Extract

In previous chapters, we covered a number of key concepts and norms of international intellectual property. We also saw how disputes are settled, and the role and history of WIPO and the WTO. The previous chapter also presented a summary of the types of norms contained in each major instrument. In this chapter we consider each specific area of intellectual property as a network across agreements and institutions. The multiplicity of institutions and agreements, as the above chapters suggest, means that international intellectual property is complicated. The more institutions that become involved as the effects of globalized intellectual property rights are felt, the more complex the regime arguably becomes. With that complexity comes a diverse range of views and approaches which ultimately can serve to enrich the discourse and understanding of the role and function of intellectual property law.

The cornerstone of international copyright protection is the Berne Convention. Its latest version was enacted in Paris in 1971. The Berne Convention provides that certain works that primarily fall within the definition of “literary and artistic” must be protected as copyright works. The Convention provides an extensive definition of what is a literary and artistic work. The definition includes many things which in some jurisdictions might be classified separately from artistic and literary works such as musical works. Artistic and literary works include:

every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression, such as books, pamphlets and...