UNIT II

COPYRIGHTS AND DESIGNS LAW - INTERNATIONAL

PERSPECTIVE
• Berne Convention for the protection of
literary and artistic works, 1886.

• Hague agreement concerning the

international deposit of industrial
designs, 1928.
 WHAT IS A CONVENTION?

• An international agreement between states or nations,

concerning finance, trade, or other matters considered less
significant than those governed by a treaty (a negotiation
between states to reach common ground and avoid
disagreements, normally ratified by the law making authority
of the government)
• It results in general agreement about procedures or actions
which will be taken on specific topics WIPO Copyright Treaty
(WCT) - special agreement under the Berne Convention
(protection of works and the rights of the authors in the
digital environment)
 BERNE CONVENTION FOR THE
PROTECTION OF LITERARY AND
ARTISTIC WORKS
• An international agreement governing copyright,
which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland.

• Signed on Sept.9, 1886

• Came into effect on Sept. 5, 1887.

• Official Languages- French (primarily) and English.

• Translated in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish

 WHAT IS A COPYRIGHT?

• Copyright is a form of intellectual property .

• Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a

country that grants the creator of an original work,
exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for
a limited time.
• The Berne Convention with 38 articles and with
more than 120 countries as members is the most
significant international convention in the field of
protecting copyright.
 WHY COPYRIGHT?

• Prevents copying and reproduction

• Copyright protects and rewards creative efforts
which induces the workers to create more and
motivates others to create
• Encourages dissemination of copyrighted work
which is of public interest.
 WHAT CAN BE COPYRIGHTED?

• • Books, brochures, newspapers

• • Theatrical works
• • Oral presentations
• • Choreographic works
• • Music (with or without words)
• • Drawings, paintings, buildings and sculptures
• • Designs and photographic works
• • Computer programs
• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and
Artistic Works of September 9, 1886, completed at
PARIS on May 4, 1896,
• revised at BERLIN on November 13, 1908,
• completed at BERNE on March 20, 1914, and
• revised at ROME on June 2, 1928,
• At BRUSSELS on June 26, 1948,
• at STOCKHOLM on July 14, 1967,
• and at PARIS on July 24, 1971.
 3 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE
CONVENTION

Principle of “national treatment”

• Works originating in one of the contracting States must
be given the same protection in each of the other
contracting States as its own nationals.

Principle of “automatic protection”

• Such protection must not be conditional upon
compliance with any formality.
•
Principle of “independence of protection”
• Such protection is independent of the existence of
protection in the country of origin of the work.
KEY FEATURES OF BERNE CONVENTION

• inclusions of ‘Literary and Artistic works’

• 1. Books, pamphlets, writings, lectures, addresses,
sermons in scientific or artistic domain
• 2. Dramatic, musical, choreographic works
• 3. Musical compositions, with or without words
• 4. Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture,
engraving and lithography; photographic works
• 5. Works of applied art: illustrations, maps, plans,
sketches, 3D works of geography, topography,
architecture
Copyrightable works of art
 Map data copyright by Google
• Translations, adaptations, arrangements of music
and other alterations of a literary or artistic work
shall be protected as original works without
prejudice to the copyright in the original work
• Collections of literary or artistic works such as
encyclopaedias and anthologies which, by reason
of the selection and arrangement of their contents,
constitute intellectual creations shall be protected
as such, without prejudice to the copyright in each
of the works forming part of such collections.

• The works shall enjoy protection in all countries of

the Union. This protection shall operate for the
benefit of the author and his successors in title.
• continue
• The term of protection granted by this Convention shall
be the life of the author and fifty years after his death. •
• Authors of dramatic, dramatico-musical and musical
works shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorizing:
• 1. The public performance of their works, by any means
or process
• 2. The public communication by loudspeaker signs,
sounds or images or any means of broadcasting the
work
• 3. The cinematographic adaptation and reproduction of
these works, and their distribution.
 Example

• "My film is loosely based upon a short story that I read. I've credited
this in the film but I haven't purchased any adaptation rights. Do I
need to?"
• If the author has been dead for over 70 years, the copyright has
probably expired though this varies from one country's laws to
another. If the copyright has not expired, it is likely that the owner of
the rights will try and assert their rights over your adaptation even if it
is only 'loosely based' upon the short story.
• You should find out who owns the copyright and then take steps to
purchase the adaptation rights.
• it may not be considered infringement if 'substantial part' of the
original work hasn’t been copied. However, sometimes, a part may
be “substantial” even if only a little material is used. You should
consider the similarities between the short story and your film.
Continue…..
• If you do not purchase the adaptation rights, you run the risk
of being sued for infringement. You may incur legal fees, a
severe financial penalty and/or criminal penalties if you lose.

• The filmmaker obtains permission to adapt a story from the

copyright owner.

• Article 10(2) of the Copyright Act states that reproductions of

works in a modified form (eg, adaptations) will be protected
as separate works, without prejudice to the copyright in the
original work.
24 IS THE INDIAN REMAKE OF THE POPULAR
US THRILLER SERIES OF THE SAME NAME.
• The Hindi version of 24, starring Anil Kapoor, is the
first adaptation of the US show - 24 and its India
rights were acquired from Fox and producer
Howard Gordon by Anil Kapoor Films
www.firstpost.com
• The Governments of the countries of the Union
reserve the right to enter into special agreements
among themselves, to grant to authors more
extensive rights than those granted by the
Convention, or contain other provisions not contrary
to this Convention.

• The Union shall have an Assembly consisting of all

countries of the Union. The Government of each
country shall be represented by one delegate, who
may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisers,
and experts.
HAGUE AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE
INTERNATIONAL DEPOSIT OF INDUSTRIAL
DESIGNS, 1928

• The Hague Agreement governs the international

registration of industrial designs.
• First adopted in 1925, the Agreement effectively
establishes an international system – the Hague
System – that allows industrial designs to be
protected in multiple countries or regions with
minimal formalities.

• https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/registration/hague
/