Many international agreements work to offer exclusive copyright protections to authors and creators. Most notably, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works has arguably transformed copyright laws and principles on a global scale. With that being said, please continue reading to learn more about the Berne Convention and how an experienced New Jersey copyright lawyer at The Ingber Law Firm can help you determine how its main principles may apply to you.
What is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works?
To reiterate, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is an international copyright law agreement that protects the rights of authors and creators and their original works. Of note, this notion applies regardless of the nationality of an author or creator, so long as they are a part of a signatory country.
To backtrack, this convention was established in 1886 by 10 European countries that met in Bern, Switzerland with this goal in mind. Since then, the convention has been revised many times. Today, the convention has over 180 member countries, making for universally, well-known principles. The United States joined the convention in 1988. This is to say that many federal copyright laws you follow now are significantly influenced by the original Berne Convention.
What are the main principles established by the Berne Convention?
You should know that the Bern Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works mainly upholds principles regarding copyright recognition and moral rights.
For one, the convention holds that copyright recognition should apply automatically upon creation, without the necessity of copyright registration first. In other words, the original work of an author or creator should be protected as soon as it is fixed in a tangible medium. However, an author or creator should still go through the process of obtaining official copyright protection over the original work soon after.
Secondly, the convention holds the importance of moral rights so that authors and creators may claim ownership over their original works and oppose any detraction that may harm their brand or reputation. However, the United States copyright law may only recognize such moral rights for original works of visual art.
Without further ado, below are other key principles established by the Berne Convention:
- Protection: signatory countries must provide the same level of security to original works from other signatory countries as they do for their citizens.
- Control: authors and creators hold the right to regulate how their original work is used and who else has the right to use it (i.e., adaptation, reproduction, distribution, etc).
- Minimum standards: signatory countries must enforce a minimum timeline for how long original works may be offered security (i.e., 25, 50, or 75 years from its origin, etc).
At any rate, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a skilled Essex County, New Jersey intellectual property lawyer today. We, at The Ingber Law Firm, look forward to your phone call.
