There are three major international treaties relating to copyright protection; the Berne Convention (1886), the Universal Copyright Convention (1952), and the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) (1994).
 The Berne Convention
Ratified in 1886, and last revised in 1971, the Berne Convention is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and of the two, is the major copyright protection treaty.
For the complete text of the Berne Convention, follow this link to the WIPO site:
http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs/en/wo/wo001en.htm
As at January 2006 there are 162 Berne Convention Member States. Follow this link to the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) site (www.wipo.int), to see if your country is a Berne Convention Member State
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement)
Ratified in 1994, the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement introduced intellectual property rules into the multilateral trading system for the first time, and covers copyright, trademarks and patents.
For the complete text of the TRIPS Agreement follow this link to the WTO site: http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm#TRIPs
As at December 2005 there are 149 Member States. Follow this link to the WTO (World Trade Organisation) site (www.wto.org), to see if your country is a WTO Member State or Observer
Universal Copyright Convention
Adopted in Geneva in 1952 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and also last revised in 1971, the UCC was created as an alternative to the Berne Convention for states who disagreed with aspects of the 1886 treaty, but still wished to participate in multilateral copyright protection.
For the complete text of the Universal Copyright Convention, follow this link to the UNESCO site:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/laws/copyright/html_eng/page1.shtml
As at 2001 there are 62 Universal Copyright Convention Member States. Follow this link to the UNESCO site (www.unesco.org), to see if your country is a Universal Copyright Convention Member State:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/laws/copyright/html_eng/state1971.shtml
UNESCO Collection of National Copyright Laws
A UN resource IP owners should not do without; a link to legislation relating to their own home country’s copyright laws. If in doubt about IP status of your work within your own borders, and not sure how to find your government’s official IP office, here’s where you can go to at least learn about local legislation.
UNESCO Collection of National Copyright Laws
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