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)

Record Details:

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511 These differences in term were seen to impede the tree movement of goods and services, and to distort competition, within the common market. Hence, harmonization of copyright duration was necessary. That harmonization was accomplished through a Directive of the EU Council of Ministers adopted June 22. 1993, which requires all member states to amend their national copyright laws to embody a basic copyright term of life-plus-70-years. They must do so by July 1, 1995. Copyright, of all types of property, transcends political boundaries. That Is true within nations (as evidenced by our Constitution's recognition of the necessity for Federal copyright protection to replace the exclusively State protection which existed under the Articles of Confederation), as well as among nations. Recent history has seen a true internationalization of the demand for and use of copyrighted materials. Copyrighted materials, whether movies, music, books, art or computer software, flow freely between nations. What Is especially striking about this phenomenon is that the copyrighted worits the worid wants are overwhelmingly works created in the United States. Our country's culture now sets the standard for the world. The consequence, of course. Is not merely cultural, but economic. American copyrighted wori(s are far more popular overseas than foreign works are here. And thus foreign payments for the use of American works far exceed American payments for the use of foreign works. Indeed, intellectual property generally, and copyright in particular, are among the tew bright spots In our balance of trade. It is not an exaggeratnn to say that adequate International protectk>n of United States copyrights is a matter of the highest importance to our national economic security. In light of the EU actnn, copyright term extension in the United States has now become an essential element In safeguarding that economk; security, for the following reason: The basic principle of international copyright relations under the Berne Conventk>n Is the principle of national treatment. Each Berne member state is required to protect copyrights created by foreign natonals under Its own substantive copyright law (whnh must, of course, meet Berne's minimum standards for protectnn). Thus, a copyrighted work created by a French national Is protected in the United States under our substantive law; and a work created by an Amernan citizen is protected in France under French substantive copyright law. If the principle of nattonal protectkjn, which applies generally, also applied to the duration of copyright protectkjn, no term extension in the United States woukj be necessary for American creators and copyright owners to reap the benefit of the EU's term extension. Unfortunately, however, that is not the case, for the one significant area in which Berne provides for reciprocal, rather than national, treatment, is in the duratk>n of copyright.