I. THE BASE OF TRIPS AGREEMENT

The Berne Convention for the protection of Literary and Artistic works, as revised up to 1971, provided the highest level of international legal protection for copyright, prior to TRIPS. With the conclusion of TRIPS under the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, protection of copyright and related rights became, for the first time, a subject covered by the international trade law. Articles 9 to 13 of TRIPS prescribe the “minimum standards” for the protection of copyright. Article 9.1 of TRIPS establishes that WTO members must comply with Articles 1 to 21 of the Berne Convention, 1971, including the Appendix thereto. The Berne Convention requires that the enjoyment and exercise of copyright cannot be subjected to any formality such as registration. The only exception to adherence to the Berne Convention is Article 6bis, which obliges the members to protect the moral rights of the authors. Article 9(2) of the Berne Convention contains exceptions to the exclusive right of reproduction conferred by the copyright law. The pre-requisites for the applicability of this Article are:
(a) These limitations and exceptions should be granted in certain special cases,
(b) These should not conflict with the normal exploitation of the work, and
(c) These should not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author.
In the context of copyright, TRIPS does not confine this Berne exception only to the right of reproduction but extends it to all exclusive rights conferred by copyright.

II.THE TRIPS AGREEMENT

The TRIPS Agreement has incorporated almost the entire Berne Convention as a base for achieving "harmonisation" and "uniformity" vis-a-vis copyright protection.The TRIPS Agreement though allowed the "economic rights" with their full operation yet it has left the choice of confering "moral rights" on the copyright holders on a "reciprocal basis". Thus, the conferment of "moral rights" is not totally excluded but it is subject to a "reciprocal arrangement" between two countries. If two countries are already allowing moral rights as per the Berne Convention on a "reciprocal basis" then TRIPS Agreement cannot exclude that treatment.

The TRIPS Agreement has provided certain "minimum standards" which the "member countries" are compulsorily required to follow. At the same time there is a restriction on giving a preferential treatment to a particular country. The TRIPS Agreement falls in the domain of Public International Law hence the harmonisation process is easy to achieve. An important aspect of Public International Law is that the member countries are bound by the Treaties and Conventions they have enetered into. In contrast, in Private International Law the countries give priority to their municipal law and the process of harmonisation is resorted to only if the International Law is not against the municipal law.

III.WIPO'S COMMITMENT

An important aspect of TRIPS is the due enforcement and implementation of the Copyright protection and rights. The World Intellectual Property Orginisation (WIPO) has been doing this job fantastically. It is trying to help in the due enforcement of various Intellectual Property Rights(IPRs),including the copyright. It is not only spreading the awareness about IPRs but is also streamlining the procedures for their management and enforcement.More is expected from it in the distant future.

IV.THE COPYRIGHT ACT, 1957

The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 is in confirmity with the International Treaties and Conventions from decades. It has adopted and modified itself as per the requirements of internationally accepted norms. Even before TRIPS it was in accordance with well accepted international principles for copyright protection.The Act has been amended from time to time to make it compatible with the international standards.

END OF PART -III
TO BE CONTINUED

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