While no
creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, and composition.
Legal definitions
Creative works require a cre ...
is automatically protected worldwide, there are international
treaties
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
which provide protection automatically for all creative works as soon as they are fixed in a medium. There are two primary international copyright agreements, the
Buenos Aires Convention
The Buenos Aires Convention (Third Pan-American Convention) is an international copyright treaty signed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 11 August 1910, providing mutual recognition of copyrights where the work carries a notice containing a state ...
and the
Berne Convention
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, was an international assembly held in 1886 in the Swiss city of Bern by ten European countries with the goal to agree on a set of leg ...
.
Berne Convention
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (also referred to as just the Berne Convention) requires protection for all creative works in a fixed medium be automatic, and last for at least 50 years after the author's death for any work except for photographic and cinematographic works. Photographic works are tied to a minimum of 25 years. Cinematographic works are protected for 50 years after first showing, or 50 years after creation if it hasn't been shown within 50 years after the creation. The Berne Convention also allows for the rule of the shorter term, stating 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". Not all countries have applied this rule however.
Buenos Aires Convention
The Buenos Aires Convention (Third
Pan-American Convention
The Conferences of American States, commonly referred to as the Pan-American Conferences, were meetings of the Pan-American Union
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos E ...
) was a treaty signed by most
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
n countries, which allows for protection of all creative works as long as they contain a notice informing that the creator claims copyright on it. The Buenos Aires Convention also instituted the ''
rule of the shorter term
The rule of the shorter term, also called the comparison of terms, is a provision in international copyright treaties. The provision allows that signatory countries can limit the duration of copyright they grant to foreign works under national tre ...
'', where the length of the copyright term for the work in a country was whichever was shorter - the length of the term in the source country, or the protecting country of the work.
All Buenos Aires countries are now also parties to the Berne Convention, but elements from Buenos Aires are still used in the modern era, such as the rule of the shorter term.
See also
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International Copyright Act of 1891
The International Copyright Act of 1891 (, March 3, 1891) is the first U.S. congressional act that extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations.
Formally known as the "International Copyright Act of 1891", but more ...
*
Copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...
*
Copyright law by country
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
*
History of copyright law
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
Intellectual property organization
Intellectual property organizations are organizations that are focused on copyrights, trademarks, patents, or other intellectual property law concepts. This includes international intergovernmental organizations that foster governmental cooperatio ...
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List of parties to international copyright treaties
Below is a list of countries which have signed and ratified one or more multilateral international copyright treaties. This list covers only multilateral treaties (i.e., treaties by more than two countries). It does not include bilateral treat ...
*
Philosophy of copyright
The philosophy of copyright considers philosophical issues linked to copyright policy, and other jurisprudential problems that arise in legal systems' interpretation and application of copyright law.
One debate concerns the purpose of copyrigh ...
References
External links
World Intellectual Property Organization
{{Copyright law by country
*list
Copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...