International copyright

There are international agreements to provide protection for authors and creators while allowing their work to be translated, produced and enjoyed by audiences worldwide.

The Berne Convention

Before the Berne Convention, there was very little protection for authors outside their home country. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is an international copyright agreement that covers an artist when their work is published or produced outside their country of origin. It protects their right to authorise translations, reproductions, adaptations, performances, broadcasts or other communication of their work.

World Intellectual Property Organization

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the agency that administers the Berne Convention for member countries in the United Nations.

The organisation’s view is that the creation of new artistic works is key to our quality of life. And so they work to provide artists with the protection to encourage them to continue to innovate without fear of losing their rights or the rewards of their creative labour.

The EU Copyright Directive

The EU Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC), is a directive (of the European Union) to implement the WIPO Copyright Treaty as well as bringing together various elements of copyright law in Europe. The idea is to establish a system to try to ensure that competition is not distorted within the internal market.

Rome Convention

Sound recordings and performers rights are covered by the Rome Convention.

Protecting your work internationally

You don’t have to take any special action to protect your work internationally, but you should follow the advice on this site about marking your work as copyright protected.