Legal Definitions - Berlin Act

Berlin Act

The Berlin Act refers to a significant revision made in 1908 to the Berne Convention, an international treaty governing copyright. This revision introduced several crucial changes aimed at strengthening and standardizing copyright protection across participating countries. Key provisions of the Berlin Act included:

• Automatic Protection: It prohibited countries from requiring authors to complete any special formalities, such as registration or placing a copyright notice, for their works to receive copyright protection. Protection became automatic upon creation.
• Recommended Term: It recommended, though did not strictly mandate, that copyright protection should last for the author's entire life plus an additional 50 years after their death.
• Expanded Scope: It broadened the categories of creative works eligible for copyright protection.

Here are some examples illustrating the impact of the Berlin Act:

• Imagine a playwright in Italy in 1912 who finishes writing a new theatrical drama. Under the principles of the Berlin Act, this play would automatically receive copyright protection the moment it was written, without the playwright needing to register it with any government office or print a specific copyright symbol on the manuscript. This demonstrates the Act's move towards automatic protection, removing burdensome formalities.

• Consider a renowned sculptor in France who creates a groundbreaking series of abstract works in 1915. Before the Berlin Act, the copyright status of such artistic creations might have been ambiguous or required specific local actions. However, with the Act's expanded scope, these sculptures and their underlying designs were clearly eligible for copyright. Furthermore, if the sculptor passed away in 1930, the Act's recommended term suggested that the copyright for these works would ideally continue until 1980, allowing their estate to control and benefit from them for a substantial period after the artist's death.

• Suppose a cartographer in the United Kingdom in 1925 meticulously drafts a highly detailed and original map of a newly explored region. Thanks to the Berlin Act, this unique map would be protected by copyright immediately upon its creation. The cartographer wouldn't need to apply for a copyright certificate or include a specific legal notice for the protection to be valid. This highlights both the automatic protection and the expanded scope, ensuring that detailed graphical works like maps received clear and immediate legal safeguarding.