0.2 The international framework

Module 2: the international framework

 learning objective

This module explains how international copyright law works, how it affects developing countries, and how developing countries can affect it.

Case study

Angela is troubled by the restrictions that copyright law places upon her ability to assemble and distribute course materials. She is considering writing a short article, arguing that her nation's copyright law should be reformed to give teachers and students more latitude. However, she has heard that international agreements may restrict the freedom that each country enjoys to define its own copyright laws. Before drafting her article, she asks Nadia's help in determining which, if any, international agreements are applicable in their own country .

Lesson

The rationale for the international system

As we saw in  Module 1: Copyright and the Public Domain , each country in the world has its own set of copyright laws. However, the flexibility that most countries enjoy in adjusting and enforcing their own laws is limited by a set of international treaties.

Why do we need any international management of this field? There are two traditional answers to this question.

First, without some international standardization, nations might enact legislation that protects their own citizens while leaving foreigners vulnerable. Such discrimination was common prior to international regulation. As copyright owners become increasingly interested in global protection for their creation, mutual recognition on fair terms of rights across borders becomes ever more important.

Second, some copyright holders believe that developing nations would not adopt adequate copyright protections unless forced to do so by treaty. Representatives of developing nations strongly dispute this argument.

International instruments

The simplest way to achieve these goals would be a single treaty signed by all countries. Unfortunately, the current situation is more complex. Instead of one treaty, we now have six major  multilateral  agreements, each with a different set of member countries.

Each of the six agreements was negotiated within - and is now administered by - an international organization. Four of the six are managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); one by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and one by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The six agreements have been created and implemented in similar, though not identical, ways. Typically, the process begins when representatives of countries think that there should be international standards governing a set of issues. They enter into  negotiations , which can last several years. During the negotiations, draft provisions are presented to the delegations of each country, which then discuss them and may propose amendments to their content in order to reach a consensus. This "consensus" may reflect genuine agreement among all of the participating countries that the proposed treaty is desirable, or it may result from pressure exerted by more powerful countries upon less powerful countries. Once consensus has been reached, the countries conclude the treaty by  signing  it. Thereafter, the governments of the participating countries  ratify  the treaty, whereupon it  enters into force . Countries that did not sign the treaty when it was initially concluded may join the treaty later by  accession .