Copyright Protection in Foreign Countries
The Berne Convention is an international treaty that provides copyright protection to authors around the world. This treaty provides protection for authors in all countries that are signatories to the Berne Convention from the moment a work is fixed in a tangible medium. There are more than one hundred (100) countries that are members of the treaty. Although there are basic principals and minimum standards set forth in the treaty, the full extent of copyright protection that an author receives in each country depends on the copyright laws of the individual countries. For example, the length of copyright protection varies between States, with the minimum in any country pursuant to the Berne Convention being life of the author plus fifty (50) years.
The Berne Convention contains three basic principals to protect copyright owners. The first principal is that any work that originates in one of the contracting States (ie: the author is a citizen of that State or the work is first published in the State) must be granted the same protection in each of the other contracting States as that State grants to the works of its own citizens. The second principal of the Convention is that copyright protection provided by each State must not be conditioned upon compliance with any formality. Therefore, things such as registration requirements are prohibited by the Convention. The third principal is that protection in all other States is independent of any protection provided in the country of origin.
There are certain minimum standards that each member of the Berne Convention must provide to a copyright owner. First, protection must be provided to “every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression” (Article 2(1) of the Convention). Second, the Convention requires that the following rights be recognized as exclusive rights of the author: a) the right to translate, b) the right to make adaptations and arrangements of the work, c)the right to perform in public dramatic, dramatico-musical and musical works, d) the right to recite in public literary works, e)the right to communicate to the public the performance of such works, f) the right to broadcast, g)the right to make reproductions in any manner or form, h)the right to use the work as a basis for an audiovisual work, and the right to reproduce, distribute, perform in public or communicate to the public that audiovisual work.
The Convention also provides for “moral rights,” that is, the right to claim authorship of the work and the right to object to any mutilation or deformation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the work which would be prejudicial to the author’s honor or reputation.
As stated above, the Berne Convention prohibits countries from requiring registration, or any other formal procedure, by an author in order to obtain copyright protection. Therefore, most countries have no formal registration process at all. The United States requires registration as a prerequisite to filing suit or receiving certain statutory damages, but such registration is not required for copyright protection itself. Like the United States, Canada does have a registration process. The benefit of registration in Canada is that registration provides prima facie evidence of copyright ownership. But, registration is not the only way an author can prove ownership. Proving ownership of copyright can be as simple as showing previous drafts of the work and records of the creation of the work.
A list of countries who are parties to the Berne Convention:
Contracting Party | Date Became a member |
Albania | March 6, 1994 |
Algeria | April 19, 1998 |
Andorra | June 2, 2004 |
Antigua and Barbuda | March 17, 2000 |
Argentina | June 10, 1967 |
Armenia | October 19, 2000 |
Australia | April 14, 1928 |
Austria | October 1, 1920 |
Azerbaijan | June 4, 1999 |
Bahamas | July 10, 1973 |
Bahrain | March 2, 1997 |
Bangladesh | May 4, 1999 |
Barbados | July 30, 1983 |
Belarus | December 12, 1997 |
Belgium | December 5, 1887 |
Belize | June 17, 2000 |
Benin | January 3, 1961 |
Bhutan | November 25, 2004 |
Bolivia | November 4, 1993 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | March 1, 1992 |
Botswana | April 15, 1998 |
Brazil | February 9, 1922 |
Brunei Darussalam | August 30, 2006 |
Bulgaria | December 5, 1921 |
Burkina Faso | August 19, 1963 |
Cameroon | September 21, 1964 |
Canada | April 10, 1928 |
Cape Verde | July 7, 1997 |
Central African Republic | September 3, 1977 |
Chad | November 25, 1971 |
Chile | June 5, 1970 |
China | October 15, 1992 |
Colombia | March 7, 1988 |
Comoros | April 17, 2005 |
Congo | May 8, 1962 |
Costa Rica | June 10, 1978 |
Côte d'Ivoire | January 1, 1962 |
Croatia | October 8, 1991 |
Cuba | February 20, 1997 |
Cyprus | February 24, 1964 |
Czech Republic | January 1, 1993 |
Democratic People's Republic of Korea | April 28, 2003 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | October 8, 1963 |
Denmark | July 1, 1903 |
Djibouti | May 13, 2002 |
Dominica | August 7, 1999 |
Dominican Republic | December 24, 1997 |
Ecuador | October 9, 1991 |
Egypt | June 7, 1977 |
El Salvador | February 19, 1994 |
Equatorial Guinea | June 26, 1997 |
Estonia | October 26, 1994 |
Fiji | December 1, 1971 |
Finland | April 1, 1928 |
France | December 5, 1887 |
Gabon | March 26, 1962 |
Gambia | March 7, 1993 |
Georgia | May 16, 1995 |
Germany | December 5, 1887 |
Ghana | October 11, 1991 |
Greece | November 9, 1920 |
Grenada | September 22, 1998 |
Guatemala | July 28, 1997 |
Guinea | November 20, 1980 |
Guinea-Bissau | July 22, 1991 |
Guyana | October 25, 1994 |
Haiti | January 11, 1996 |
Holy See | September 12, 1935 |
Honduras | January 25, 1990 |
Hungary | February 14, 1922 |
Iceland | September 7, 1947 |
India | April 1, 1928 |
Indonesia | September 5, 1997 |
Ireland | October 5, 1927 |
Israel | March 24, 1950 |
Italy | December 5, 1887 |
Jamaica | January 1, 1994 |
Japan | July 15, 1899 |
Jordan | July 28, 1999 |
Kazakhstan | April 12, 1999 |
Kenya | June 11, 1993 |
Kyrgyzstan | July 8, 1999 |
Latvia | August 11, 1995 |
Lebanon | September 30, 1947 |
Lesotho | September 28, 1989 |
Liberia | March 8, 1989 |
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | September 28, 1976 |
Liechtenstein | July 30, 1931 |
Lithuania | December 14, 1994 |
Luxembourg | June 20, 1888 |
Madagascar | January 1, 1966 |
Malawi | October 12, 1991 |
Malaysia | October 1, 1990 |
Mali | March 19, 1962 |
Malta | September 21, 1964 |
Mauritania | February 6, 1973 |
Mauritius | May 10, 1989 |
Mexico | June 11, 1967 |
Micronesia (Federated States of) | October 7, 2003 |
Moldova | November 2, 1995 |
Monaco | May 30, 1889 |
Mongolia | March 12, 1998 |
Montenegro | June 3, 2006 |
Morocco | June 16, 1917 |
Namibia | March 21, 1990 |
Nepal | January 11, 2006 |
Netherlands | November 1, 1912 |
New Zealand | April 24, 1928 |
Nicaragua | August 23, 2000 |
Niger | May 2, 1962 |
Nigeria | September 14, 1993 |
Norway | April 13, 1896 |
Oman | July 14, 1999 |
Pakistan | July 5, 1948 |
Panama | June 8, 1996 |
Paraguay | January 2, 1992 |
Peru | August 20, 1988 |
Philippines | August 1, 1951 |
Poland | January 28, 1920 |
Portugal | March 29, 1911 |
Qatar | July 5, 2000 |
Republic of Korea | August 21, 1996 |
Romania | January 1, 1927 |
Russian Federation | March 13, 1995 |
Rwanda | March 1, 1984 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | April 9, 1995 |
Saint Lucia | August 24, 1993 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | August 29, 1995 |
Samoa | July 21, 2006 |
Saudi Arabia | March 11, 2004 |
Senegal | August 25, 1962 |
Serbia | April 27, 1992 |
Singapore | December 21, 1998 |
Slovakia | January 1, 1993 |
Slovenia | June 25, 1991 |
South Africa | October 3, 1928 |
Spain | December 5, 1887 |
Sri Lanka | July 20, 1959 |
Sudan | December 28, 2000 |
Suriname | February 23, 1977 |
Swaziland | December 14, 1998 |
Sweden | August 1, 1904 |
Switzerland | December 5, 1887 |
Syrian Arab Republic | June 11, 2004 |
Tajikistan | March 9, 2000 |
Thailand | July 17, 1931 |
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | September 8, 1991 |
Togo | April 30, 1975 |
Tonga | June 14, 2001 |
Trinidad and Tobago | August 16, 1988 |
Tunisia | December 5, 1887 |
Turkey | January 1, 1952 |
Ukraine | October 25, 1995 |
United Arab Emirates | July 14, 2004 |
United Kingdom | December 5, 1887 |
United Republic of Tanzania | July 25, 1994 |
United States of America | March 1, 1989 |
Uruguay | July 10, 1967 |
Uzbekistan | April 19, 2005 |
Venezuela | December 30, 1982 |
Viet Nam | October 26, 2004 |
Zambia | January 2, 1992 |
Zimbabwe | April 18, 1980 |
