World Copyright Convention

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The Universal Copyright Convention ( Universal Copyright Convention ) was in Geneva decided on 6 September 1,952th It should represent a worldwide regulation for the protection of copyrights and facilitate the distribution of intellectual works. The signatory states undertook to adapt their own legal bases accordingly. The agreement was last revised on July 24, 1971 in Paris .

Article II, paragraph 1 of the agreement provides: “The published works of nationals of a contracting state as well as the works first published in the territory of such a state enjoy the same protection in any other contracting state that this other state first published in its own territory Works of its nationals granted. "

According to Article III, member states are free to provide for certain formalities to obtain copyright protection for works published in their country and for published works by their citizens, such as marking, depositing, registration, payment of fees and the like. For works published abroad by foreign citizens, the formality is to be considered fulfilled if the copyright symbol with the owner of the copyright and the year of first publication is noted in a suitable place on each work piece . This is relevant for countries that have not joined the Bern Agreement or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) with its TRIPS , such as Cambodia, Iran, Iraq, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and, before 1989, the USA.

Article IV provides for a minimum period of protection from the artist's lifetime and 25 years after his death. If a calculation from the time of publication is provided for when signing in a country, this may continue to exist and also be extended to other types of work, but must also have a minimum duration of 25 years. If the member state also provides for a period of protection for works of photography and applied art , it must be at least 10 years. In the case of "simultaneous" (within 30 days) publication in several member states, the shortest protection period applies.

According to Article V, protection also applies to the authorization and publication of translations. However, if seven years have passed and you have not received a translation permit or you have not been able to locate the rights holder despite efforts, you can apply for a non-exclusive license in your own country to translate the work into the national languages ​​and publish it in that country. Under certain conditions, this translation can also be imported into other countries in which the language is also common. Appropriate remuneration must be guaranteed. If all work pieces of a work have been withdrawn from circulation by the author, no license will be granted.

If a country is recognized as a developing country after application, the period is reduced to three years; the national language is not common in any developed country, even for a year. However, these translations are usually not allowed to be placed on the market in other countries and must contain a corresponding note, with exceptions. Here too, appropriate remuneration must be guaranteed. If the owner of the translation right publishes his own version at a reasonable price, production must be stopped. Free translations can also be made for educational broadcasts on the radio. (Art. V bis and Art. V ter ) In Art. V quater further possibilities are provided if works are out of print and they are used for systematic teaching.

In Additional Protocol 1, the works of stateless persons or refugees are assigned to the contracting state with their habitual residence. Additional Protocol 2 extends copyright protection to works by the United Nations , its specialized agencies, and the Organization of American States .

The world copyright agreement is not effective between the countries of the Bern Association. If a country leaves the Bern Association after 1951, works from this country are not protected under the World Copyright Agreement within the Bern Association either, except for countries that make use of the special regulations as developing countries.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Copyright Protection in Other Countries - Information Sheet G030v10 , Australian Copyright Council, March 2008
  2. Matthias Wießner, The GDR and the international copyright regime, in: Hannes Siegrist (ed.), Delimitation of Property in Modern Societies and Legal Cultures, Comparativ 16 (2006) 5-6, pp. 249–267, 263.