Saptaswara Chakraborty| North Eastern Hill University| 26th June 2020
Introduction
Every country across the globe has a set of their copyright laws. But such enforcement of laws is limited by a certain amount of international treaties which are present to act as a watchdog and to also maintain the fair use of the copyright treaties. The reason for the presence of these treaties is: Firstly that such a treaty ensures that the nations might enact legislation that might protect their citizens but in return would harm or pose as a danger for the other respected countries. Such discrimination was rather more prevalent before the implementation of the laws that would ensure protection from such unfair practices. Secondly, a much somewhat disputed argument is that copyright holders believe that the underdeveloped or the developing nation would not adopt to the adequate copyright protection laws unless they are forced to. Apart from these reasons, the main and the credible way would be to adapt to a treaty which could access and achieve the listed out goals. But at present, there are six major multilateral agreements, each being different and a different set of member countries. Four of the six organisations are managed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, one by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation and the other by the World Trade Organisation. Out of all the six treaties about the copyright laws, not even one contains a comprehensive set of rules or standards for a copyright system. Each of the treaties requires the attention of the member countries to deal with the particular issues for a specific way.
Agreements which constitute the International Treaty
Following are the description of the six major treaties:
- Berne Convention– In the year 1886, ten European states signed the Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works so as to reduce the amount of confusion about international copyright laws. The Berne Convention is made up of the three fundamental principles- firstly, the principle of “ national treatment” which requires the member countries to give the residents of the other member countries the same rights under the copyright laws. Secondly the principle of “independence” of protection. This means that protection is given to the foreign works as what would be given to domestic work. Thirdly the principle of “automatic protection” which forbids the member countries from requiring persons from the other Berne Convention member countries to undergo legal formalities as a prerequisite for copyright protection.
- Universal Copyright Convention– The Universal Copyright Convention was developed by UNESCO and adopted in the year 1952. This was created as an alternative to the Berne Convention. It addressed the desire of several countries to enjoy the same multilateral copyright protection without them joining the Berne Convention. It is much more liberal than those of the Berne Convention. The increased flexibility was intended to accommodate countries at different economic levels and diverse social system. The UCC also incorporates the principle of national treatment and prohibits any form of discrimination between the member countries. However, the importance of this Convention has decreased over the years as most of the countries are now part of the World Trade Organisation.
- Rome Convention( 1961)– By 1961, the technology has significantly progressed, and therefore, inventions such as tape recorders made it easier for the copy to record works. This, however, was not covered by the Berne Convention because this Convention was applicable only to printed works. Therefore it did not help copyright holders defend against the new technologies. This led to the creating of the Rome Convention by the members of the WIPO for the protection of Performers. Producers of Phonogram and Broadcast Organisations on October 26, 1961. At present 91 countries have signed the Rome Convention. The membership for the Rome Convention was however available only to the members who are already a part of the Berne Convention or to the Universal Copyright Convention. The membership to such an organisation also affects the domestic laws as the country avoid the application of rules that would require significant changes to the national laws.
- WIPO Copyright Treaty( WCT)– In the digital age, the way copyright owners reproduce, distribute, and market their works has changed. Various books, articles, photographs are now commonly stored in the electrical forms. But their forms which were meant to make the tasks easier has now led to the widespread copying of copyright works. This concern thus led the governments of developed countries for the creation of the two treaties: the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performance and the Phonograms Treaty. Under the WIPO Copyright Treaty, which came into force on March 6, 2005, it is an exclusive agreement under the Berne Convention, it provides for the countries to grant copyright protection to computer programs and to databases.
- WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty(WPPT)- The members of the WIPO signed the WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty on December 20, 1996. The WPPT provides and enhances the intellectual property rights of performers, producers and phonograms. Phonograms include tapes, compact discs, digital audiotapes, etc. Eighty-six countries are parties to the WPPT.
- The Agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) – The TRIPS is an intellectual agreement under the WTO which was negotiated in the year 1994. The provision of the TRIPS does not differ drastically when compared to the Berne Convention. The only difference is that the member countries are required to grant copyright protection to the computer programmes and data compilation unlike the Berne Convention which requires the protection of the authors’ moral rights
Remarks
Each of the treaties is specifically designed for a particular set of ideals and protection. While talking about international conventions, it is essential to know that there does not explicitly exist any one international treaty. Rather there is a culmination of various deals which governs the copyright laws. For an effective copyright system, three pillars are required: legislation, enforcement and management. Each of them helps in the proper functioning of the international copyright treaties.
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