Berne Convention and its relevance in Biotechnology

1. BERNE
CONVENTION
Shreya Ahuja
Fergusson College
Dept of Biotechnology
Roll no. 3

2. What is a Convention?
• An international agreement between
states or nations, concerning finance,
trade, or other matters considered less
significant than those governed by a
treaty (a negotiation between states to reach common ground
and avoid disagreements, normally ratified by the lawmaking
authority of the government)
• It results in general agreement about
procedures or actions which will be
taken on specific topics
WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) - special
agreement under the Berne Convention
(protection of works and the rights of the
authors in the digital environment)

3. Berne Convention for the protection
of Literary and Artistic works
• An international agreement governing
copyright, which was first accepted in
Berne, Switzerland, in 1886

4. What is a Copyright?
• Form of intellectual property
• Copyright is a legal right created by the
law of a country that grants the creator
of an original work, exclusive rights to
its use and distribution, usually for a
limited time

5. Why Copyright?
• Prevents copying and reproduction
• Copyright protects and rewards creative
efforts which induces the workers to create
more and motivates others to create
• Encourages dissemination of copyrighted
work which is of public interest

6. What can be Copyrighted?
• Books, brochures, newspapers
• Theatrical works
• Oral presentations
• Choreographic works
• Music (with or without words)
• Drawings, paintings, buildings and
sculptures
• Designs and photographic works
• Computer programs

11. Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works of September 9,
1886, completed at PARIS on May 4, 1896,
revised at BERLIN on November 13, 1908,
completed at BERNE on March 20, 1914, and
revised at ROME on June 2, 1928, at BRUSSELS on
June 26, 1948, at STOCKHOLM on July 14, 1967,
and at PARIS on July 24, 1971
Berne Convention contd.

12. Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
CostaRica
Coted Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Holy See
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Korea
Kyrgyzstan
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Denmark
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Mali
Malta
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and Grenadines
Samoa
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic
Tajikistan
Tanzania, United Republic of
Thailand
Theformer Yugoslav
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States of America
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Member countries as of Sept 2014

13. Key Features of Berne Convention
• Inclusions of ‘Literary and Artistic works’
1. Books, pamphlets, writings, lectures, addresses, sermons in
scientific or artistic domain
2. Dramatic, musical, choreographic works
3. Musical compositions, with or without words
4. Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving
and lithography; photographic works
5. Works of applied art: illustrations, maps, plans, sketches, 3D
works of geography, topography, architecture

14. Copyrightable works of art

16. Map data copyright by
Google

17. • Translations, adaptations, arrangements of
music and other alterations of a literary or
artistic work shall be protected as original
works without prejudice to the copyright in
the original work.
Features contd.
www.scoopwhoop.com

18. Features contd.
• Collections of literary or artistic works such
as encyclopedias and anthologies which, by
reason of the selection and arrangement of
their contents, constitute intellectual
creations shall be protected as such, without
prejudice to the copyright in each of the
works forming part of such collections.
• The works shall enjoy protection in all
countries of the Union. This protection shall
operate for the benefit of the author and his
successors in title.

19. Features contd.
• The term of protection granted by this
Convention shall be the life of the author
and fifty years after his death.
• Authors of dramatic, dramatico-musical and
musical works shall enjoy the exclusive
right of authorizing:
1. The public performance of their works, by any means or
process
2. The public communication by loudspeaker signs, sounds or
images or any means of broadcasting the work
3. The cinematographic adaptation and reproduction of these
works, and their distribution

20. "My film is loosely based upon a short
story that I read. I've credited this in the
film but I haven't purchased any
adaptation rights. Do I need to?"
• If the author has been dead for over 70 years, the copyright has probably
expired though this varies from one country's laws to another. If the
copyright has not expired, it is likely that the owner of the rights will try
and assert their rights over your adaptation even if it is only 'loosely
based' upon the short story.
• You should find out who owns the copyright and then take steps to
purchase the adaptation rights.
• It may not be considered infringement if 'substantial part' of the original
work hasn’t been copied. However, sometimes, a part may be
“substantial” even if only a little material is used. You should consider
the similarities between the short story and your film.
• If you do not purchase the adaptation rights, you run the risk of being
sued for infringement. You may incur legal fees, a severe financial
penalty and/or criminal penalties if you lose.

21. The Hindi version of 24,
starring Anil Kapoor, is the
first adaptation of the US
show - 24 and its India
rights were acquired from
Fox and producer Howard
Gordon by Anil Kapoor
Films
www.firstpost.com

22. Features contd.
• The Governments of the countries of the Union
reserve the right to enter into special
agreements among themselves, to grant to
authors more extensive rights than those
granted by the Convention, or contain other
provisions not contrary to this Convention
• The Union shall have an Assembly consisting
of all countries of the Union. The Government
of each country shall be represented by one
delegate, who may be assisted by alternate
delegates, advisers, and experts

23. Relevance of Berne Convention in Biotechnology
• Biotechnology manuals
• Sequences of DNA have yet to be widely
recognized as eligible for copyright
protection
• Paper publication copyrights – Open access or
subscription type
www.elsevier.com

24. DNA sequence could be
an original work since it
would not have existed
but for the toil and effort
of its creators who had
put in their skill and
labor into the process of
decoding and recoding
the sequence.
The process of DNA
sequencing does not
involve any literary work.
All sequences of DNA are
composed of existing
nucleotides, each of
which is individually not
new. There is no
originality in the mere
copying or compiling of
gene or similar hybrid
sequences.
vs

25. References
• Latest text of Berne Convention (1971 Paris Act plus Appendix)
• Spruson and Ferguson, 2008, Biotechnology Intellectual Property
Management Manual, Australia
• Andrew W. Torrance (2011) DNA Copyright. Valparaiso
University Law Review, 46(1):1-41
• http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/
• http://www.legalserviceindia.com/copyright/bern.htm
• http://www.elsevier.com/about/company-
information/policies/copyright
• https://treaties.un.org/Pages/overview.aspx?
path=overview/definition/page1_en.xml
• http://copyright.gov.in/frmFAQ.aspx
• http://spicyip.com/2011/12/debate-on-copyright-for-dna-
sequences.html