Legal Definitions - point of attachment

A point of attachment in copyright law refers to a specific connection between a creative work (such as a book, song, film, or piece of art) or its creator and a particular country. This connection is crucial because it determines whether the work is eligible for copyright protection under international agreements, such as treaties or conventions, in other participating countries. Essentially, it's the legal link that allows a work to cross borders and still maintain its protected status.

Here are some examples illustrating how a point of attachment works:

• Author's Nationality:

  Scenario: An architect, who is a citizen of Japan, designs a unique skyscraper. Japan is a member of the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC).

  Explanation: The architect's Japanese citizenship serves as the "point of attachment." Because Japan is a signatory to the UCC, the architect's design is automatically eligible for copyright protection in all other countries that are also members of the UCC, even if the skyscraper is built elsewhere or the design is used internationally.

• Place of First Publication:

  Scenario: A software developer creates a new video game while traveling through various countries. The developer decides to officially launch and first publish the game in Canada. Canada is a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

  Explanation: In this case, the "point of attachment" is the place of first publication – Canada. Since Canada is a Berne Convention member, the video game automatically receives copyright protection in all other Berne Convention member countries from the moment of its first publication there, regardless of the developer's nationality or where the game was primarily coded.

• Author's Residence:

  Scenario: A novelist is a citizen of a country that is not part of any major international copyright treaty. However, the novelist has been living permanently in France for the past five years, and France is a prominent member of several key copyright conventions.

  Explanation: The novelist's habitual residence in France acts as the "point of attachment." Even though their country of citizenship might not offer broad international copyright recognition, their established residence in a treaty-member country like France allows their literary works to benefit from the protections afforded by those international conventions in other member states.