Universal Copyright Convention

Universal Copyright Convention, (1952), convention adopted at Geneva by an international conference convened under the auspices of UNESCO, which for several years had been consulting with copyright experts from various countries. The convention came into force in 1955.

Its main features are the following: (1) no signatory nation should accord its domestic authors more favourable copyright treatment than the authors of other signatory nations, though no minimum protection for either domestic or foreign authors is stipulated; (2) a formal copyright notice must appear in all copies of a work and consist of the symbol ©, the name of the copyright owner, and the year of first publication; a signatory nation, however, might require further formalities, provided such formalities do not favour domestic over foreign works; (3) the minimum term of copyright in member nations must be the life of the author plus 25 years (except for photographic works and works of applied art, which have a 10-year term); (4) all adhering nations are required to grant an exclusive right of translation for a seven-year period, subject to a compulsory license under certain circumstances for the balance of the term of copyright.

The convention did not abrogate any other multilateral or bilateral conventions or arrangements between two or more member states. Where there are any differences, the provisions of the Universal Copyright Convention are to prevail except as regards the Berne Convention (q.v.), which takes priority over the UCC, and conventions or arrangements between two or more American republics.

Both the Universal Copyright Convention and the Berne Convention were revised at a Paris conference in 1971 to take into consideration the special needs of developing countries, especially with regard to translations, reproductions, public performances, and broadcasting. The liberalized regulations were to apply only to teaching, scholarship, and research.