A PROCLAMATION
Considering that:
The Universal Copyright Convention
as revised at Paris on July 24, 1971, together with
two related protocols, the text of which, as certified
by the Director, Office of International Standards
and Legal Affairs, United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization, in the French, English
and Spanish languages, is hereto annexed;
The Senate of the United States of
America by its resolution of August 14, 1972, two-thirds
of the Senators present concurring therein, gave its
advice and consent to ratification of the Convention
as revised, together with the two related protocols;
The President of the United States
of America ratified the Convention as revised, together
with the two related protocols on August 28, 1972,
in pursuance of the advice and consent of the Senate;
The instrument of ratification by
the United States of America was deposited with the
Director-General of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization on September 18,
1972, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article VIII
of the Convention as revised;
It is provided in paragraph 1 of Article
IX of the Convention as revised that it shall come
into force three months after the deposit of twelve
instruments of ratification, acceptance or accession;
It is provided in paragraph 2(b) of
each of the protocols that it shall enter into force
in respect of each State on the date of deposit of
the instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession
of the State concerned or on the date of entry into
force of the 1971 Convention with respect to such
State, whichever is the later; and
Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph
1 of Article IX of the Convention as revised and paragraph
2(b) of each of the two related protocols, the Convention
as revised, together with the two related protocols,
entered into force on July 10, 1974.
Now, therefore, be it known
that I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States
of America, proclaim and make public the Convention
as revised, together with the two related protocols,
to the end that they shall be observed and fulfilled
with good faith by the United States of America and
by the citizens of the United States of America and
all other persons subject to the jurisdiction thereof.
In testimony whereof,
I have signed this proclamation and caused the Seal
of the United States of America to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington
this eighteenth day of July in the year of our Lord
one thousand nine hundred seventy-four and of the
independence of [Seal] the United States of America
the one hundred ninety-ninth.
Richard Nixon
By the President: HENRY A. KISSINGER, Secretary of State
The Contracting States.
Moved by the desire to ensure in all
countries copyright protection of literary, scientific
and artistic works,
Convinced that a system of copyright
protection appropriate to all nations of the world
and expressed in a universal convention, additional
to, and without impairing international systems already
in force, will ensure respect for the rights of the
individual and encourage the development of literature,
the sciences and the arts,
Persuaded that such a universal copyright
system will facilitate a wider dissemination of works
of the human mind and increase international understanding,
Have resolved to revise the Universal
Copyright Convention as signed at Geneva on 6 September
1952 (hereinafter called “the 1952 Convention"),
and consequently,
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE I
Each Contracting State undertakes
to provide for the adequate and effective protection
of the rights of authors and other copyright proprietors
in literary, scientific and artistic works, including
writings, musical, dramatic and cinematographic works,
and paintings, engravings and sculpture.
ARTICLE II
1. Published works of nationals
of any Contracting State and works first published
in that State shall enjoy in each other Contracting
State the same protection as that other State accords
to works of its nationals first published in its own
territory, as well as the protection specially granted
by this Convention.
2. Unpublished works of nationals
of each Contracting State shall enjoy in each other
Contracting State the same protection as that other
State accords to unpublished works of its own nationals,
as well as the protection specially granted by this
Convention.
3. For the purposed of this Convention
any Contracting State may, by domestic legislation,
assimilate to its own nationals any person domiciled
in that State.
ARTICLE III
1. Any Contracting State which,
under its domestic law, requires as a condition of
copyright, compliance with formalities such as deposit,
registration, notice notarial certificates, payment
of fees or manufacture or publication in that Contracting
State, shall regard these requirements as satisfied
with respect to all works protected in accordance
with this Convention and first published outside its
territory and the author of which is not one of its
nationals, if from the time of the first publication
all the copies of the work published with the authority
of the author or other copyright proprietor bear the
symbol of a lower case “c” inside of a
circle accompanied by the name of the copyright proprietor
and the year of first publication placed in such manner
and location as to give reasonable notice of claim
of copyright.
2. The provisions of paragraph
1 shall not preclude any Contracting State from requiring
formalities or other conditions for the acquisition
and enjoyment of copyright in respect of works first
published in its territory or works of its nationals
wherever published.
3. The provisions of paragraph
1 shall not preclude any Contracting State from providing
that a person seeking judicial relief must, in bringing
the action, comply with procedural requirements, such
as that the complainant must appear through domestic
counsel or that the complainant must deposit with
the court or an administrative office, or both, a
copy of the work involved in the litigation; provided
that failure to comply with such requirements shall
not affect the validity of the copyright, nor shall
any such requirement be imposed upon a national of
another Contracting State if such requirement is not
imposed on nationals of the State in which protection
is claimed.
4. In each Contracting State
there shall be legal means of protecting without formalities
the unpublished work of nationals of other Contracting
States.
5. If a Contracting State grants
protection for more than one term of copyright and
the first term is for a period longer than one of the
minimum periods prescribed in Article iv, such
State shall not be required to comply with the provisions
of paragraph 1 of this Article in respect of the second
or any subsequent term of copyright.
ARTICLE IV
1. The duration of protection
of a work shall be governed, in accordance with the
provisions of Article ii and this Article, by
the law of the Contracting State in which protection
is claimed.
2. (a) The term of protection for
works protected under this Convention shall not be
less that the life of the author and twenty-five years
after his death. However, any Contracting State
which, on the effective date of this Convention in
that State, has limited this term for certain classes
of works to a period computed from this first publication
of the work, shall be entitled to maintain these exceptions
and to extend them to other classes of works.
For all these classes the term of protection shall
not be less than twenty-five years from the date of
first publication.
(b) Any Contracting State which, upon
the effective date of this Convention in that State,
does not compute the term of protection upon the basis
of the life of the author, shall be entitled to compute
the term of protection from the date of the first
publication of the work or from its registration prior
to publication, as the case may be, provided the term
of protection shall not be less than twenty-five years
from the date of first publication or from its registration
prior to publication, as the case may be.
(c) If the legislation of a Contracting
State grants two or more successive terms of protection,
the duration of the first term shall not be less than
one of the minimum periods specified in subparagraphs
(a) and (b).
3. The provisions of paragraph
2 shall not apply to photographic works or to works
of applied art; provided, however, that the term of
protection in those Contracting States which protect
photographic works, or works of applied art in so
far as they are protected as artistic works, shall
not be less than ten years for each of said classes
of works.
4. (a) No Contracting State shall
be obliged to grant protection to a work for a period
longer than that fixed for the class of works to which
the work in question belongs, in the case of unpublished
works by the law of the Contracting State of which
the author is a national, and in the case of published
works by the law of the Contracting State in which
the work has been first published.
(b) For the purposes of the application
of subparagraph (a), if the law of any Contracting
State grants two or more successive terms of protection,
the period of protection of that State shall be considered
to be the aggregate of those terms. However,
if a specified work is not protected by such State
during the second or any subsequent term for any reason,
the other Contracting States shall not be obliged to
protect it during the second or any subsequent term.
5. For the purposes of the application
of paragraph 4, the work of a national of a Contracting
State, first published in a non-Contracting State,
shall be treated as though first published in the Contracting
State of which the author is a national.
6. For the purposes of the application
of paragraph 4, in case of simultaneous publication
in two or more Contracting States, the work shall
be treated as though first published in the State which
affords the shortest term; any work published in two
or more Contracting States within thirty days of its
first publication shall be considered as having been
published simultaneously in said Contracting States.
Article IVbis
1. The rights referred to in
Article I shall include the basic rights ensuring
the author’s economic interests, including the
exclusive right to authorize reproduction by any means,
public performance and broadcasting. The provisions
of this Article shall extend to works protected under
this Convention either in their original form or in
any form recognizably derived from the original.
2. However, any Contracting State
may, by its domestic legislation, make exceptions
that do not conflict with the spirit and provisions
of this Convention, to the rights mentioned in paragraph
1 of this Article. Any State whose legislation
so provides, shall nevertheless accord a reasonable
degree of effective protection to each of the rights
to which exception has been made.
ARTICLE V
1. The rights referred to in
Article I shall include the exclusive right of the
author to make, publish and authorize the making and
publication of translations of works protected under
this Convention.
2. However, any Contracting State
may, by its domestic legislation, restrict the right
of translation of writings, but only subject to the
following provisions:
(a) If, after the expiration of a
period of seven years from the date of the first publication
of a writing, a translation of such writing has not
been published in a language in general use in the
Contracting State, by the owner of the right of translation
or with his authorization, any national of such Contracting
State may obtain a non-exclusive licence from the
competent authority thereof to translate the work
into that language and publish the work so translated.
(b) Such national shall in accordance
with the procedure of the State concerned, establish
either that he has requested, and been denied, authorization
by the proprietor of the right to make and publish
the translation, or that, after due diligence on his
part, he was unable to find the owner of the right.
A licence may also be granted on the same conditions
if all previous editions of a translation in a language
in general use in the Contracting State are out of
print.
(c) If the owner of the right of translation
cannot be found, then the applicant for a licence
shall send copies of his application to the publisher
whose name appears on the work and, if the nationality
of the owner of the right of translation is known,
to the diplomatic or consular representative of the
State of which such owner is a national, or to the
organization which may have been designated by the
government of that State. The licence shall
not be granted before the expiration of a period of
two months from the date of the dispatch of the copies
of the application.
(d) Due provision shall be made by
domestic legislation to ensure to the owner of the
right of translation a compensation which is just and
conforms to international standards, to ensure payment
and transmittal of such compensation, and to ensure
a correct translation of the work.
(e) The original title and the name
of the author of the work shall be printed on all
copies of the published translation. The licence
shall be valid only for publication of the translation
in the territory of the Contracting State where it
has been applied for. Copies so published may
be imported and sold in another Contracting State if
a language in general use in such other State is the
same language as that into which the work has been
so translated, and if the domestic law in such other
State makes provision for such licenses and does not
prohibit such importation and sale. Where the
foregoing conditions do not exist, the importation
and sale of such copies in a Contracting State shall
be governed by its domestic law and its agreements.
The licence shall not be transferred by the licensee.
(f) The licence shall not be granted
when the author has withdrawn from circulation all
copies of the work.
Article Vbis
1. Any Contracting State regarded
as a developing country in conformity with the established
practice of the General Assembly of the United Nations
may, by a notification deposited with the Director-General
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (hereinafter called “the
Director-General”) at the time of its ratification,
acceptance or accession or thereafter, avail itself
of any or all of the exceptions provided for in Articles
Vter and Vquater.
2. Any such notification shall
be effective for ten years from the date of coming
into force of this Convention, or for such part of
that ten-year period as remains at the date of deposit
of the notification, and may be renewed in whole or
in part for further periods of ten years each if,
not more than fifteen or less than three months before
the expiration of the relevant ten-year period, the
contracting State deposits a further notification
with the Director-General. Initial notifications
may also be made during these further periods of ten
years in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions
of paragraph 2, a Contracting State that has ceased
to be regarded as a developing country as referred
to in paragraph 1 shall no longer be entitled to renew
its notification made under the provisions of paragraph
1 or 2, and whether or not it formally withdraws the
notification such State shall be precluded from availing
itself of the exceptions provided for in Articles Vter
and Vquater at the end of the current ten-year period,
or at the end of three years after it has ceased to
be regarded as a developing country, whichever period
expires later.
4. Any copies of a work already
made under the exceptions provided for in Articles
Vter and Vquater may continue to be distributed after
the expiration of the period for which notifications
under this Article were effective until their stock
is exhausted.
5. Any Contracting State that
has deposited a notification in accordance with Article
XIII with respect to the application of this Convention
to a particular country or territory, the situation
of which can be regarded as analogous to that of the
States referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article,
may also deposit notifications and renew them in accordance
with the provisions of this Article with respect to
any such country or territory. During the effective
period of such notifications, the provisions of Articles
Vter and Vquater may be applied with respect to such
country or territory. The sending of copies
from the country or territory to the Contracting State
shall be considered as export within the meaning of
Articles Vter and Vquater.
ARTICLE Vter
1. (a) Any Contracting State to which
Article Vbis (1) applies may substitute for the period
of seven years provided for in Article V(2) a period
of three years or any longer period prescribed by its
legislation. However, in the case of a translation
into a language not in general use in one or more
developed countries that are party to this Convention
or only the 1952 Convention, the period shall be one
year instead of three.
(b) A Contracting State to which Article
Vbis (1) applies may, with the unanimous agreement
of the developed countries party to this Convention
or only the 1952 Convention and in which the same language
is in general use, substitute, in the case of translation
into that language, for the period of three years
provided for in sub-paragraph (a) another period as
determined be such agreement but not shorter than one
year. However, this sub-paragraph shall not apply
where the language in question is English, French
or Spanish. Notification of any such agreement
shall be made to the Director-General.
(c) The licence may only be granted
if the applicant, in accordance with the procedure
of the State concerned, establishes either that he
has requested, and been denied, authorization by the
owner of the right of translation, or that, after
due diligence on his part, he was unable to find the
owner of the right. At the same time as he makes
his request he shall inform either the International
Copyright Information Centre established by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
or any national or regional information centre which
may have been designated in a notification to that
effect deposited with the Director-General by the
government of the State in which the publisher is
believed to have his principal place of business.
(d) If the owner of the right of translation
cannot be found, the applicant for a licence shall
send, by registered airmail, copies of his application
to the publisher whose name appears on the work and
to any national or regional information centre as
mentioned in sub-paragraph (c). If no such centre
is notified he shall also send a copy to the international
copyright information centre established by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
2. (a) Licenses obtainable after three
years shall not be granted under this Article until
a further period of six months has elapsed and licenses
obtainable after one year until a further period of
nine months has elapsed. The further period
shall begin either from the date of the request for
permission to translate mentioned in paragraph 1 (c)
or, if the identity or address of the owner of the
right of translation is not known, from the date of
dispatch of the copies of the application for a licence
mentioned in paragraph 1(d).
(b) Licenses shall not be granted
if a translation has been published by the owner of
the right of translation or with his authorization
during the said period of six or nine months.
3. Any licence under this Article
shall be granted only for the purpose of teaching,
scholarship or research.
4. (a) Any licence granted under this
Article shall not extend to the export of copies and
shall be valid only for publication in the territory
of the Contracting State where it has been applied
for.
(b) Any copy published in accordance
with a licence granted under this Article shall bear
a notice in the appropriate language stating that
the copy is available for distribution only in the
Contracting State Granting the licence. If the
writing bears the notice specified in Article iii
(1) the copies shall bear the same notice.
(c) The prohibition of export provided
for in sub-paragraph (a) shall not apply where a governmental
or other public entity of a State which has granted
a licence under this Article to translate a work into
a language other than English, French or Spanish sends
copies of a translation prepared under such licence
to another country if:
(i) the recipients are individuals
who are nationals of the Contracting State granting
the licence, or organizations grouping such individuals;
(ii) the copies are to be used only
for the purpose of teaching, scholarship or research;
(iii) the sending of the copies and
their subsequent distribution to recipients is without
the object of commercial purpose; and
(iv) the country to which the copies
have been sent has agreed with the Contracting State
to allow the receipt, distribution or both and the
Director-General has been notified of such agreement
by any one of the governments which have concluded
it.
5. Due provision shall be made
at the national level to ensure:
(a) that the licence provides for
just compensation that is consistent with standards
of royalties normally operating in the case of licenses
freely negotiated between persons in the two countries
concerned; and
(b) payment and transmittal of the
compensation; however, should national currency regulations
intervene, the competent authority shall make all
efforts, by the use of international machinery, to
ensure transmittal in internationally convertible
currency or its equivalent.
6. Any licence granted by a Contracting
State under this Article shall terminate if a translation
of the work in the same language with substantially
the same content as the edition in respect of which
the licence was granted is published in the said State
by the owner of the right of translation or with his
authorization, at a price reasonably related to that
normally charged in the same State for comparable
works. Any copies already made before the licence
is terminated may continue to be distributed until
their stock is exhausted.
7. For works which are composed
mainly of illustrations a licence to translate the
text and to reproduce the illustrations may be granted
only if the conditions of Article Vquater are also
fulfilled.
8. (a) A licence to translate a work
protected under this Convention, published in printed
or analogous forms of reproduction, may also be granted
to a broadcasting organization having its headquarters
in a Contracting State to which Article Vbis (1) applies,
upon an application made in that State by the said
organization under the following conditions:
(i) the translation is made from a
copy made and acquired in accordance with the laws
of the Contracting State;
(ii) the translation is for use only
in broadcasts intended exclusively for teaching or
for the dissemination of the results of specialized
technical or scientific research to experts in a particular
profession;
(iii) the translation is used exclusively
for the purposes set out in condition (ii), through
broadcasts lawfully made which are intended for recipients
on the territory of the Contracting State, including
broadcasts made through the medium of sound or visual
recordings lawfully and exclusively made for the purpose
of such broadcasts;
(iv) sound or visual recordings of
the translation may be exchanged only between broadcasting
organizations having their headquarters in the Contracting
State granting the licence; and
(v) all uses made of the translation
are without any commercial purpose.
(b) Provided all of the criteria and
conditions set out in subparagraph (a) are met, a
licence may also be granted to a broadcasting organization
to translate any text incorporated in an audio-visual
fixation which was itself prepared and published for
the sole purpose of being used in connexion with systematic
instructional activities.
(c) Subject to sub-paragraphs (a)
and (b), the other provisions of this Article shall
apply to the grant and exercise of the licence.
9. Subject to the provisions
of this Article, any licence granted under this Article
shall be governed by the provisions of Article V, and
shall continue to be governed by the provisions of
Article V and of this Article, even after the seven-year
period provided for in Article V (2) has expired.
However, after the said period has expired, the licensee
shall be free to request that the said licence be replaced
by a new licence governed exclusively by the provisions
of Article V.
Article Vquater
1. Any Contracting State to which
Article Vbis (1) applies may adopt the following provisions:
(a) If, after the expiration of (i)
the relevant period specified in sub-paragraph (c)
commencing from the date of first publication of a
particular edition of a literary, scientific or artistic
work referred to in paragraph 3, or (ii) any longer
period determined by national legislation of the State,
copies of such edition have not been distributed in
that State to the general public or in connexion with
systematic instructional activities at a price reasonably
related to that normally charged in the State for
comparable works, by the owner of the right of reproduction
or with his authorization, any national of such State
may obtain a non-exclusive licence from the competent
authority to publish such edition at that or a lower
price for use in connexion with systematic instructional
activities. The licence may only be granted
if such national, in accordance with the procedure
of the State concerned, established either that he
has requested, and been denied, authorization by the
proprietor of the right to publish such work, or that,
after due diligence on his part, he was unable to find
the owner of the right. At the same time as he
makes his request he shall inform either the international
copyright information centre established by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
or any national or regional information centre referred
to in sub-paragraph (d).
(b) A licence may also be granted
on the same conditions if, for a period of six months,
no authorized copies of the edition in question have
been on sale in the State concerned to the general
public or in connexion with systematic instructional
activities at a price reasonably related to that normally
charged in the State for comparable works.
(c) The period referred to in sub-paragraph
(a) shall be five years except that:
(i) for works of the natural and physical
sciences, including mathematics, and of technology,
the period shall be three years;
(ii) for works of fiction, poetry,
drama and music, and for art books, the period shall
be seven years.
(d) If the owner of the right of reproduction
cannot be found, the applicant for a licence shall
send, by registered air mail, copies of his application
to the publisher whose name appears on the work and
to any national or regional information centre identified
as such in a notification deposited with the Director-General
by the State in which the publisher is believed to
have his principal place of business. In the
absence of any such notification, he shall also send
a copy to the international copyright information
centre established by the United Nations Education,
Scientific and Cultural Organization. The licence
shall not be granted before the expiration of a period
of three months from the date of dispatch of the copies
of the application.
(e) Licenses obtainable after three
years shall not be granted under this Article:
(i) until a period of six months has
elapsed from the date of the request for permission
referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or, if the identity
or address of the owner of the right of reproduction
is unknown, from the date of the dispatch of the copies
of the application for a licence referred to in sub-paragraph
(d);
(ii) if any such distribution of copies
of the edition as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (a)
has taken place during that period.
(f) The name of the author and the
title of the particular edition of the work shall
be printed on all copies of the published reproduction.
The licence shall not extend to the export of copies
and shall be valid only for publication in the territory
of the Contracting State where it has been applied
for. The licence shall not be transferable by
the licensee.
(g) Due provision shall be made by
domestic legislation to ensure an accurate reproduction
of the particular edition in question.
(h) A licence to reproduce and publish
a translation of a work shall not be granted under
this Article in the following cases:
(i) where the translation was not
published by the owner of the right of translation
or with his authorization;
(ii) where the translation is not
in a language in general use in the State with power
to grant the licence.
2. The exceptions provided for
in paragraph 1 are subject to the following additional
provisions:
(a) Any copy published in accordance
with a licence granted under this Article shall bear
a notice in the appropriate language stating that
the copy is available for distribution only in the
Contracting State to which the said licence applies.
If the edition bears the notice specified in Article
iii (1), the copies shall bear the same notice.
(b) Due provision shall be made at
the national level to ensure:
(i) that the licence provides for
just compensation that is consistent with standards
of royalties normally operating in the case licenses
freely negotiated between persons in the two countries
concerned; and
(ii) payment and transmittal of the
compensation; however, should national currency regulations
intervene, the competent authority shall make all
efforts, by the use of international machinery, to
ensure transmittal in internationally convertible
currency or its equivalent.
(c) Whenever copies of an edition
of a work are distributed in the Contracting State
to the general public or in connexion with systematic
instructional activities, by the owner of the right
of reproduction or with his authorization, at a price
reasonably related to that normally charged in the
State for comparable works, any licence granted under
this Article shall terminate if such edition is in
the same language and is substantially the same in
content as the edition published under the licence.
Any copies already made before the licence is terminated
may continue to be distributed until their stock is
exhausted.
(d) No licence shall be granted when
the author has withdrawn from circulation all copies
of the edition in question.
3. (a) Subject to sub-paragraph (b),
the literary, scientific or artistic works to which
this Article applies shall be limited to works published
in printed or analogous forms of reproduction.
(b) The provisions of this Article
shall also apply to reproduction in audio-visual form
of lawfully made audio-visual fixations including any
protected works incorporated therein and to the translation
of any incorporated text into a language in general
use in the State with power to grant the licence;
always provided that the audio-visual fixations in
question were prepared and published for the sole purpose
of being used in connexion with systematic instructional
activities.
ARTICLE VI
“Publication”, as used
in this Convention, means the reproduction in tangible
form and the general distribution to the public of
copies of a work from which it can be read or otherwise
visually perceived.
ARTICLE VII
This Convention shall not apply to
works or rights in works which, at the effective date
of this Convention in a Contracting State where protection
is claimed, are permanently in the public domain in
the said Contracting State.
ARTICLE VIII
1. This Convention, which shall
bear the date of 24 July 1971, shall be deposited
with the Director-General and shall remain open for
signature by all States party to the 1952 Convention
for a period of 120 days after the date of this Convention.
It shall be subject to ratification or acceptance
by the signatory States.
2. Any State which has not signed
this Convention may accede thereto.
3. Ratification, acceptance or
accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument
to that effect with the Director-General.
ARTICLE IX
1. This Convention shall come
into force three months after the deposit of twelve
instruments of ratification, acceptance or accession.
2. Subsequently, this Convention
shall come into force in respect of each State three
months after that State has deposited its instrument
of ratification, acceptance or accession.
3. Accession to this Convention
by a State not party to the 1952 Convention shall
also constitute accession to that Convention; however,
if its instrument of accession is deposited before
this Convention comes into force, such State may make
its accession to the 1952 Convention conditional upon
the coming into force of this Convention. After
the coming into force of this Convention, no State
may accede solely to the 1952 Convention.
4. Relations between States party
to this Convention and States that are party only
to the 1952 Convention, shall be governed by the 1952
Convention. However, any State party only to the
1952 Convention may, by a notification deposited with
the Director-General, declare that it will admit the
application of the 1971 Convention to works of its
nationals or works first published in its territory
by all States party to this Convention.
ARTICLE X
1. Each Contracting State undertakes
to adopt, in accordance with its Constitution, such
measures as are necessary to ensure the application
of this Convention.
2. It is understood that at the
date this Convention comes into force in respect of
any State, that State must be in a position under its
domestic law to give effect to the terms of this Convention.
ARTICLE XI
1. An Intergovernmental Committee
is hereby established with the following duties:
(a) to study the problems concerning
the application and operation of the Universal Copyright
Convention;
(b) to make preparation for periodic
revisions of this Convention;
(c) to study any other problems concerning
the international protection of copyright, in co-operation
with the various interested international organizations,
such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization, the International Union
for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
and the Organization of American States;
(d) to inform States party to the
Universal Copyright Convention as to its activities.
2. The Committee shall consist
of the representatives of eighteen States party to
this Convention or only to the 1952 Convention.
3. The Committee shall be selected
with due consideration to a fair balance of national
interests on the basis of geographical location, population,
languages and stage of development.
4. The Director-General of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, the Director-General of the World Intellectual
Property Organization and the Secretary-General of
the Organization of American States, or their representatives,
may attend meetings of the Committee in an advisory
capacity.
ARTICLE XII
The Intergovernmental Committee shall
convene a conference for revision whenever it deems
necessary, or at the request of at least ten States
party to this Convention.
ARTICLE XIII
1. Any Contracting State may,
at the time of deposit of its instrument of ratification,
acceptance or accession, or at any time thereafter,
declare by notification addressed to the Director-General
that this Convention shall apply to all or any of
the countries or territories for the international
relations of which it is responsible and this Convention
shall thereupon apply to the countries or territories
named in such notification after the expiration of
the term of three months provided for in Article IX.
In the absence of such notification, this Convention
shall not apply to any such country or territory.
2. However, nothing in this
Article shall be understood as implying the recognition
or tacit acceptance by a Contracting State of the
factual situation concerning a country or territory
to which this Convention is made applicable by another
Contracting State in accordance with the provisions
of this Article.
ARTICLE XIV
1. Any Contracting State may
denounce this Convention in its own name or on behalf
of all or any of the countries or territories with
respect to which a notification has been given under
Article XIII. The denunciation shall be made
by notification addressed to the Director-General.
Such denunciation shall also constitute denunciation
of the 1952 Convention.
2. Such denunciation shall operate
only in respect of the State or of the country or
territory on whose behalf it was made and shall not
take effect until twelve months after the date of
receipt of the notification.
ARTICLE XV
A dispute between two or more Contracting
States concerning the interpretation or application
of this Convention, not settled by negotiation, shall,
unless the States concerned agree on some other method
of settlement, be brought before the International
Court of Justice for determination by it.
ARTICLE XVI
1. This Convention shall be
established in English, French, and Spanish.
The three texts shall be signed and shall be equally
authoritative.
2. Official texts of this Convention
shall be established by the Director-General, after
consultation with the governments concerned, in Arabic,
German, Italian, and Portuguese.
3. Any Contracting State or
group of Contracting States shall be entitled to have
established by the Director-General other texts in
the language of its choice by arrangement with the
Director-General.
4. All such texts shall be annexed
to the signed texts of this Convention.
ARTICLE XVII
1. This Convention shall not
in any way affect the provisions of the Berne Convention
for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works or
membership in the Union created by that Convention.
2. In application of the foregoing
paragraph, a declaration has been annexed to the present
Article. This declaration is an integral part
of this Convention for the States bound by the Berne
Convention on 1 January 1951, or which have or may
become bound to it at a later date. The signature
of this Convention by such States shall also constitute
signature of the said declaration, and ratification,
acceptance or accession by such States shall include
the declaration, as well as this Convention.
ARTICLE XVIII
This Convention shall not abrogate
multilateral or bilateral copyright conventions or
arrangements that are or may be in effect exclusively
between two or more American Republics. In the
event of any difference either between the provisions
of such existing conventions or arrangements and the
provisions of this Convention, or between the provisions
of this Convention and those of any new convention
or arrangement which may be formulated between two
or more American Republics after this Convention comes
into force, the convention or arrangement most recently
formulated shall prevail between the parties thereto.
Rights in works acquired in any Contracting State under
existing conventions or arrangements before the date
this Convention comes into force in such State shall
not be affected.
ARTICLE XIX
This Convention shall not abrogate
multilateral or bilateral conventions or arrangements
in effect between two or more Contracting States.
In the event of any difference between the provisions
of such existing conventions or arrangements and the
provisions of this Convention, the provisions of this
Convention shall prevail. Rights in works acquired
in any Contracting State under existing conventions
or arrangements before the date on which this Convention
comes into force in such State shall not be affected.
Nothing in this Article shall affect the provisions
of Articles XVII and XVIII.
ARTICLE XX
Reservations to this Convention shall not be permitted.
ARTICLE XXI
1. The Director-General shall
send duly certified copies of this Convention to the
States interested and to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations for registration by him.
2. He shall also inform all interested
States of the ratifications, acceptances, accessions
which have been deposited, the date on which this
Convention comes into force, the notifications under
this Convention and denunciations under Article XIV.