International Copyright

Introduction

When readers of this site come across the following passage from our Copyright Quick Guide they have more questions than the paragraph has answers:

In general, the same principles of copyright under the domestic law of the U.S. (or of another country) apply to a work, whether the work originated in the U.S. or elsewhere. Under major multinational treaties, many countries have agreed to give copyright protection to works from most other countries of the world. Because the U.S. has joined such treaties, you should apply U.S. copyright law to most works, regardless of their country of origin.

Dealing with a copyright question within our own borders can be challenging enough, but throw a foreign county into the mix and many novices and copyright experts alike have been known to back away.  Yet many copyright questions about foreign works may be answered by keeping these simple propositions in mind:

• When in the U.S., apply U.S. law. This means, that if you find and use the work while you are inside the borders of the United States, you should apply U.S. law. That means that U.S. law of fair use, for example, applies to a foreign work as well as to a domestic work. It also means that the question of whether the foreign work is protected at all in the U.S. is a matter of U.S. law. Which takes us to the second point.
• Under U.S. law, works from most countries are protected under U.S. copyright. The U.S. is a member of the Berne Convention and other multinational copyright agreements. One major consequence of Berne is that countries (i.e., the U.S.) shall grant protection to works from the other Berne countries (i.e., most countries of the world).

These two propositions are simplified statements, and we can think of many exceptions, conditions, details, and quirks, but in common situations, these two propositions will hold true.  To learn more about copyright agreements and treaties between the U.S. and other countries, see:

• U.S. Copyright Office’s Circular 38a on "International Copyright Relations of the United States."
• Copyright Watch is a database of copyright statutes from different countries, with some commentary about treaty relations.
• A resource that we have found helpful is the "Copyright Treaties With The US" map created by Puneet Kishor under a CC0 License.

 
International Copyright Links of Interest

1. International Copyright Organizations & Institutions
   • WIPO | World Intellectual Property Organization
   • WTO | World Trade Organization
   • European Commission’s Information Society
   • United States Copyright Office

2. Treaties & Other Primary Sources
   • Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
   • TRIPS | Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Right
   • WIPO Copyright Treaty
   • WPPT | WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
   • List of All WIPO-Administered Treaties
     
     
3. Resources for Educational Institutions, Libraries, & Archives
   • SCCR17 | Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights: Seventeenth Session
     • Study on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives by Dr. Kenneth D. Crews
       • Accompanying presentation by Dr. Crews in both PDF and PPT formats.
   • SCCR19 | Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights: Nineteenth Session
     • Study on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Educational Activities in North America, Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia and Israel

Readers of our website may recall this Database of International Copyright Law, compiled by CAO director Kenneth Crews with assistance from Jacques Ramos. It remains online, but users should be advised that we have not recently confirmed the accuracy of the content.

Most recent revision: 011012