COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AROUND THE WORLD

How Does International Copyright Protection Work?

The protection one is afforded, in regard to their work, depends on the national laws of the country in which the author seeks protection, regardless of where the author lives or publishes their work. This is a key concept in acts of infringement that occur outside of the jurisdiction of the United States because the U.S. Copyright Act does not have any extraterritorial operation.

U.S. Copyright Law Refresher

As amended, United States copyright law is governed by the Copyright Act of 1976. Under the U.S. Copyright Law, protection of original works exists once the work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. This means that once an author actually creates their original work, it is protected through the act.

In order for work to be protected under the Copyright Act, it does not have to be registered. However, registration is a precondition to filing an infringement suit in federal court. If the author decides to register their work, they can seek additional remedies in the lawsuit, such as an award of attorneys’ fees and statutory damages versus actual damages.



Additionally, an author is not required to place notice of copyright on their work, but it does establish good practice and can be done whether or not the copyright has been registered. 

Treaties and Conventions - International Copyright

Due to copyright being territorial, an author doesn’t necessarily need to take many steps to protect their work internationally. The Berne Convention came to fruition for this very purpose. As of now, aside from China and Russia, most of the countries belong to the Berne Union, providing protection for copyrightable works after they are created. The Copyright Office publishes a list of the countries that are parties to the Berne Convention, as well as other international copyright treaties like the Universal Copyright Convention.

The primary feature of the Berne Convention is that it forbids member countries from imposing “formalities” on copyright protection. It should be noted, though, that due to the Copyright Act, an author may be required to register a copyright within the U.S. before filing an infringement suit, but it cannot impose that same obligation on foreign nationals.

Furthermore, if an author proceeds to file suit in a foreign country, one should note that it will be prosecuted under the terms of the foreign jurisdiction’s copyright law and not the United States Copyright Act due to the Berne convention “minimum standards” and national “treatment.” 

Empirical Steps for an Author

While one may feel that the enforcements under international copyright doesn’t leave them with much protection, the road to enforcement is through a lawsuit. The following are a few steps that an author can take to improve their position:

• Apply the copyright notice on all published works ( © );
• Register the copyright with the Copyright Office;
• Address the limits on copying and distributing in licensing agreements;
• Determine if the foreign infringement has been imported into the U.S. to be eligible to file suit in a United States court to apply U.S. copyright law;
• Likewise, determine if the infringement happened in the U.S. and then was later transported to a foreign country.