Southern Technologies

What is Berne Convention?

Berne Convention:

                                 In 1886 Copyright entered the international arena with the Berne Convention for the protection of Literary and Artistic works. The aims of these conventions were to help nationals of its member states obtain international protection of their right to control and receive payment for the use for their creative works.   

In 1893 these two small Bureaus united to form an International Organization called the United International Bureau for the Protection of Intellectual Property (Best known for its French acronym BIRPI). Based in Berne, Switzerland with a staff of seven, this small Organization was the Predecessor of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of today, a dynamic entity with 179 member states, a staff that now numbers some 859 from 86 countries around the world. In 1960, BIRPI moved from Berne to Geneva.

Regarding the period of copyright protection the minimum duration of protection of the work under the Berne Convention is 50 years from the date of the author’s death. The term is calculated from the end of year of the author’s death. This has been prolonged by some countries such as the European Countries and the United States of America to 70 years from the author’s death. But in Pakistan and India it is 60 years