In addition to the Berne Convention, the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) treaty contains a number of provisions that affect copyright protection in signatory countries.
This protection must last for at least the life of the author plus 50 years and must be automatic without the need for the author to take any legal steps to preserve the copyright. Under this treaty, all member countries - and there are more than 100, including virtually all industrialized nations - must afford copyright protection to authors who are nationals of any member country. Ignore Heading – Sub table content International Copyright ProtectionĬopyright protection rules are fairly similar worldwide, due to several international copyright treaties, the most important of which is the Berne Convention.
See Copyright Registration and Enforcement. This is done by registering the copyright with the U.S. In the United States, a copyright owner can significantly enhance the protection afforded by copyright.