.

As of September 2008, there are 164 countries that are parties to the Berne Convention.

Content

The Berne Convention requires its signatories to recognise the copyright of works of authors from other signatory countries (known as members of the Berne Union) in the same way it recognises the copyright of its own nationals. For example, French copyright law applies to anything published or performed in France, regardless of where it was originally created.

In addition to establishing a system of equal treatment that internationalised copyright amongst signatories, the agreement also required member states to provide strong minimum standards for copyright law.

Copyright under the Berne Convention must be automatic; it is prohibited to require formal registration (note however that when the United States joined the Convention in 1988, they continued to make statutory damages and attorney's fees only available for registered works).

The Berne Convention states that all works except photographic and cinematographic shall be copyrighted for at least 50 years after the author's death, but parties are free to provide longer terms, as the European Union did with the 1993 Directive on harmonising the term of copyright protection. For photography, the Berne Convention sets a minimum term of 25 years from the year the photograph was created, and for cinematography the minimum is 50 years after first showing, or 50 years after creation if it hasn't been shown within 50 years after the creation. Countries under the older revisions of the treaty may choose to provide their own protection terms, and certain types of works (such as phonorecords and motion pictures) may be provided shorter terms.

Although the Berne Convention states that the copyright law of the country where copyright is claimed shall be applied, article 7.8 states that "unless the legislation of that country otherwise provides, the term shall not exceed the term fixed in the country of origin of the work", i.e. an author is normally not entitled a longer copyright abroad than at home, even if the laws abroad give a longer term. This is commonly known as "the rule of the shorter term". Not all countries have accepted this rule.

Copyright and information technology

The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty was adopted in 1996 to address the issues raised by information technology and the internet, which were not addressed by the Berne Convention.

See also

External links

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