Copyright term, film labeling, and film preservation legislation : hearings before the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, on H.R. 989, H.R. 1248, and H.R. 1734 ... June 1 and July 13, 1995 (1996)

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623 One of the concerns expressed when the Copyright Office held hearings on term extension was the apprehension that the EU may deny United States works an extended term of copyright protection, even if we extend our term, justifying that denial of protection because of inconsistencies between United States and EU copyright law. We believe that the international treaty obligations of EU member nations require the EU countries to grant United States works an extended term if we do extend our term.^' If they do not abide by their treaty obligations, there are remedies available to us. If we do not extend our term, it is certain that the works of American authors will receive 20 years less protection in the EU than the works of their European colleagues, because the EU Directive explicitly invokes the rule of the shorter term. EU Directive, Art. 7. By extending our term, we create the certain obligation, and therefore the strong potential, for comparable protection in the EU. We also strengthen the bargaining position of our trade negotiators. In the words of a state lottery — The Berne Convention requires national treatment. Art. 5. Given that the exception to national treatment embodied in the rule of the shorter term would be inoperative if the United States' copyright term equals or exceeds that of the EU, EU member nations would therefore be bound to grant United States works the extended term of copyright which resulted from the EU Directive, as part of their Berne obligations. -21