Navigating the Waters of International Copyright Conventions

When an Indian author publishes a novel, do they need to separately register their copyright in every country where they want protection? What stops a publisher in another country from simply copying and distributing their work without permission? The answer lies in a network of international conventions that have been quietly shaping copyright protection across borders for well over a century. Understanding these conventions is not just an academic exercise – it is fundamental to grasping how intellectual property rights function in a globalised world.

Why international copyright conventions exist 🔗

Copyright is territorial by nature. A right granted under Indian law, for instance, does not automatically extend to France, Japan, or the United States. Before international agreements came into the picture, an author’s work could be freely copied and sold in foreign countries with no legal consequence. This created a serious problem for creators and incentivised piracy across borders. International conventions were the solution – they created a framework where member countries agreed to extend reciprocal protection to foreign authors, ensuring that a creator’s work would be respected wherever these treaties applied.

The Berne Convention (1886): The foundation of international copyright 🔗

The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, adopted in 1886 in Berne, Switzerland, is the cornerstone of international copyright law. It began with just ten European countries but has since grown to over 180 member nations, making it one of the most widely ratified intellectual property treaties in existence. India is a member of the Berne Convention, which means Indian authors benefit from its protections in every other member country.

Three core principles 🔗

The Berne Convention rests on three foundational principles. First, national treatment: each member country must give foreign authors from other member states the same protection it gives to its own nationals. So an Indian author’s book published in France enjoys the same rights a French author would enjoy there. Second, automatic protection: copyright arises the moment a work is created and fixed in a tangible form – no registration, no formalities, no copyright notice is required. Third, independence of protection: the protection in a foreign country is independent of the level of protection in the country of origin.

Minimum standards and duration 🔗

The Convention sets minimum standards that all member countries must meet. The minimum copyright duration is the life of the author plus 50 years for most categories of work. Member countries are free to provide longer terms – many do – but they cannot fall below this baseline. The Convention also protects an extensive range of works, including novels, music, films, paintings, sculptures, and architectural works. Importantly, it also recognises moral rights – the right of attribution and the right of integrity – which allow authors to object to distortions or modifications of their works that harm their reputation. These are distinct from economic rights and, in many jurisdictions, cannot be waived or transferred.

The Berne Convention has been revised several times since 1886 – in Berlin, Rome, Brussels, Stockholm, and finally Paris in 1971 – but has not seen substantive revision since then, largely because any amendment requires the unanimous consent of all member states, making updates practically very difficult.

The Universal Copyright Convention (1952): A parallel system 🔗

Not all countries were ready or willing to adopt the relatively high standards of the Berne Convention in the early post-war years. To address this, UNESCO facilitated the creation of the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), which was adopted in Geneva in 1952 and came into force in 1955. The UCC was designed as an alternative for countries – particularly the United States and several developing nations – that had not yet joined the Berne Union.

The UCC operates on a simpler framework. It requires member states to provide adequate and effective copyright protection but does not mandate the same stringent minimum standards as the Berne Convention. One key requirement under the original UCC was the use of the © symbol along with the name of the copyright holder and the year of first publication – a formality that Berne explicitly prohibits from being made a condition of protection. The UCC was revised in Paris in 1971, aligning it more closely with the Berne Convention. However, with the United States joining the Berne Convention in 1989 and most nations now being Berne members, the UCC has largely fallen into disuse and is considered to have been eclipsed by the stronger Berne framework.

The Rome Convention (1961): Protecting neighbouring rights 🔗

The Berne Convention was drafted in an era of printed works. It did not contemplate the rights of performers, sound recording producers, or broadcasters – categories that became increasingly important with the rise of recorded music and radio. The Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, adopted in 1961, filled this gap by establishing what are known as neighbouring rights (or related rights) – rights that exist alongside, but are distinct from, copyright in the underlying work.

Under the Rome Convention, three categories of rights holders are protected. Performers (singers, musicians, actors, dancers) are protected against unauthorised broadcasting, communication to the public, and fixation of their live performances. Producers of phonograms (sound recordings) are protected against unauthorised reproduction of their recordings. Broadcasting organisations are protected against unauthorised rebroadcasting and fixation of their broadcasts. The minimum protection term under the Rome Convention is 20 years, though many countries now provide 50 years. The Convention is administered jointly by ILO, UNESCO, and WIPO. India is not a party to the Rome Convention, though the rights of performers and producers in India are protected through the Copyright Act, 1957 as amended in 2012.

The Phonograms Convention (1971): Targeting piracy of sound recordings 🔗

The early 1970s saw the rapid spread of cassette tape technology and, with it, widespread unauthorised duplication of recorded music. The Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms – commonly called the Phonograms Convention or Geneva Convention – was adopted in 1971 specifically to address this problem.

Unlike the Rome Convention, the Phonograms Convention focuses narrowly and exclusively on the rights of producers of phonograms. It requires member states to protect producers against the unauthorised duplication of their sound recordings and the importation and distribution of such pirated copies. The Convention offers flexibility in how countries implement this protection – they may do so through copyright law, related rights, unfair competition law, or other legal mechanisms – making it easier for a wider range of countries to join. India acceded to the Phonograms Convention, which complements the protections available under domestic copyright law.

The Satellite Convention (1974): Controlling signal transmission 🔗

Satellite broadcasting created a new legal problem that existing conventions had not anticipated. When a programme-carrying signal is transmitted via satellite, it can be received by anyone with the right equipment across vast geographic regions – including parties who have no authorisation to use that signal. The Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite, adopted in Brussels in 1974 (hence also called the Brussels Convention or Satellite Convention), addresses precisely this issue.

The Satellite Convention does not protect copyright directly. Instead, it focuses on the signal itself. It obligates member states to take adequate measures to prevent the unauthorised distribution of satellite signals by organisations not intended to be the recipients of those signals. It does not prescribe how countries must implement this obligation – it leaves the choice of legal mechanism to each state. The Convention is narrower in scope compared to the others but has practical significance in an era where satellite distribution of content is commonplace.

The WIPO Copyright Treaty (1996): Copyright enters the digital age 🔗

The internet and digital technology fundamentally changed how creative works are created, distributed, and consumed. The Berne Convention, last substantively revised in 1971, was not equipped to deal with these developments. The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), adopted in Geneva in 1996 and sometimes called one of the WIPO “internet treaties,” was specifically designed to bridge this gap. As of 2023, the treaty has 115 contracting parties, and India is among them.

What the WCT adds 🔗

The WCT builds on the Berne Convention – it requires contracting parties to comply with the core obligations of Berne and then extends protection further. Its key contributions are as follows. First, it explicitly provides that computer programs are protected as literary works, and that databases are protected where their selection or arrangement constitutes an intellectual creation. Second, it grants authors distribution rights and rental rights over their works, giving creators greater control over how their work enters commercial circulation. Third, it recognises a broad right of communication to the public, which covers making works available over the internet – meaning uploading a copyrighted work to a website for on-demand access is covered by the treaty.

Crucially, the WCT also mandates that member states provide legal protection against circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs) – in other words, it requires countries to make it illegal to break digital locks (like DRM systems) placed on protected works. Similarly, it prohibits the unauthorised tampering with rights management information embedded in digital files. These two provisions directly respond to the realities of digital piracy. In India, the Copyright Act, 1957 was amended in 2012 partly to align with WCT obligations, introducing provisions on technological protection measures and rights management information.

How these conventions interact 🔗

These treaties do not operate in isolation – they form a layered system. The Berne Convention is the foundation. The UCC was a parallel track, now largely superseded. The Rome Convention and Phonograms Convention address neighbouring rights that fall outside Berne’s scope. The Satellite Convention addresses signal piracy. And the WCT modernises and extends Berne protections for the digital environment. Together, they create what scholars describe as an international framework for the protection of copyright and neighbouring rights, each treaty addressing a specific gap or technological development that earlier instruments could not foresee.

For Indian law students, understanding this layered framework is essential. India’s Copyright Act, 1957 has been shaped significantly by these conventions – and whenever domestic copyright law is interpreted or amended, its obligations under these international instruments form a critical backdrop.

What do you think? Given that the Berne Convention has not been substantively revised since 1971, do you think the WIPO Copyright Treaty adequately addresses the challenges posed by artificial intelligence-generated content and online streaming platforms? And should developing countries like India push for more flexibility in these international conventions to balance the rights of creators with the need for broader public access to knowledge?

References

1. https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/
2. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/berne_convention
3. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berne-Convention
4. https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/treaties/details/208
5. https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/rome/
6. https://www.ilo.org/
7. https://www.unesco.org/
8. https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/phonograms/
9. https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/brussels/
10. https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/
11. https://copyright.gov.in/documents/copyrightrules1957.pdf
12. https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/books/96/
13. https://copyright.gov.in/