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will still exist when comparing EU duration with US duration neither act retroactively revives works that are in the public domain as a result of expiration due to the U.S. anomalous calculation from date of publication for pre-1978 works, and the U.R.A.A. does not revive works of US origin that fell into the public domain as a result of failure to comply with US copyright law pre-1978 formalities The Copyright Term Extension Act of 1995, if adopted, will eliminate those disparities as to works created on or af^er 1978, and should therefore be adopted However, large discrepancies between the EU and the U.S. will still exist for works of both EU and U.S. origin, published or registered before January 1, 1978
The changing rules pertaining to international copyright duration is of critical importance to the exploitation of all types of existing works Many works that were previously in the public domain in the EU and/or U.S. will be revived and require licenses from the copyright holder to avoid infinngement Clearing the use of copyrights can be a difficult matter involving great expense, particularly when a large number of works is involved. The bifurcation of rights between the EU and the US complicates clearance of works, and makes worid-wide marketing of products containing pre-existing works problematic. Understanding the new duration rules is essential to properly valuing and negotiating licenses to use all works of authorship
The next section of this article provides background information on the Berne Convention'^ provisions, current EU and US laws, and bilateral treaties pertaining to duration of copyright Part III discusses the EC Term Directive as it affects duration of copyright in EU Member States, and further discusses US law pertaining to duration of protection of works, including the effects of the recent implementation of the GATTTRIPS treaty in the US.,'-* (the U.R.A.A.), and the proposed Copyright Term Extension Act of 1995. These issues are discussed in the context of both works of EU country origin and of US origin.
IL DURATION OF COPYRIGHT BACKGROUND
Determining the duration of copyright protection for a given work in a specific country is a complicated matter involving a myriad of national laws and international conventions,
'^Beme Convenlion for ilie Protection of Lilcrari an Anistic Works (Paris Act, 24 July 1971) |herelnaftcr Bcme Convention]
'"•Final Aa Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Annex IC, Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (15 April 1994), implemented in the U.S. on December 8. 1994. PL-103-465 (1994). |hcreinaftcr GATT-TRIPS).
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