WIPO Copyright Treaty | Practical Law

WIPO Copyright Treaty | Practical Law

WIPO Copyright Treaty

WIPO Copyright Treaty

Practical Law Glossary Item 5-502-8360 (Approx. 3 pages)

Glossary

WIPO Copyright Treaty

A treaty adopted in 1996 by member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Convention) that provides additional copyright protections to account for information technology advancements.
Among other things, the treaty:
  • Expands copyright protection to computer programs and the expressive selection and arrangement of database data and material.
  • Subject to certain limitations and exceptions, provides authors with certain exclusive rights concerning their literary and artistic works, including:
    • general distribution;
    • rental rights for computer programs, sound recordings, and cinematographic works; and
    • the right to communicate the works to the public by wire or wireless means (online transmission).
The treaty also requires that signatories:
  • Protect against the:
    • circumvention of technological copy-prevention systems for copyrighted works; and
    • unauthorized modification of electronic rights management information.
  • Adopt measures to ensure that the treaty is applied and that enforcement procedures and remedies are available for any acts of copyright infringement covered by the treaty.
The treaty was implemented in the US through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Additional information, including the full text of the treaty, is available on the WIPO website.