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THE BERNE CONVENTION : Where America Joined Late       [ You are At This CLICKs Page ]

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AMERICA & BERNE CONVENTION :
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The Berne Convention was signed in Berne, Switzerland, on September 9 1886, creating "An International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works." And then it was signed again, more correctly, 'updated' then signed and so on and so on...  The original signers were Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Haiti, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Tunisia. Berne rules were also extended to the colonial holdings of signatory nations. The Interpretative Declaration was signed 4th May 1896.

The Berne Convention was preceded with a Swiss Federal Statute signed April 23 1883. Prior, the German Empire Industrial Designs Copyright Act was signed in 1876. The Copyright Act of 1883 adressed works of Art and Literature.  The Act gave Authors ownership of the Creations for Life Plus 30. Legitimate translations of the Authors work had to be published within 5 years of creation. Moreso Authors of Musical and Dramatic works had to reserve their rights. They were also limited to 2% royalties at the Box Office. The German Empire and the USA signed a Copyright Treaty in 1892. The United States had signed Bi-lateral Treaties with Belgium, France, the British possessions, Switzerland, the German Empire and Italy in 1891 and 1892, agreeing on "national treatment" with Belgium, France, the British possessions, Switzerland, the German Empire and Italy in 1891 and 1892, requiring "nationals" to be given the same rights as the Citizen of the signed country. The Act allowing the British government to sign on to the Berne Convention was signed on December 5 1887. Irish Nationalism and the case for Home Rule was pointed to as the reason there wasnt substantive reform for domestic copyright reform.

Since then, the agreement has been updated and revised numerous times and has responded to technological advances. The convention was revised in Paris in 1896, Berlin in 1908, Rome in 1928, Brussels in 1948, Stockholm in 1967, and Paris in 1971. Switzerland adopted Berne Standards in 1922. The UNESCO, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization Universal Copyright Convention, developed as an alternative for Copyright protection by countries in disagreement with Berne, was signed in 1952 in Geneva Switzerland, the United States, Russia, most of Latin America and others.

The Soviet Union and the US, already members of the Pan-American Copyright Convention, believed Berne’s Copyright protections favored Western developed copyright-exporting nations. The Pan-American Copyright Convention was perceived to have weaker protections than the Berne Convention. Countries signed on to the Berne Convention also joined the UCC to assure their Copyrights would be protected in non-Berne Convention countries.
The United States was NOT a signer to the Berne Convention until after 1976 when the Copyright Act of 1976 took away the issues that prevented the United States from signing the Berne Convention. The United States of America became part of the BERNE UNION, May 1 1989. The US had refused to join the Berne Convention for 102 years before the US signed on to the 100 year old International Agreement, the Berne Convention, in 1988, a member, currently, for less twenty years.

The United States had been part of the Universal Copyright Convention, the UCC, since 1956, the first year of the UCC. By 1997, 121 countries, including the United States, had signed on. The United States Congress passed the Digital Millenium Copyright Act in 1998 implementing WIPO, World Intellectual Property Organization, treaties. WIPO, headquartered in Geneva Switzerland, alleges to promote international protection of Intellectual Property.
US Copyright protection had required, prior to the US joining Berne, that in order for a Work to be Copyright, the Work had to have a copyright notice on it and be registered at the Copyright Office. Copyright Protection was for a fixed, renewable term. In comparison, the Berne Convention gave the Author of the Work protection for the Author’s life AND it did not need the Author to register OR include a Copyright Notice for their Work to be Copyrighted.

The US had to make major changes to its Copyright Law in order to join the Berne Convention which the US did not want to do…. give up its Cash Cow requiring Registration at the Copyright Office, Deposit and Mandatory Registration. The US also didnt want to accept Moral Rights which they would have to do to join the Berne Convention. Moral Rights, Civil Law and Common Law rights for ARTS Creators Copyright Works , argued in legal jurisdiction, are different from Copyrights. Even if an ARTS Creator sells or assigns their Copyrights to their Work, the ARTS Creator still keeps their ARTS Moral Rights. Moral Rights preserve the Integrity of the ARTS Creators work. Moral Rights include the Right of Attribution, Right to the Work’s Integrity, Right to Publish Anonymously or Pseudonumously and anything that takes away from the ARTS Creators relationship with their work after the Work leaves their possession or ownership. Moral Rights were included in the Berne Convention For The Proteciton of Literary and Artistic Works in 1928.

Despite not accepting Moral Rights of the Berne Convention, Congress passed the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988, upon doing so, became a member of the Berne Convention. The US acknowledges Moral Rights under Defamation and Unfair Competition but not under Copyright Law. VARA, the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 acknowledges Moral Rights but under Visual Art Works – the Right to claim Authorship, the Right to prevent the use of one's name on any Work the Author did not create, the Right to prevent use of one's name on any work that has been distorted, mutilated, or modified in a way that would be prejudicial to the author's honor or reputation, the Right to prevent distortion, mutilation, or modification that would prejudice the Author's honor or reputation and the Right to prevent the destruction of a Work of Art if it is of "recognized stature.” The Second Protocol of the Universal Copyright Convention required that Works published by the OAS (Organization of American States), United Nations, UN specialized agencies, be protected under US Copyright Law.

Berne Convention members were worried countries would leave to join the UCC so the UCC added a clause stating Berne Convention members didn’t have to apply the Convention to Berne Convention countries who, post 1951, gave up the Berne Convention, penalizing the countries choosing UCC protection instead.  

The UCC fell out of significance after the World Trade Organization (WTO) set down rules for minimum standards adressing International Intellectual Property Rights regulated by other WTO members in 1994 in The TRIPS Agreement, Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. TRIPS, brought Intellectual Property Law, IP, into International trading, towards the end of GATT, General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade being negotiated, at the Uruguay Round, in 1994. Developing countries wanted to be in on the growing area of IP. In 2001, The Doha Declaration, a WTO clarification of TRIP pushed forward with a goal of ‘promoting access for all.’

The WTO evolved out of the Uruguay Round. The Uruguay Round was the 8th go-round of multilateral trade negotiations conducted during GATT which took place from 1986 through 1994. 123 countries took part.

TRIPS brought on board Enforcement procedures, Remedies and procedures for Dispute Resolution with an eye on Technological Innovation IPR, Intellectual Property Rights, and Technology transferring and sharing between the Users of Technology and Producers of Technology. Content producers include Producers of Sound Recordings, Broadcasting Organization, Producers and Performers. TRIPS, presented as a way to balance Rights and Obligation for Social and Economic Welfare, says Copyright Rights applies to Undisclosed and Confidential Information, Trademarks, Trade Dress, Patents, Industrial Designs, Integrated Circuit Layout Designs and new Plant varieties.

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Article 1 Establishment of a Union
The countries to which this Convention applies constitute a Union for the protection of the rights of authors in their literary and artistic works.

Article 2 Protected Works
1. “Literary and artistic works”; 2. Possible requirement of fixation; 3. Derivative works; 4. Official texts; 5. Collections; 6. Obligation to protect; beneficiaries of protection; 7. Works of applied art and industrial designs; 8. News

(1) The expression “literary and artistic works” shall include every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression, such as books, pamphlets and other writings; lectures, addresses, sermons and other works of the same nature; dramatic or dramatico-musical works; choreographic works and entertainments in dumb show; musical compositions with or without words; cinematographic works to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to cinematography; works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving and lithography; photographic works to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to photography; works of applied art; illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works relative to geography, topography, architecture or science.

(2) It shall, however, be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to prescribe that works in general or any specified categories of works shall not be protected unless they have been fixed in some material form.

(3) 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.

(4) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the protection to be granted to official texts of a legislative, administrative and legal nature, and to official translations of such texts.

(5) Collections of literary or artistic works such as encyclopedias 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.

(6) The works mentioned in this Article shall enjoy protection in all countries of the Union. This protection shall operate for the benefit of the author and his successors in title.

(7) Subject to the provisions of Article 7(4) of this Convention, it shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the extent of the application of their laws to works of applied art and industrial designs and models, as well as the conditions under which such works, designs and models shall be protected. Works protected in the country of origin solely as designs and models shall be entitled in another country of the Union only to such special protection as is granted in that country to designs and models; however, if no such special protection is granted in that country, such works shall be protected as artistic works.

(8) The protection of this Convention shall not apply to news of the day or to miscellaneous facts having the character of mere items of press information.

Article 2b is Possible Limitation of Protection of Certain Works
1. Certain speeches; 2. Certain uses of lectures and addresses; 3. Right to make collections of such works

(1) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to exclude, wholly or in part, from the protection provided by the preceding Article political speeches and speeches delivered in the course of legal proceedings.

(2) It shall also be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the conditions under which lectures, addresses and other works of the same nature which are delivered in public may be reproduced by the press, broadcast, communicated to the public by wire and made the subject of public communication as envisaged in  Article 11(1) of this Convention, when such use is justified by the informatory purpose.

(3) Nevertheless, the author shall enjoy the exclusive right of making a collection of his works mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

Article 3 Criteria of Eligibility for Protection
1. Nationality of author; place of publication of work; 2. Residence of author;
3: “Published” works; 4. “Simultaneously published” works

(1) The protection of this Convention shall apply to:

(a) authors who are nationals of one of the countries of the Union, for their works, whether published or not;

(b) authors who are not nationals of one of the countries of the Union, for their works first published in one of those countries, or simultaneously in a country outside the Union and in a country of the Union.

(2) Authors who are not nationals of one of the countries of the Union but who have their habitual residence in one of them shall, for the purposes of this Convention, be assimilated to nationals of that country.

(3) The expression “published works” means works published with the consent of their authors, whatever may be the means of manufacture of the copies, provided that the availability of such copies has been such as to satisfy the reasonable requirements of the public, having regard to the nature of the work. The performance of a dramatic, dramatico-musical, cinematographic or musical work, the public recitation of a literary work, the communication by wire or the broadcasting of literary or artistic works, the exhibition of a work of art and the construction of a work of architecture shall not constitute publication.

(4) A work shall be considered as having been published simultaneously in several countries if it has been published in two or more countries within thirty days of its first publication.

Article 4 Criteria of Eligibility for Protection of Cinematographic Works, Works of Architecture and Certain Artistic Works
The protection of this Convention shall apply, even if the conditions of Article 3 are not fulfilled, to:

(a) authors of cinematographic works the maker of which has his headquarters or habitual residence in one of the countries of the Union;

(b) authors of works of architecture erected in a country of the Union or of other artistic works incorporated in a building or other structure located in a country of the Union.

Article 5 Rights Guaranteed
1. and 2. Outside the country of origin; 3. In the country of origin; 4. “Country of origin”

(1) Authors shall enjoy, in respect of works for which they are protected under this Convention, in countries of the Union other than the country of origin, the rights which their respective laws do now or may hereafter grant to their nationals, as well as the rights specially granted by this Convention.

(2) The enjoyment and the exercise of these rights shall not be subject to any formality; such enjoyment and such exercise shall be independent of the existence of protection in the country of origin of the work. Consequently, apart from the provisions of this Convention, the extent of protection, as well as the means of redress afforded to the author to protect his rights, shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the country where protection is claimed.

(3) Protection in the country of origin is governed by domestic law. However, when the author is not a national of the country of origin of the work for which he is protected under this Convention, he shall enjoy in that country the same rights as national authors.

(4) The country of origin shall be considered to be:

(a) in the case of works first published in a country of the Union, that country; in the case of works published simultaneously in several countries of the Union which grant different terms of protection, the country whose legislation grants the shortest term of protection;

(b) in the case of works published simultaneously in a country outside the Union and in a country of the Union, the latter country;

(c) in the case of unpublished works or of works first published in a country outside the Union, without simultaneous publication in a country of the Union, the country of the Union of which the author is a national, provided that:

(i) when these are cinematographic works the maker of which has his headquarters or his habitual residence in a country of the Union, the country of origin shall be that country, and

(ii) when these are works of architecture erected in a country of the Union or other artistic works incorporated in a building or other structure located in a country of the Union, the country of origin shall be that country.

Article 6 Possible Restriction of Protection in Respect of Certain Works of Nationals of Certain Countries Outside the Union
1. In the country of the first publication and in other countries; 2. No retroactivity; 3. Notice

(1) Where any country outside the Union fails to protect in an adequate manner the works of authors who are nationals of one of the countries of the Union, the latter country may restrict the protection given to the works of authors who are, at the date of the first publication thereof, nationals of the other country and are not habitually resident in one of the countries of the Union. If the country of first publication avails itself of this right, the other countries of the Union shall not be required to grant to works thus subjected to special treatment a wider protection than that granted to them in the country of first publication.

(2) No restrictions introduced by virtue of the preceding paragraph shall affect the rights which an author may have acquired in respect of a work published in a country of the Union before such restrictions were put into force.

(3) The countries of the Union which restrict the grant of copyright in accordance with this Article shall give notice thereof to the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter designated as “the Director General”) by a written declaration specifying the countries in regard to which protection is restricted, and the restrictions to which rights of authors who are nationals of those countries are subjected. The Director General shall immediately communicate this declaration to all the countries of the Union.

Article 6b is Moral Rights
1. To claim authorship; to object to certain modifications and other derogatory actions;
2. After the author's death; 3. Means of redress

(1) Independently of the author's economic rights, and even after the transfer of the said rights, the author shall have the right to claim authorship of the work and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the said work, which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation.

(2) The rights granted to the author in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall, after his death, be maintained, at least until the expiry of the economic rights, and shall be exercisable by the persons or institutions authorized by the legislation of the country where protection is claimed. However, those countries whose legislation, at the moment of their ratification of or accession to this Act, does not provide for the protection after the death of the author of all the rights set out in the preceding paragraph may provide that some of these rights may, after his death, cease to be maintained.

(3) The means of redress for safeguarding the rights granted by this Article shall be governed by the legislation of the country where protection is claimed.

Article 7 Term of Protection
1. Generally; 2. For cinematographic works; 3. For anonymous and pseudonymous works; 4. For photographic works and works of applied art; 5. Starting date of computation; 6. Longer terms; 7. Shorter terms; 8. Applicable law; “comparison” of terms

(1) The term of protection granted by this Convention shall be the life of the author and fifty years after his death.

(2) However, in the case of cinematographic works, the countries of the Union may provide that the term of protection shall expire fifty years after the work has been made available to the public with the consent of the author, or, failing such an event within fifty years from the making of such a work, fifty years after the making.

(3) In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, the term of protection granted by this Convention shall expire fifty years after the work has been lawfully made available to the public. However, when the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his identity, the term of protection shall be that provided in paragraph (1). If the author of an anonymous or pseudonymous work discloses his identity during the above-mentioned period, the term of protection applicable shall be that provided in paragraph (1). The countries of the Union shall not be required to protect anonymous or pseudonymous works in respect of which it is reasonable to presume that their author has been dead for fifty years.

(4) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the term of protection of photographic works and that of works of applied art in so far as they are protected as artistic works; however, this term shall last at least until the end of a period of twenty-five years from the making of such a work.

(5) The term of protection subsequent to the death of the author and the terms provided by paragraph (2), (3) and (4), shall run from the date of death or of the event referred to in those paragraphs, but such terms shall always be deemed to begin on the first of January of the year following the death or such event.

(6) The countries of the Union may grant a term of protection in excess of those provided by the preceding paragraphs.

(7) Those countries of the Union bound by the Rome Act of this Convention which grant, in their national legislation in force at the time of signature of the present Act, shorter terms of protection than those provided for in the preceding paragraphs shall have the right to maintain such terms when ratifying or acceding to the present Act.

(8) In any case, the term shall be governed by the legislation of the country where protection is claimed; however, unless the legislation of that country otherwise provides, the term shall not exceed the term fixed in the country of origin of the work.

Article 7b is Term of Protection for Works of Joint Authorship
The provisions of the preceding Article shall also apply in the case of a work of joint authorship, provided that the terms measured from the death of the author shall be calculated from the death of the last surviving author.

Article 8 Right of Translation
Authors of literary and artistic works protected by this Convention shall enjoy the exclusive right of making and of authorizing the translation of their works throughout the term of protection of their rights in the original works.

Article 9 Right of Reproduction
1. Generally; 2. Possible exceptions; 3. Sound and visual recordings

(1) Authors of literary and artistic works protected by this Convention shall have the exclusive right of authorizing the reproduction of these works, in any manner or form.

(2) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to permit the reproduction of such works in certain special cases, provided that such reproduction does not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author.

(3) Any sound or visual recording shall be considered as a reproduction for the purposes of this Convention.

Article 10 Certain Free Uses of Works
1. Quotations; 2. Illustrations for teaching; 3. Indication of source and author

(1) It shall be permissible to make quotations from a work which has already been lawfully made available to the public, provided that their making is compatible with fair practice, and their extent does not exceed that justified by the purpose, including quotations from newspaper articles and periodicals in the form of press summaries.

(2) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union, and for special agreements existing or to be concluded between them, to permit the utilization, to the extent justified by the purpose, of literary or artistic works by way of illustration in publications, broadcasts or sound or visual recordings for teaching, provided such utilization is compatible with fair practice.

(3) Where use is made of works in accordance with the preceding paragraphs of this Article, mention shall be made of the source, and of the name of the author if it appears thereon.

Article 10b is Further Possible Free Uses of Works
1. Of certain articles and broadcast works; 2. Of works seen or heard in connection with current events

(1) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to permit the reproduction by the press, the broadcasting or the communication to the public by wire of articles published in newspapers or periodicals on current economic, political or religious topics, and of broadcast works of the same character, in cases in which the reproduction, broadcasting or such communication thereof is not expressly reserved. Nevertheless, the source must always be clearly indicated; the legal consequences of a breach of this obligation shall be determined by the legislation of the country where protection is claimed.

(2) It shall also be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the conditions under which, for the purpose of reporting current events by means of photography, cinematography, broadcasting or communication to the public by wire, literary or artistic works seen or heard in the course of the event may, to the extent justified by the informatory purpose, be reproduced and made available to the public.

Article 11 Certain Rights in Dramatic and Musical Works
1. Right of public performance and of communication to the public of a performance;
2. In respect of translations

(1) Authors of dramatic, dramatico-musical and musical works shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorizing:

(i) the public performance of their works, including such public performance by any means or process;

(ii) any communication to the public of the performance of their works.

(2) Authors of dramatic or dramatico-musical works shall enjoy, during the full term of their rights in the original works, the same rights with respect to translations thereof.

Article 11b is Broadcasting and Related Rights
1. Broadcasting and other wireless communications, public communication of broadcast by wire or rebroadcast, public communication of broadcast by loudspeaker or analogous instruments;
2. Compulsory licenses; 3. Recording; ephemeral recordings

(1) Authors of literary and artistic works shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorizing:

(i) the broadcasting of their works or the communication thereof to the public by any other means of wireless diffusion of signs, sounds or images;

(ii) any communication to the public by wire or by rebroadcasting of the broadcast of the work, when this communication is made by an organization other than the original one;

(iii) the public communication by loudspeaker or any other analogous instrument transmitting, by signs, sounds or images, the broadcast of the work.

(2) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the conditions under which the rights mentioned in the preceding paragraph may be exercised, but these conditions shall apply only in the countries where they have been prescribed. They shall not in any circumstances be prejudicial to the moral rights of the author, nor to his right to obtain equitable remuneration which, in the absence of agreement, shall be fixed by competent authority.

(3) In the absence of any contrary stipulation, permission granted in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Article shall not imply permission to record, by means of instruments recording sounds or images, the work broadcast. It shall, however, be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the regulations for ephemeral recordings made by a broadcasting organization by means of its own facilities and used for its own broadcasts. The preservation of these recordings in official archives may, on the ground of their exceptional documentary character, be authorized by such legislation.

Article 11 Certain Rights in Literary Works
1. Right of public recitation and of communication to the public of a recitation; 2. In respect of translations

(1) Authors of literary works shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorizing:

(i) the public recitation of their works, including such public recitation by any means or process;

(ii) any communication to the public of the recitation of their works.

(2) Authors of literary works shall enjoy, during the full term of their rights in the original works, the same rights with respect to translations thereof.

Article 12 Right of Adaptation, Arrangement and Other Alteration
Authors of literary or artistic works shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorizing adaptations, arrangements and other alterations of their works.

Article 13 Possible Limitation of the Right of Recording of Musical Works and Any Words Pertaining Thereto
1. Compulsory licenses; 2. Transitory measures;
3. Seizure on importation of copies made without the author's permission

(1) Each country of the Union may impose for itself reservations and conditions on the exclusive right granted to the author of a musical work and to the author of any words, the recording of which together with the musical work has already been authorized by the latter, to authorize the sound recording of that musical work, together with such words, if any; but all such reservations and conditions shall apply only in the countries which have imposed them and shall not, in any circumstances, be prejudicial to the rights of these authors to obtain equitable remuneration which, in the absence of agreement, shall be fixed by competent authority.

(2) Recordings of musical works made in a country of the Union in accordance with Article 13(3) of the Conventions signed at Rome on June 2, 1928, and at Brussels on June 26, 1948, may be reproduced in that country without the permission of the author of the musical work until a date two years after that country becomes bound by this Act.

(3) Recordings made in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article and imported without permission from the parties concerned into a country where they are treated as infringing recordings shall be liable to seizure.

Article 14 Cinematographic and Related Rights
1. Cinematographic adaptation and reproduction; distribution;
public performance and public communication by wire of works thus adapted or reproduced;
2. Adaptation of cinematographic productions; 3. No compulsory licenses

(1) Authors of literary or artistic works shall have the exclusive right of authorizing:

(i) the cinematographic adaptation and reproduction of these works, and the distribution of the works thus adapted or reproduced;

(ii) the public performance and communication to the public by wire of the works thus adapted or reproduced.

(2) The adaptation into any other artistic form of a cinematographic production derived from literary or artistic works shall, without prejudice to the authorization of the author of the cinematographic production, remain subject to the authorization of the authors of the original works.

(3) The provisions of Article 13(1) shall not apply.

Article 14b is Special Provisions Concerning Cinematographic Works
1. Assimilation to “original” works; 2. Ownership; limitation of certain rights of certain contributors;
3. Certain other contributors

(1) Without prejudice to the copyright in any work which may have been adapted or reproduced, a cinematographic work shall be protected as an original work. The owner of copyright in a cinematographic work shall enjoy the same rights as the author of an original work, including the rights referred to in the preceding Article.

(2)(a) Ownership of copyright in a cinematographic work shall be a matter for legislation in the country where protection is claimed.

(b) However, in the countries of the Union which, by legislation, include among the owners of copyright in a cinematographic work authors who have brought contributions to the making of the work, such authors, if they have undertaken to bring such contributions, may not, in the absence of any contrary or special stipulation, object to the reproduction, distribution, public performance, communication to the public by wire, broadcasting or any other communication to the public, or to the subtitling or dubbing of texts, of the work.

(c) The question whether or not the form of the undertaking referred to above should, for the application of the preceding subparagraph (b), be in a written agreement or a written act of the same effect shall be a matter for the legislation of the country where the maker of the cinematographic work has his headquarters or habitual residence. However, it shall be a matter for the legislation of the country of the Union where protection is claimed to provide that the said undertaking shall be in a written agreement or a written act of the same effect. The countries whose legislation so provides shall notify the Director General by means of a written declaration, which will be immediately communicated by him to all the other countries of the Union.

(d) By “contrary or special stipulation” is meant any restrictive condition which is relevant to the aforesaid undertaking.

(3) Unless the national legislation provides to the contrary, the provisions of paragraph (2)(b) above shall not be applicable to authors of scenarios, dialogues and musical works created for the making of the cinematographic work, or to the principal director thereof. However, those countries of the Union whose legislation does not contain rules providing for the application of the said paragraph (2)(b) to such director shall notify the Director General by means of a written declaration, which will be immediately communicated by him to all the other countries of the Union.

Article 14  “Droit de suite” in Works of Art and Manuscripts
1. Right to an interest in resales; 2. Applicable law; 3. Procedure

(1) The author, or after his death the persons or institutions authorized by national legislation, shall, with respect to original works of art and original manuscripts of writers and composers, enjoy the inalienable right to an interest in any sale of the work subsequent to the first transfer by the author of the work.

(2) The protection provided by the preceding paragraph may be claimed in a country of the Union only if legislation in the country to which the author belongs so permits, and to the extent permitted by the country where this protection is claimed.

(3) The procedure for collection and the amounts shall be matters for determination by national legislation.

Article 15 Right to Enforce Protected Rights
1. Where author's name is indicated or where pseudonym leaves no doubt as to author's identity; 2. In the case of cinematographic works; 3. In the case of anonymous and pseudonymous works; 4. In the case of certain unpublished works of unknown authorship

(1) In order that the author of a literary or artistic work protected by this Convention shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be regarded as such, and consequently be entitled to institute infringement proceedings in the countries of the Union, it shall be sufficient for his name to appear on the work in the usual manner. This paragraph shall be applicable even if this name is a pseudonym, where the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his identity.

(2) The person or body corporate whose name appears on a cinematographic work in the usual manner shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to be the maker of the said work.

(3) In the case of anonymous and pseudonymous works, other than those referred to in paragraph (1) above, the publisher whose name appears on the work shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to represent the author, and in this capacity he shall be entitled to protect and enforce the author's rights. The provisions of this paragraph shall cease to apply when the author reveals his identity and establishes his claim to authorship of the work.

(4)(a) In the case of unpublished works where the identity of the author is unknown, but where there is every ground to presume that he is a national of a country of the Union, it shall be a matter for legislation in that country to designate the competent authority which shall represent the author and shall be entitled to protect and enforce his rights in the countries of the Union.
(b) Countries of the Union which make such designation under the terms of this provision shall notify the Director General by means of a written declaration giving full information concerning the authority thus designated. The Director General shall at once communicate this declaration to all other countries of the Union.

Article 16 Infringing Copies
1. Seizure; 2. Seizure on importation; 3. Applicable law

(1) Infringing copies of a work shall be liable to seizure in any country of the Union where the work enjoys legal protection.

(2) The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall also apply to reproductions coming from a country where the work is not protected, or has ceased to be protected.

(3) The seizure shall take place in accordance with the legislation of each country.

Article 17 Possibility of Control of Circulation, Presentation and Exhibition of Works
The provisions of this Convention cannot in any way affect the right of the Government of each country of the Union to permit, to control, or to prohibit, by legislation or regulation, the circulation, presentation, or exhibition of any work or production in regard to which the competent authority may find it necessary to exercise that right.

Article 18 Works Existing on Convention's Entry Into Force
1. Protectable where protection not yet expired in country of origin; 2. Non-protectable where protection already expired in country where it is claimed; 3. Application of these principles; 4. Special cases

(1) This Convention shall apply to all works which, at the moment of its coming into force, have not yet fallen into the public domain in the country of origin through the expiry of the term of protection.

(2) If, however, through the expiry of the term of protection which was previously granted, a work has fallen into the public domain of the country where protection is claimed, that work shall not be protected anew.

(3) The application of this principle shall be subject to any provisions contained in special conventions to that effect existing or to be concluded between countries of the Union. In the absence of such provisions, the respective countries shall determine, each in so far as it is concerned, the conditions of application of this principle.

(4) The preceding provisions shall also apply in the case of new accessions to the Union and to cases in which protection is extended by the application of Article 7 or by the abandonment of reservations.

Article 19 Protection Greater than Resulting from Convention
The provisions of this Convention shall not preclude the making of a claim to the benefit of any greater protection which may be granted by legislation in a country of the Union.

Article 20 Special Agreements Among Countries of the Union
The Governments of the countries of the Union reserve the right to enter into special agreements among themselves, in so far as such agreements grant to authors more extensive rights than those granted by the Convention, or contain other provisions not contrary to this Convention. The provisions of existing agreements which satisfy these conditions shall remain applicable.

Article 21 Special Provisions Regarding Developing Countries
1. Reference to Appendix; 2. Appendix part of Act

(1) Special provisions regarding developing countries are included in the Appendix.

(2) Subject to the provisions of Article 28(1)(b), the Appendix forms an integral part of this Act.

Article 22 Assembly
1. Constitution and composition; 2. Tasks 3. Quorum, voting, observers; 4. Convocation; 5. Rules of procedure

(1)(a) The Union shall have an Assembly consisting of those countries of the Union which are bound by Articles 22 to 26
(b) The Government of each country shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.
(c) The expenses of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has appointed it.

(2)(a) The Assembly shall:
(i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Union and the implementation of this Convention;
(ii) give directions concerning the preparation for conferences of revision to the International Bureau of Intellectual Property (hereinafter designated as “the International Bureau”) referred to in the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter designated as “the Organization”), due account being taken of any comments made by those countries of the Union which are not bound by Articles 22 to 26;
(iii) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director General of the Organization concerning the Union, and give him all necessary instructions concerning matters within the competence of the Union;
(iv) elect the members of the Executive Committee of the Assembly;
(v) review and approve the reports and activities of its Executive Committee, and give instructions to such Committee;
(vi) determine the program and adopt the biennial budget of the Union, and approve its final accounts;
(vii) adopt the financial regulations of the Union;
(viii) establish such committees of experts and working groups as may be necessary for the work of the Union;
(ix) determine which countries not members of the Union and which intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to its meetings as observers;
(x) adopt amendments to Articles 22 to 26;
(xi) take any other appropriate action designed to further the objectives of the Union;
(xii) exercise such other functions as are appropriate under this Convention;
(xiii) subject to its acceptance, exercise such rights as are given to it in the Convention establishing the Organization.
(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(3)(a) Each country member of the Assembly shall have one vote.
(b) One-half of the countries members of the Assembly shall constitute a quorum.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (b), if, in any session, the number of countries represented is less than one-half but equal to or more than one-third of the countries members of the Assembly, the Assembly may make decisions but, with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure, all such decisions shall take effect only if the following conditions are fulfilled. The International Bureau shall communicate the said decisions to the countries members of the Assembly which were not represented and shall invite them to express in writing their vote or abstention within a period of three months from the date of the communication. If, at the expiration of this period, the number of countries having thus expressed their vote or abstention attains the number of countries which was lacking for attaining the quorum in the session itself, such decisions shall take effect provided that at the same time the required majority still obtains.
(d) Subject to the provisions of Article 26(2), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the votes cast.
(e) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
(f) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one country only.
(g) Countries of the Union not members of the Assembly shall be admitted to its meetings as observers.

(4)(a) The Assembly shall meet once in every second calendar year in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period and at the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization.
(b) The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, at the request of the Executive Committee or at the request of one-fourth of the countries members of the Assembly.

(5) The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 23  Executive Committee
1. Constitution; 2. Composition; 3. Number of members; 4. Geographical distribution; special agreements;
5. Term, limits of re-eligibility, rules of election; 6. Tasks; 7. Convocation; 8. Quorum, voting; 9. Observers; 10. Rules of procedure

(1) The Assembly shall have an Executive Committee.

(2)(a) The Executive Committee shall consist of countries elected by the Assembly from among countries members of the Assembly. Furthermore, the country on whose territory the Organization has its headquarters shall, subject to the provisions of Article 25(7)(b), have an ex officio seat on the Committee.
(b) The Government of each country member of the Executive Committee shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.
(c) The expenses of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has appointed it.

(3) The number of countries members of the Executive Committee shall correspond to one-fourth of the number of countries members of the Assembly. In establishing the number of seats to be filled, remainders after division by four shall be disregarded.

(4) In electing the members of the Executive Committee, the Assembly shall have due regard to an equitable geographical distribution and to the need for countries party to the Special Agreements which might be established in relation with the Union to be among the countries constituting the Executive Committee.

(5)(a) Each member of the Executive Committee shall serve from the close of the session of the Assembly which elected it to the close of the next ordinary session of the Assembly
(b) Members of the Executive Committee may be re-elected, but not more than two-thirds of them.
(c) The Assembly shall establish the details of the rules governing the election and possible re-election of the members of the Executive Committee.

(6)(a) The Executive Committee shall:
(i) prepare the draft agenda of the Assembly;
(ii) submit proposals to the Assembly respecting the draft program and biennial budget of the Union prepared by the Director General;
(iii) [deleted]
(iv) submit, with appropriate comments, to the Assembly the periodical reports of the Director General and the yearly audit reports on the accounts;
(v) in accordance with the decisions of the Assembly and having regard to circumstances arising between two ordinary sessions of the Assembly, take all necessary measures to ensure the execution of the program of the Union by the Director General;
(vi) perform such other functions as are allocated to it under this Convention.
(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Executive Committee shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(7)(a) The Executive Committee shall meet once a year in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, preferably during the same period and at the same place as the Coordination Committee of the Organization.
(b) The Executive Committee shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, either on his own initiative, or at the request of its Chairman or one-fourth of its members.

(8)(a) Each country member of the Executive Committee shall have one vote.
(b) One-half of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.
(c) Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of the votes cast.
(d) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
(e) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one country only.

(9) Countries of the Union not members of the Executive Committee shall be admitted to its meetings as observers.

(10) The Executive Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 24 International Bureau
1. Tasks in general, Director General; 2. General information; 3. Periodical; 4. Information to countries; 5. Studies and services; 6. Participation in meetings; 7. Conferences of revision; 8. Other tasks

(1)(a) The administrative tasks with respect to the Union shall be performed by the International Bureau, which is a continuation of the Bureau of the Union united with the Bureau of the Union established by the International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
(b) In particular, the International Bureau shall provide the secretariat of the various organs of the Union.
(c) The Director General of the Organization shall be the chief executive of the Union and shall represent the Union.

(2) The International Bureau shall assemble and publish information concerning the protection of copyright. Each country of the Union shall promptly communicate to the International Bureau all new laws and official texts concerning the protection of copyright.

(3) The International Bureau shall publish a monthly periodical.

(4) The International Bureau shall, on request, furnish information to any country of the Union on matters concerning the protection of copyright.

(5) The International Bureau shall conduct studies, and shall provide services, designed to facilitate the protection of copyright.

(6) The Director General and any staff member designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Assembly, the Executive Committee and any other committee of experts or working group. The Director General, or a staff member designated by him, shall be ex officio secretary of these bodies.

(7)(a) The International Bureau shall, in accordance with the directions of the Assembly and in cooperation with the Executive Committee, make the preparations for the conferences of revision of the provisions of the Convention other than Articles 22 to 26 
(b) The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations concerning preparations for conferences of revision.
(c) The Director General and persons designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, in the discussions at these conferences.

(8) The International Bureau shall carry out any other tasks assigned to it.

Article 25 Finances
1. Budget; 2. Coordination with other Unions; 3. Resources; 4. Contributions; possible extension of previous budget; 5. Fees and charges; 6. Working capital fund; 7. Advances by host Government; 8. Auditing of accounts

(1)(a) The Union shall have a budget.
(b) The budget of the Union shall include the income and expenses proper to the Union, its contribution to the budget of expenses common to the Unions, and, where applicable, the sum made available to the budget of the Conference of the Organization.
(c) Expenses not attributable exclusively to the Union but also to one or more other Unions administered by the Organization shall be considered as expenses common to the Unions. The share of the Union in such common expenses shall be in proportion to the interest the Union has in them.

(2) The budget of the Union shall be established with due regard to the requirements of coordination with the budgets of the other Unions administered by the Organization.

(3) The budget of the Union shall be financed from the following sources:
(i) contributions of the countries of the Union;
(ii) fees and charges due for services performed by the International Bureau in relation to the Union;
(iii) sale of, or royalties on, the publications of the International Bureau concerning the Union;
(iv) gifts, bequests, and subventions;
(v) rents, interests, and other miscellaneous income.

(4)(a) For the purpose of establishing its contribution towards the budget, each country of the Union shall belong to a class, and shall pay its annual contributions on the basis of a number of units fixed as follows:
Class I ...................... 25
Class II ..................... 20
Class III .................... 15
Class IV .................... 10
Class V ....................... 5
Class VI ...................... 3
Class VII ..................... 1
(b) Unless it has already done so, each country shall indicate, concurrently with depositing its instrument of ratification or accession, the class to which it wishes to belong. Any country may change class. If it chooses a lower class, the country must announce it to the Assembly at one of its ordinary sessions. Any such change shall take effect at the beginning of the calendar year following the session.
(c) The annual contribution of each country shall be an amount in the same proportion to the total sum to be contributed to the annual budget of the Union by all countries as the number of its units is to the total of the units of all contributing countries.
(d) Contributions shall become due on the first of January of each year.
(e) A country which is in arrears in the payment of its contributions shall have no vote in any of the organs of the Union of which it is a member if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years. However, any organ of the Union may allow such a country to continue to exercise its vote in that organ if, and as long as, it is satisfied that the delay in payment is due to exceptional and unavoidable circumstances.
(f) If the budget is not adopted before the beginning of a new financial period, it shall be at the same level as the budget of the previous year, in accordance with the financial regulations.

(5) The amount of the fees and charges due for services rendered by the International Bureau in relation to the Union shall be established, and shall be reported to the Assembly and the Executive Committee, by the Director General.

(6)(a) The Union shall have a working capital fund which shall be constituted by a single payment made by each country of the Union. If the fund becomes insufficient, an increase shall be decided by the Assembly.
(b) The amount of the initial payment of each country to the said fund or of its participation in the increase thereof shall be a proportion of the contribution of that country for the year in which the fund is established or the increase decided.
(c) The proportion and the terms of payment shall be fixed by the Assembly on the proposal of the Director General and after it has heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(7)(a) In the headquarters agreement concluded with the country on the territory of which the Organization has its headquarters, it shall be provided that, whenever the working capital fund is insufficient, such country shall grant advances. The amount of these advances and the conditions on which they are granted shall be the subject of separate agreements, in each case, between such country and the Organization. As long as it remains under the obligation to grant advances, such country shall have an ex officio seat on the Executive Committee.
(b) The country referred to in subparagraph (a)and the Organization shall each have the right to denounce the obligation to grant advances, by written notification. Denunciation shall take effect three years after the end of the year in which it has been notified.

(8) The auditing of the accounts shall be effected by one or more of the countries of the Union or by external auditors, as provided in the financial regulations. They shall be designated, with their agreement, by the Assembly.

Article 26  Amendments
1. Provisions susceptible of amendment by the Assembly; proposals; 2. Adoption; 3. Entry into force

(1) Proposals for the amendment of Articles 22, 23, 24, 25,  and the present Article, may be initiated by any country member of the Assembly, by the Executive Committee, or by the Director General. Such proposals shall be communicated by the Director General to the member countries of the Assembly at least six months in advance of their consideration by the Assembly.

(2) Amendments to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall be adopted by the Assembly. Adoption shall require three-fourths of the votes cast, provided that any amendment of Article 22, and of the present paragraph, shall require four-fifths of the votes cast.

(3) Any amendment to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall enter into force one month after written notifications of acceptance, effected in accordance with their respective constitutional processes, have been received by the Director General from three-fourths of the countries members of the Assembly at the time it adopted the amendment. Any amendment to the said Articles thus accepted shall bind all the countries which are members of the Assembly at the time the amendment enters into force, or which become members thereof at a subsequent date, provided that any amendment increasing the financial obligations of countries of the Union shall bind only those countries which have notified their acceptance of such amendment.

Article 27 Revision
1. Objective; 2. Conferences; 3. Adoption

(1) This Convention shall be submitted to revision with a view to the introduction of amendments designed to improve the system of the Union.

(2) For this purpose, conferences shall be held successively in one of the countries of the Union among the delegates of the said countries.

(3) Subject to the provisions of Article 26 which apply to the amendment of  Articles 22 to 26, any revision of this Act, including the Appendix, shall require the unanimity of the votes cast.

Article 28 Acceptance and Entry Into Force of Act for Countries of the Union
1. Ratification, accession; possibility of excluding certain provisions; withdrawal of exclusion;
2. Entry into force of Articles 1 to 21 and Appendix; 3. Entry into force of Articles 22 to 38

(1)(a) Any country of the Union which has signed this Act may ratify it, and, if it has not signed it, may accede to it. Instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the Director General.
(b) Any country of the Union may declare in its instrument of ratification or accession that its ratification or accession shall not apply to Articles 1 to 21 and the Appendix, provided that, if such country has previously made a declaration under Articles VI(1) of the Appendix, then it may declare in the said instrument only that its ratification or accession shall not apply to Articles 1 to 20.
(c) Any country of the Union which, in accordance with subaparagraph (b), has excluded provisions therein referred to from the effects of its ratification or accession may at any later time declare that it extends the effects of its ratification or accession to those provisions. Such declaration shall be deposited with the Director General.

(2)(a) Articles 1 to 21 and the Appendix shall enter into force three months after both of the following two conditions are fulfilled:
(i) at least five countries of the Union have ratified or acceded to this Act without making a declaration under paragraph (1)(b),
(ii) France, Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, have become bound by the Universal Copyright Convention as revised at Paris on July 24, 1971.
(b) The entry into force referred to in subparagraph (a) shall apply to those countries of the Union which, at least three months before the said entry into force, have deposited instruments of ratification or accession not containing a declaration under paragraph (1)(b).
(c) With respect to any country of the Union not covered by subparagraph (b) and which ratifies or accedes to this Act without making a declaration under paragraph (1)(b) , Articles 1 to 21 and the Appendix  shall enter into force three months after the date on which the Director General has notified the deposit of the relevant instrument of ratification or accession, unless a subsequent date has been indicated in the instrument deposited. In the latter case, Articles 1 to 21 and the Appendix shall enter into force with respect to that country on the date thus indicated.
(d) The provisions of subparagraphs (a) to (c) do not affect the application of  Article VI of the Appendix.

(3) With respect to any country of the Union which ratifies or accedes to this Act with or without a declaration made under paragraph (1)(b), Articles 22 to 38,  shall enter into force three months after the date on which the Director General has notified the deposit of the relevant instrument of ratification or accession, unless a subsequent date has been indicated in the instrument deposited. In the latter case, Articles 22 to 38 shall enter into force with respect to that country on the date thus indicated.

Article 29 Acceptance and Entry Into Force for Countries Outside the Union
1. Accession; 2. Entry into force

(1) Any country outside the Union may accede to this Act and thereby become party to this Convention and a member of the Union. Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Director General.

(2)(a) Subject to subparagraph (b), this Convention shall enter into force with respect to any country outside the Union three months after the date on which the Director General has notified the deposit of its instrument of accession, unless a subsequent date has been indicated in the instrument deposited. In the latter case, this Convention shall enter into force with respect to that country on the date thus indicated.
(b) If the entry into force according to subparagraph (a)  precedes the entry into force of Articles 1 to 21and the Appendix according to Article 28(2)(a), the said country shall, in the meantime, be bound, instead of by Article V(2) and the Appendix, by Article V(2) of the Brussels Act of this Convention.

Article 29b is Effect of Acceptance of Act for the Purposes of Article 14(2) of the WIPO Convention 
Ratification of or accession to this Act by any country not bound by Articles 22 to of the Stockholm Act of this Convention shall, for the sole purposes of Article 14(2) of the Convention establishing the Organization, amount to ratification of or accession to the said Stockholm Act with the limitation set forth in Article 28(1)(b)(i) thereof.

Article 30 Reservations
1. Limits of possibility of making reservations; 2. Earlier reservations; reservation as to the right of translation; withdrawal of reservation

(1) Subject to the exceptions permitted by paragraph (2) of this Article, by Article 28(1)(b), by Article 33(2), and by the Appendix, ratification or accession shall automatically entail acceptance of all the provisions and admission to all the advantages of this Convention.

(2)(a) Any country of the Union ratifying or acceding to this Act may, subject to Article V(2) of the Appendix, retain the benefit of the reservations it has previously formulated on condition that it makes a declaration to that effect at the time of the deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession.
(b) Any country outside the Union may declare, in acceding to this Convention and subject to Article V(2)  of the Appendix, that it intends to substitute, temporarily at least, for Article 8 of this Act concerning the right of translation, the provisions of Article 5 of the Union Convention of 1886, as completed at Paris in 1896, on the clear understanding that the said provisions are applicable only to translations into a language in general use in the said country. Subject to Article 1(6)(b) of the Appendix, any country has the right to apply, in relation to the right of translation of works whose country of origin is a country availing itself of such a reservation, a protection which is equivalent to the protection granted by the latter country.

(c) Any country may withdraw such reservations at any time by notification addressed to the Director General.

Article 31 Applicability to Certain Territories
1. Declaration; 2. Withdrawal of declaration; 3. Effective date; 4. Acceptance of factual situations not implied

(1) Any country may declare in its instrument of ratification or accession, or may inform the Director General by written notification at any time thereafter, that this Convention shall be applicable to all or part of those territories, designated in the declaration or notification, for the external relations of which it is responsible.

(2) Any country which has made such a declaration or given such a notification may, at any time, notify the Director General that this Convention shall cease to be applicable to all or part of such territories.

(3)(a) Any declaration made under paragraph (1) shall take effect on the same date as the ratification or accession in which it was included, and any notification given under that paragraph shall take effect three months after its notification by the Director General.

(b) Any notification given under paragraph (2) shall take effect twelve months after its receipt by the Director General.

(4) This Article shall in no way be understood as implying the recognition or tacit acceptance by a country of the Union of the factual situation concerning a territory to which this Convention is made applicable by another country of the Union by virtue of a declaration under paragraph (1).

Article 32  Applicability of this Act and of Earlier Acts
1. As between countries already members of the Union; 2. As between a country becoming a member of the Union and other countries members of the Union; 3. Applicability of the Appendix in Certain Relations

(1) This Act shall, as regards relations between the countries of the Union, and to the extent that it applies, replace the Berne Convention of September 9, 1886, and the subsequent Acts of revision. The Acts previously in force shall continue to be applicable, in their entirety or to the extent that this Act does not replace them by virtue of the preceding sentence, in relations with countries of the Union which do not ratify or accede to this Act.

(2) Countries outside the Union which become party to this Act shall, subject to paragraph (3), apply it with respect to any country of the Union not bound by this Act or which, although bound by this Act, has made a declaration pursuant to Articles 28(1)(b). Such countries recognize that the said country of the Union, in its relations with them:

(i) may apply the provisions of the most recent Act by which it is bound, and

(ii) subject to Article 1(6) of the Appendix, has the right to adapt the protection to the level provided for by this Act.

(3) Any country which has availed itself of any of the faculties provided for in the Appendix may apply the provisions of the Appendix relating to the faculty or faculties of which it has availed itself in its relations with any other country of the Union which is not bound by this Act, provided that the latter country has accepted the application of the said provisions.

Article 33  Disputes
1. Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice;
2. Reservation as to such jurisdiction; 3. Withdrawal of reservation

(1) Any dispute between two or more countries of the Union concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention, not settled by negotiation, may, by any one of the countries concerned, be brought before the International Court of Justice by application in conformity with the Statute of the Court, unless the countries concerned agree on some other method of settlement. The country bringing the dispute before the Court shall inform the International Bureau; the International Bureau shall bring the matter to the attention of the other countries of the Union.

(2) Each country may, at the time it signs this Act or deposits its instrument of ratification or accession, declare that it does not consider itself bound by the provisions of paragraph (1). With regard to any dispute between such country and any other country of the Union, the provisions of  paragraph (1) shall not apply.

(3) Any country having made a declaration in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) may, at any time, withdraw its declaration by notification addressed to the Director General.

Article 34  Closing of Certain Earlier Provisions
1. Of earlier Acts; 2. Of the Protocol to the Stockholm Act

(1) Subject to Article 29bis, no country may ratify or accede to earlier Acts of this Convention once Articles 1 to 21 and the Appendix have entered into force.

(2) Once Articles 1 to 21 and the Appendix have entered into force, no country may make a declaration under Article 5 of the Protocol Regarding Developing Countries attached to the Stockholm Act.

Article 35 Duration of the Convention; Denunciation
1. Unlimited duration; 2. Possibility of denunciation; 3. Effective date of denunciation; 4. Moratorium on denunciation

(1) This Convention shall remain in force without limitation as to time.

(2) Any country may denounce this Act by notification addressed to the Director General. Such denunciation shall constitute also denunciation of all earlier Acts and shall affect only the country making it, the Convention remaining in full force and effect as regards the other countries of the Union.

(3) Denunciation shall take effect one year after the day on which the Director General has received the notification.

(4) The right of denunciation provided by this Article shall not be exercised by any country before the expiration of five years from the date upon which it becomes a member of the Union.

Article 36  Application of the Convention
1. Obligation to adopt the necessary measures; 2. Time from which obligation exists

(1) Any country party to this Convention undertakes to adopt, in accordance with its constitution, the measures necessary to ensure the application of this Convention.

(2) It is understood that, at the time a country becomes bound by this Convention, it will be in a position under its domestic law to give effect to the provisions of this Convention.

Article 37 Final Clauses
1. Languages of the Act; 2. Signature; 3. Certified copies; 4. Registration; 5. Notifications

(1)(a) This Act shall be signed in a single copy in the French and English languages and, subject to paragraph (2), shall be deposited with the Director General.

(b) Official texts shall be established by the Director General, after consultation with the interested Governments, in the Arabic, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages, and such other languages as the Assembly may designate.

(c) In case of differences of opinion on the interpretation of the various texts, the French text shall prevail.

(2) This Act shall remain open for signature until January 31, 1972. Until that date, the copy referred to in 
paragraph (1)(a) shall be deposited with the Government of the French Republic.

(3) The Director General shall certify and transmit two copies of the signed text of this Act to the Governments of all countries of the Union and, on request, to the Government of any other country.

(4) The Director General shall register this Act with the Secretariat of the United Nations.

(5) The Director General shall notify the Governments of all countries of the Union of signatures, deposits of instruments of ratification or accession and any declarations included in such instruments or made pursuant to Articles 28(1)(c), 30(2)(a) and (b) and 33(2)  entry into force of any provisions of this Act, notifications of denunciation, and notifications pursuant to Articles 30(2)(c),31(1) and (2), 33(3) and 38(1),  as well as the Appendix.

Article 38 Transitory Provisions
1. Exercise of the “five-year privilege”; 2. Bureau of the Union, Director of the Bureau; 3. Succession of Bureau of the Union

(1) Countries of the Union which have not ratified or acceded to this Act and which are not bound by Articles 22 to 26 of the Stockholm Act of this Convention may, until April 26, 1975, exercise, if they so desire, the rights provided under the said Articles as if they were bound by them. Any country desiring to exercise such rights shall give written notification to this effect to the Director General; this notification shall be effective on the date of its receipt. Such countries shall be deemed to be members of the Assembly until the said date.

(2) As long as all the countries of the Union have not become Members of the Organization, the International Bureau of the Organization shall also function as the Bureau of the Union, and the Director General as the Director of the said Bureau.

(3) Once all the countries of the Union have become Members of the Organization, the rights, obligations, and property, of the Bureau of the Union shall devolve on the International Bureau of the Organization.

APPENDIX
SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Article I  Faculties Open to Developing Countries
1. Availability of certain faculties; declaration; 2. Duration of effect of declaration; 3. Cessation of developing country status; 4. Existing stocks of copies; 5. Declarations concerning certain territories; 6. Limits of reciprocity

(1) Any country regarded as a developing country in conformity with the established practice of the General Assembly of the United Nations which ratifies or accedes to this Act, of which this Appendix forms an integral part, and which, having regard to its economic situation and its social or cultural needs, does not consider itself immediately in a position to make provision for the protection of all the rights as provided for in this Act, may, by a notification deposited with the Director General at the time of depositing its instrument of ratification or accession or, subject to Article V(1)(c), at any time thereafter, declare that it will avail itself of the faculty provided for in Article II, or of the faculty provided for in Article III, or of both of those faculties. It may, instead of availing itself of the faculty provided for in Article II, make a declaration according to Article V(1)(a).

(2)(a) Any declaration under paragraph (1) notified before the expiration of the period of ten years from the entry into force of Articles 1 to 21 and this Appendix according to Article 28(2) shall be effective until the expiration of the said period. Any such declaration may be renewed in whole or in part for periods of ten years each by a notification deposited with the Director General not more than fifteen months and not less than three months before the expiration of the ten-year period then running.

(b) Any declaration under paragraph (1) notified after the expiration of the period of ten years from the entry into force of  Articles 1 to 21 and this Appendix according to Article 28(2)  shall be effective until the expiration of the ten-year period then running. Any such declaration may be renewed as provided for in the second sentence of subparagraph (a).

(3) Any country of the Union which has ceased to be regarded as a developing country as referred to in paragraph (1) shall no longer be entitled to renew its declaration as provided in paragraph (2), and, whether or not it formally withdraws its declaration, such country shall be precluded from availing itself of the faculties referred to in paragraph (1) from the expiration of the ten-year period then running or from the expiration of a period of three years after it has ceased to be regarded as a developing country, whichever period expires later.

(4) Where, at the time when the declaration made under paragraph (1) or (2) ceases to be effective, there are copies in stock which were made under a license granted by virtue of this Appendix, such copies may continue to be distributed until their stock is exhausted.

(5) Any country which is bound by the provisions of this Act and which has deposited a declaration or a notification in accordance with Article 31(1) with respect to the application of this Act to a particular territory, the situation of which can be regarded as analogous to that of the countries referred to in paragraph (1), may, in respect of such territory, make the declaration referred to in paragraph (1) and the notification of renewal referred to in paragraph (1). As long as such declaration or notification remains in effect, the provisions of this Appendix shall be applicable to the territory in respect of which it was made.

(6)(a) The fact that a country avails itself of any of the faculties referred to in paragraph (1) does not permit another country to give less protection to works of which the country of origin is the former country than it is obliged to grant under Articles 1 to 20.

(b) The right to apply reciprocal treatment provided for in Article 30(2)(b), second sentence, shall not, until the date on which the period applicable under Article I(3)  expires, be exercised in respect of works the country of origin of which is a country which has made a declaration according to Article V(1)(a).

Article II Limitations on the Right of Translation
1. Licenses grantable by competent authority; 2. to 4. Conditions allowing the grant of such licenses;
5. Purposes for which licenses may be granted; 6. Termination of licenses; 7. Works composed mainly of illustrations; 8. Works withdrawn from circulation; 9. Licenses for broadcasting organizations

(1) Any country which has declared that it will avail itself of the faculty provided for in this Article shall be entitled, so far as works published in printed or analogous forms of reproduction are concerned, to substitute for the exclusive right of translation provided for in Article 8 a system of non-exclusive and non-transferable licenses, granted by the competent authority under the following conditions and subject to Article IV.

(2)(a) Subject to paragraph (3), if, after the expiration of a period of three years, or of any longer period determined by the national legislation of the said country, commencing on the date of the first publication of the work, a translation of such work has not been published in a language in general use in that country by the owner of the right of translation, or with his authorization, any national of such country may obtain a license to make a translation of the work in the said language and publish the translation in printed or analogous forms of reproduction.

(b) A license under the conditions provided for in this Article may also be granted if all the editions of the translation published in the language concerned are out of print.

(3)(a) In the case of translations into a language which is not in general use in one or more developed countries which are members of the Union, a period of one year shall be substituted for the period of three years referred to in paragraph (2)(a).

(b) Any country referred to in paragraph (2)(a) may, with the unanimous agreement of the developed countries which are members of the Union and in which the same language is in general use, substitute, in the case of translations into that language, for the period of three years referred to in paragraph (2)(a) a shorter period as determined by such agreement but not less than one year. However, the provisions of the foregoing sentence shall not apply where the language in question is English, French or Spanish. The Director General shall be notified of any such agreement by the Governments which have concluded it.

(4)(a) No license obtainable after three years shall be granted under this Article until a further period of six months has elapsed, and no license obtainable after one year shall be granted under this Article until a further period of nine months has elapsed
(i) from the date on which the applicant complies with the requirements mentioned in Article IV(1), or
(ii) where the identity or the address of the owner of the right of translation is unknown, from the date on which the applicant sends, as provided for in Article IV(2), copies of his application submitted to the authority competent to grant the license.

(b) If, during the said period of six or nine months, a translation in the language in respect of which the application was made is published by the owner of the right of translation or with his authorization, no license under this Article shall be granted.

(5) Any license under this Article shall be granted only for the purpose of teaching, scholarship or research.

(6) If a translation of a work is published by the owner of the right of translation or with his authorization at a price reasonably related to that normally charged in the country for comparable works, any license granted under this Article shall terminate if such translation is in the same language and with substantially the same content as the translation published under the license. Any copies already made before the license terminates may continue to be distributed until their stock is exhausted.

(7) For works which are composed mainly of illustrations, a license to make and publish a translation of the text and to reproduce and publish the illustrations may be granted only if the conditions of Article III are also fulfilled.

(8) No license shall be granted under this Article when the author has withdrawn from circulation all copies of his work.

(9) (a) A license to make a translation of a work which has been published in printed or analogous forms of reproduction may also be granted to any broadcasting organization having its headquarters in a country referred to in paragraph (1), upon an application made to the competent authority of that country by the said organization, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
(i) the translation is made from a copy made and acquired in accordance with the laws of the said country;
(ii) the translation is only for use in broadcasts intended exclusively for teaching or for the dissemination of the results of specialized technical or scientific research to experts in a particular profession;
(iii) the translation is used exclusively for the purposes referred to in condition (ii) through broadcasts made lawfully and intended for recipients on the territory of the said country, including broadcasts made through the medium of sound or visual recordings lawfully and exclusively made for the purpose of such broadcasts;
(iv) all uses made of the translation are without any commercial purpose.

(b) Sound or visual recordings of a translation which was made by a broadcasting organization under a license granted by virtue of this paragraph may, for the purposes and subject to the conditions referred to in subparaphs (a) and with the agreement of that organization, also be used by any other broadcasting organization having its headquarters in the country whose competent authority granted the license in question.

(c) Provided that all of the criteria and conditions set out in subparaphs (a) are met, a license may also be granted to a broadcasting organization to translate any text incorporated in an audio-visual fixation where such fixation was itself prepared and published for the sole purpose of being used in connection with systematic instructional activities.

(d) Subject to subparaphs (a) to (c ), the provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall apply to the grant and exercise of any license granted under this paragraph.

Article III Limitation on the Right of Reproduction
1. Licenses grantable by competent authority; 2. to 5. Conditions allowing the grant of such licenses;
6. Termination of licenses; 7. Works to which this Article applies

(1) Any country which has declared that it will avail itself of the faculty provided for in this Article shall be entitled to substitute for the exclusive right of reproduction provided for in Article 9 a system of non-exclusive and non-transferable licenses, granted by the competent authority under the following conditions and subject to Article IV.

(2)(a) If, in relation to a work to which this Article applies by virtue of paragraph (7), after the expiration of
(i) the relevant period specified in paragraph (3), commencing on the date of first publication of a particular edition of the work, or
(ii) any longer period determined by national legislation of the country referred to in paragraph (1), commencing on the same date, copies of such edition have not been distributed in that country to the general public or in connection with systematic instructional activities, by the owner of the right of reproduction or with his authorization, at a price reasonably related to that normally charged in the country for comparable works, any national of such country may obtain a license to reproduce and publish such edition at that or a lower price for use in connection with systematic instructional activities.

(b) A license to reproduce and publish an edition which has been distributed as described in subparagraph (a) may also be granted under the conditions provided for in this Article if, after the expiration of the applicable period, no authorized copies of that edition have been on sale for a period of six months in the country concerned to the general public or in connection with systematic instructional activities at a price reasonably related to that normally charged in the country for comparable works.

(3) The period referred to in paragraph (2)(a)(i) shall be five years, except that
(i) for works of the natural and physical sciences, including mathematics, and of technology, the period shall be three years;
(ii) for works of fiction, poetry, drama and music, and for art books, the period shall be seven years.

(4)(a) No license obtainable after three years shall be granted under this Article until a period of six months has elapsed
(i) from the date on which the applicant complies with the requirements mentioned in Article IV(1), or
(ii) where the identity or the address of the owner of the right of reproduction is unknown, from the date on which the applicant sends, as provided for in Article IV(2), copies of his application submitted to the authority competent to grant the license.

(b) Where licenses are obtainable after other periods and Article IV(2) is applicable, no license shall be granted until a period of three months has elapsed from the date of the dispatch of the copies of the application.

(c) If, during the period of six or three months referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b), a distribution as described in paragraph (2)(a) has taken place, no license shall be granted under this Article.

(d) No license shall be granted if the author has withdrawn from circulation all copies of the edition for the reproduction and publication of which the license has been applied for.

(5) A license to reproduce and publish a translation of a work shall not be granted under this Article in the following cases:
(i) where the translation was not published by the owner of the right of translation or with his authorization, or
(ii) where the translation is not in a language in general use in the country in which the license is applied for.

(6) If copies of an edition of a work are distributed in the country referred to in paragraph (1) to the general public or in connection with systematic instructional activities, by the owner of the right of reproduction or with his authorization, at a price reasonably related to that normally charged in the country for comparable works, any license granted under this Article shall terminate if such edition is in the same language and with substantially the same content as the edition which was published under the said license. Any copies already made before the license terminates may continue to be distributed until their stock is exhausted.

(7)(a) Subject to subparagraph (b),  the works to which this Article applies shall be limited to works published in printed or analogous forms of reproduction.

(b) This Article shall also apply to the reproduction in audio-visual form of lawfully made audio-visual fixations including any protected works incorporated therein and to the translation of any incorporated text into a language in general use in the country in which the license is applied for, always provided that the audio-visual fixations in question were prepared and published for the sole purpose of being used in connection with systematic instructional activities.

Article IV Provisions Common to Licenses Under Article II or Article III
1. and 2. Procedure; 3. Indication of author and title of work; 4. Exportation of copies; 5. Notice; 6. Compensation

(1) A license under Article II or Article III may be granted only if the applicant, in accordance with the procedure of the country concerned, establishes either that he has requested, and has been denied, authorization by the owner of the right to make and publish the translation or to reproduce and publish the edition, as the case may be, or that, after due diligence on his part, he was unable to find the owner of the right. At the same time as making the request, the applicant shall inform any national or international information center referred to in paragraph (2). 

(2) If the owner of the right cannot be found, the applicant for a license shall send, by registered airmail, copies of his application, submitted to the authority competent to grant the license, to the publisher whose name appears on the work and to any national or international information center which may have been designated, in a notification to that effect deposited with the Director General, by the Government of the country in which the publisher is believed to have his principal place of business.

(3) The name of the author shall be indicated on all copies of the translation or reproduction published under a license granted under Article II or Article III. The title of the work shall appear on all such copies. In the case of a translation, the original title of the work shall appear in any case on all the said copies.

(4)(a) No license granted under Article II or Article III shall extend to the export of copies, and any such license shall be valid only for publication of the translation or of the reproduction, as the case may be, in the territory of the country in which it has been applied for.

(b) For the purposes of subparagraph (a),  the notion of export shall include the sending of copies from any territory to the country which, in respect of that territory, has made a declaration under Article I(5).

(c) Where a governmental or other public entity of a country which has granted a license to make a translation under  Article II into a language other than English, French or Spanish sends copies of a translation published under such license to another country, such sending of copies shall not, for the purposes of subparagraph (a), be considered to constitute export if all of the following conditions are met:
(i) the recipients are individuals who are nationals of the country whose competent authority has granted the license, or organizations grouping such individuals;
(ii) the copies are to be used only for the purpose of teaching, scholarship or research;
(iii) the sending of the copies and their subsequent distribution to recipients is without any commercial purpose; and
(iv) the country to which the copies have been sent has agreed with the country whose competent authority has granted the license to allow the receipt, or distribution, or both, and the Director General has been notified of the agreement by the Government of the country in which the license has been granted.

(5) All copies published under a license granted by virtue of Article II or Article III shall bear a notice in the appropriate language stating that the copies are available for distribution only in the country or territory to which the said license applies.

(6)(a) Due provision shall be made at the national level to ensure
(i) that the license provides, in favour of the owner of the right of translation or of reproduction, as the case may be, for just compensation that is consistent with standards of royalties normally operating on licenses freely negotiated between persons in the two countries concerned, and
(ii) payment and transmittal of the compensation: should national currency regulations intervene, the competent authority shall make all efforts, by the use of international machinery, to ensure transmittal in internationally convertible currency or its equivalent.

(b) Due provision shall be made by national legislation to ensure a correct translation of the work, or an accurate reproduction of the particular edition, as the case may be.

Article V Alternative Possibility for Limitation of the Right of Translation
1. Regime provided for under the 1886 and 1896 Acts; 2. No possibility of change to regime under Article II;
3. Time limit for choosing the alternative possibility

(1)(a) Any country entitled to make a declaration that it will avail itself of the faculty provided for in Article II may, instead, at the time of ratifying or acceding to this Act:
(i) if it is a country to which Article 30(2)(a) applies, make a declaration under that provision as far as the right of translation is concerned
(ii) if it is a country to which Article 30(2)(a) does not apply, and even if it is not a country outside the Union, make a declaration as provided for in Article 30(2)(b), first sentence.

(b) In the case of a country which ceases to be regarded as a developing country as referred to in Article I(1), a declaration made according to this paragraph shall be effective until the date on which the period applicable under Article I(3) expires.

(c) Any country which has made a declaration according to this paragraph may not subsequently avail itself of the faculty provided for in Article II even if it withdraws the said declaration.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), any country which has availed itself of the faculty provided for in Article II may not subsequently make a declaration according to paragraph (1).

(3) Any country which has ceased to be regarded as a developing country as referred to in Article I(1) may, not later than two years prior to the expiration of the period applicable under  Article I(3), make a declaration to the effect provided for in Article 30(2)(b), first sentence, notwithstanding the fact that it is not a country outside the Union. Such declaration shall take effect at the date on which the period applicable under Article I(3)  expires.

Article VI Possibilities of applying, or admitting the application of, certain provisions of the Appendix before becoming bound by it
1. Declaration; 2. Depository and effective date of declaration

(1) Any country of the Union may declare, as from the date of this Act, and at any time before becoming bound by Articles 1 to 21 and this Appendix:
(i) if it is a country which, were it bound by Articles 1 to 21 and this Appendix, would be entitled to avail itself of the faculties referred to in Article I(1), that it will apply the provisions of  Article II or of  Article III or of both to works whose country of origin is a country which, pursuant to (ii) below, admits the application of those Articles to such works, or which is bound by Articles 1 to 21 and this Appendix; such declaration may, instead of referring to Article II, refer to Article V;
(ii) that it admits the application of this Appendix to works of which it is the country of origin by countries which have made a declaration under (i) above or a notification under Article I.  

(2) Any declaration made under paragraph (1) shall be in writing and shall be deposited with the Director General. The declaration shall become effective from the date of its deposit.

SIGNATORIES INCLUDE:
Contracting Party       Instrument                                          In Force
Albania                                Accession: December 2, 1993               March 6, 1994
Algeria                                 Accession: January 19, 1998                 April 19, 1998
Andorra                               Accession: March 2, 2004                    June 2, 2004
Antigua and Barbuda             Accession: December 17, 1999           March 17, 2000
Argentina                              Accession: May 5, 1967                      June 10, 1967
Armenia                                Accession: July 19, 2000                     October 19, 2000
Australia                               Declaration of Continued
                                            Application: April 14, 1928                   April 14, 1928
Austria                                  Ascession: September 11 1920             October 1 1920
Azerbaijan                            Accession: March 4, 1999                    June 4, 1999
Bahamas                              Declaration of Continued
                                             Application: July 5, 1976                      July 10, 1973
Bahrain                                Accession: November 29, 1996         March 2, 1997
Bangladesh                           Accession: February 4, 1999             May 4, 1999
Barbados                             Accession: March 16, 1983                 July 30, 1983
Belarus                                 Accession: September 12, 1997             December 12, 1997
Belgium                                Ratification: September 5, 1887             December 5, 1887
Belize                                   Accession: March 17, 2000                 June 17, 2000
Benin                                                                                        August 1 1960
Bhutan                                  Accession: August 25, 2004                 November 25, 2004
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Accession: August 4, 1993         November 4, 1993
Bosnia and Herzegovina           Declaration of Continued
                                            Application: June 2, 1993                     March 1, 1992
Botswana                             Accession: January 15, 1998                April 15, 1998
Brazil                                    Accession: February 6, 1922                February 9, 1922
Brunei Darussalam                Accession: May 30, 2006                     August 30, 2006
Bulgaria                                Accession: December 5, 1921              December 5, 1921
Burkina Faso                           Accession: April 26, 1963                    August 19, 1963
Cameroon                               Declaration of Continued Application:   January 1, 1960
                                              September 21, 1964
Canada                                   Declaration of Continued Application:   April 10, 1928
                                              April 10, 1928
Cape Verde                             Accession: April 7, 1997                      July 7, 1997
Central African Republic           Accession: May 31, 1977                 September 3, 1977
Chad                                        Accession: August 4, 1971                   November 25, 1971
Chile                                        Accession: April 9, 1970                      June 5, 1970
China                                       Accession: July 10, 1992                      October 15, 1992
Colombia                                 Accession: December 4, 1987              March 7, 1988
Comoros                                  Accession: January 17, 2005                April 17, 2005
Congo                                      Declaration of Continued Application:
                                               May 8, 1962                                         August 15, 1960
Costa Rica                               Accession: March 3, 1978                    June 10, 1978
Côte d'Ivoire                              Accession: July 8, 1961                        January 1, 1962
Croatia                                     Declaration / Notification of
                                               Succession: July 28, 1992                    October 8, 1991
Cuba                                        Accession: November 20, 1996            February 20, 1997
Cyprus                                     Declaration of Continued
                                               Application: February 24, 1964            August 16, 1960
Czech Republic                        Declaration of Continued
                                               Application: December 18, 1992          January 1, 1993
Democratic People's                 Accession: January 28, 2003
Republic of Korea                                                                  April 28, 2003
Democratic Republic                 Declaration of Continued
of the Congo                             Application: October 8, 1963               June 30, 1960
Denmark                                  Accession: June 13, 1903                     July 1, 1903
Djibouti                                    Accession: February 13, 2002              May 13, 2002
Dominica                                  Accession: May 7, 1999                       August 7, 1999
Dominican Republic                  Accession: September 24, 1997           December 24, 1997
Ecuador                                   Accession: July 8, 1991                        October 9, 1991
Egypt                                       Accession: March 2, 1977                    June 7, 1977
El Salvador                               Accession: November 18, 1993            February 19, 1994
Equatorial Guinea                     Accession: March 26, 1997                  June 26, 1997
Estonia                                     Accession: July 26, 1994                      October 26, 1994
Fiji                                           Declaration of Continued
                                                Application: December 1, 1971            October 10, 1970
Finland                                     Accession: March 23, 1928                  April 1, 1928
France                                      Ratification: September 5, 1887            December 5, 1887
Gabon                                      Accession: December 19, 1961            March 26, 1962
Gambia                                    Accession: December 7, 1992              March 7, 1993
Georgia                                    Accession: February 16, 1995              May 16, 1995
Germany                                  Ratification: September 5, 1887            December 5, 1887
Ghana                                      Accession: July 11, 1991                      October 11, 1991
Greece                                     Accession: November 9, 1920              November 9, 1920
Grenada                                   Accession: June 22, 1998                     September 22, 1998 Guatemala                                Accession: April 28, 1997                    July 28, 1997
Guinea                                      Accession: August 13, 1980                 November 20, 1980                
Guinea-Bissau                          Accession: April 18, 1991                    July 22, 1991
Guyana                                     Accession: July 25, 1994                      October 25, 1994
Haiti                             Accession: October 11, 1995               January 11, 1996
Holy See                      Accession: July 19, 1935                      September 12, 1935
Honduras                     Accession: October 24, 1989               January 25, 1990
Hungary                       Accession: February 14, 1922              February 14, 1922
Iceland                         Accession: June 30, 1947                     September 7, 1947
India                             Declaration of Continued                     
                                    Application: April 23, 1928                   April 1, 1928 Indonesia                     
                                    Accession: June 5, 1997                       September 5, 1997
Ireland                          Accession: October 5, 1927                 October 5, 1927
Israel                            Accession: December 14, 1949            March 24, 1950
Italy                              Ratification: September 5, 1887            December 5, 1887
Jamaica                        Accession: September 28, 1993           January 1, 1994                                   
Japan                           Accession: April 18, 1899                    July 15, 1899
Jordan                          Accession: April 28, 1999                    July 28, 1999
Kazakhstan                  Accession: January 12, 1999                April 12, 1999
Kenya                          Accession: March 11, 1993                  June 11, 1993
Kyrgyzstan                   Accession: April 8, 1999                      July 8, 1999
Lao People's
Democratic Republic    Accession: December 14, 2011            March 14, 2012          
Latvia                           Accession: May 11, 1995                     August 11, 1995
Lebanon                       Accession: February 19, 1946              September 30, 1947
Lesotho                        Accession: June 27, 1989                     September 28, 1989
Liberia                          Accession: December 8, 1988              March 8, 1989
Libya                            Accession: June 28, 1976                     September 28, 1976
Liechtenstein                 Accession: July 20, 1931                      July 30, 1931
Lithuania                       Accession: September 14, 1994           December 14, 1994
Luxembourg                 Accession: June 20, 1888                     June 20, 1888
Madagascar                 Declaration of Continued
                                   Application: February 11, 1966            January 1, 1966        
Malawi                         Accession: July 12, 1991                      October 12, 1991
Malaysia                       Accession: June 28, 1990                     October 1, 1990
Mali                             Declaration of Continued                     
                                   Application: March 19, 1962                April 4, 1960
Malta                           Declaration of Continued
                                   Application: May 29, 1968                   September 21, 1964
Mauritania                    Accession: October 16, 1972               February 6, 1973
Mauritius                      Accession: February 9, 1989                May 10, 1989
Mexico                         Accession: May 9, 1967                       June 11, 1967
Micronesia
(Federated States of)    Accession: July 7, 2003                        October 7, 2003
Monaco                       Accession: May 30, 1889                     May 30, 1889
Mongolia                      Accession: December 12, 1997            March 12, 1998
Montenegro                  Declaration of Continued
                                    Application: December 4, 2006            June 3, 2006
Morocco                      Accession: June 16, 1917                     June 16, 1917
Mozambique                Accession: August 22, 2013                 November 22, 2013
Namibia                       Declaration of Continued
                                    Application: September 21, 1993          March 21, 1990
Nepal                           Accession: October 11, 2005               January 11, 2006
Netherlands                  Accession: October 9, 1912                 November 1, 1912
New Zealand                Declaration of Continued
                                    Application: April 26, 1928                   April 24, 1928
Nicaragua                     Accession: May 23, 2000                     August 23, 2000
Niger                            Declaration of Continued
                                    Application: May 2, 1962                     August 3, 1960
Nigeria                         Accession: June 10, 1993                     September 14, 1993    
Norway                        Accession: April 13, 1896                    April 13, 1896
Oman                           Accession: April 14, 1999                    July 14, 1999
Pakistan                       Accession: June 4, 1948                       July 5, 1948
Panama                        Accession: March 8, 1996                    June 8, 1996
Paraguay                      Accession: September 9, 1991             January 2, 1992
Peru                             Accession: May 20, 1988                     August 20, 1988
Philippines                    Accession: June 29, 1950                     August 1, 1951
Poland                          Accession: January 28, 1920                January 28, 1920
Portugal                        Accession: March 29, 1911                  March 29, 1911
Qatar                           Accession: April 5, 2000                      July 5, 2000
Republic of Korea        Accession: May 21, 1996                     August 21, 1996
Republic of Moldova    Accession: August 1, 1995                   November 2, 1995
Romania                       Accession: August 28, 1926                 January 1, 1927
Russian Federation       Accession: December 9, 1994              March 13, 1995
Rwanda                        Accession: November 3, 1983              March 1, 1984
Saint Kitts and Nevis    Accession: January 3, 1995                  April 9, 1995   
Saint Lucia                   Accession: May 21, 1993                     August 24, 1993
Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines              Accession: May 29, 1995                     August 29, 1995
Samoa                          Accession: April 21, 2006                    July 21, 2006
Saudi Arabia                Accession: December 11, 2003            March 11, 2004
Senegal                         Accession: June 30, 1962                     August 25, 1962
Serbia                          Declaration of Continued
                                    Application: September 19, 2006          April 27, 1992
Singapore                     Accession: September 21, 1998           December 21, 1998
Slovakia                       Declaration of Continued
                                    Application: December 30, 1992          January 1, 1993
Slovenia                       Declaration of Continued
                                   Application: June 12, 1992                   June 25, 1991
South Africa                 Declaration of Continued
                                   Application: October 3, 1928               October 3, 1928
Spain                            Ratification: September 5, 1887            December 5, 1887
Sri Lanka                     Declaration of Continued
                                    Application: July 20, 1959                    February 4, 1948
Sudan                           Accession: September 28, 2000           December 28, 2000
Suriname                      Accession: November 16, 1976            February 23, 1977
Swaziland                     Accession: September 14, 1998           December 14, 1998    
Sweden                        Accession: July 8, 1904                        August 1, 1904
Switzerland                   Ratification: September 5, 1887            December 5, 1887
Syrian Arab Republic    Accession: March 11, 2004                  June 11, 2004
Tajikistan                      Accession: December 9, 1999              March 9, 2000
Thailand                       Accession: June 17, 1931                     July 17, 1931
the former Yugoslav     
Republic of Macedonia  Declaration / Notification of
                                   Succession: July 23, 1993                     September 8, 1991
Togo                            Accession: January 28, 1975                April 30, 1975
Tonga                           Accession: March 14, 2001                  June 14, 2001
Trinidad and Tobago    Accession: May 16, 1988                     August 16, 1988
Tunisia                          Ratification: September 5, 1887            December 5, 1887
Turkey                         Accession: October 27, 1951               January 1, 1952
Ukraine                        Accession: July 25, 1995                      October 25, 1995
United Arab Emirates   Accession: April 14, 2004                    July 14, 2004
United Kingdom           Ratification: September 5, 1887            December 5, 1887
United Republic of Tanzania      Accession: April 25, 1994        July 25, 1994
United States of America          Accession: November 16, 1988  March 1, 1989
Uruguay                       Accession: June 7, 1967                       July 10, 1967
Uzbekistan                   Accession: January 19, 2005                April 19, 2005
Vanuatu                        Accession: September 27, 2012           December 27, 2012
Venezuela
(Bolivarian Republic of)          Accession: September 20, 1982  December 30, 1982
VietNam                     Accession: July 26, 2004                      October 26, 2004
Yemen                         Accession: April 14, 2008                    July 14, 2008
Zambia                        Accession: September 13, 1991           January 2, 1992
Zimbabwe                    Declaration / Notification of
                                  Succession: September 18, 1981          April 18, 1980





























































































































































































Estonia

Accession: July 26, 1994

October 26, 1994

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LEGISLATORS
WHO
GET IT

A ROCKSTAR
AGAINST
IP & ID ABUSE BY
TECHNOLOGY

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