Copyright and Related Rights

International Agreements in the sphere of Copyright and Related Rights

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works – Berne Convention (1886), completed at Paris (1896), revised at Berlin (1908), completed at Berne (1914), revised at Rome (1928), at Brussels (1948), at Stockholm (1967) and at Paris (1971), and amended in 1979. (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – December 12, 1997).

WIPO Copyright Treaty – Geneva (1996). (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – July 15, 1998).

Treaty on the International Registration of Audiovisual Works – Geneva (April 18, 1989).

International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations – Rome Convention (1961). (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – May 27, 2003).

WIPO Performances and Phonograms Agreement – Geneva (1996). (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – July 15, 1998).

Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms – Geneva (1971). (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – January 17, 2003).

Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite – Done at Brussels on May 21, 1974.

Industrial Property

It is known that all Agreements in the Industrial Property sphere are used to be subdivided into three groups:

1. Agreements, establishing the international protection system.
2. Agreements, facilitating acquisition of the Industrial Property protection in several countries.
3. Agreements, establishing international classification systems.

(Source of information: Minkov A.M. “international Protection of Intellectual Property”, St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001)

1. Agreements, establishing the international protection system

Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property – Paris Convention (1883), revised at Brussels (1900), Washington (1911), The Hague (1925), London (1934), Lisbon (1958) and Stockholm (1967), and amended in 1979. (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – December 25, 1991).

Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods – (1891), revised at Washington (1911), The Hague (1925), London (1934), Lisbon (1958) and Stockholm (1967).

Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol – Nairobi Treaty (1981). (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – December 25, 1991).

Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits – Done on May 26, 1989.

Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) – Geneva (October 27, 1994) with the effect from August 01, 1996.

2. Agreements, facilitating acquisition of the Industrial Property protection in several countries.

PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) – June 19, 1970, Washington, amended on September 28, 1979, and modified on February 03, 1984 and October 03, 2001. (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – December 25, 1991).

Patent Law Treaty (PLT) – adopted by a diplomatic conference in Geneva on June 1, 2000.
Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure – Budapest Treaty (1977), modified in 1980. (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – October 19, 1991).
Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks – Madrid Agreement (1891), revised at Brussels (1900), Washington (1911), The Hague (1925), London (1934), Nice (1957), Stockholm (1967), and amended in 1979. (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – December 25, 1991).
Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks – Madrid Protocol (1989). (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – January 18, 2002).

Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellation of Origin and their International Registration – Done in 1958, revised at Stockholm (1967), and amended in 1979.

Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs - effective from June 01, 1928, revised at London (1934), and The Hague (1960), supplemented by the Additional Act of Monaco (1961), the Complementary Act of Stockholm (1967) and the Protocol of Geneva (1975), and amended in 1979 (Hague Union).

3. Agreements, establishing international classification systems.

Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification – Strasbourg Agreement (March 24, 1971), amended on September 28, 1979. (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – March 12, 1999).

Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks – Nice Agreement (1957), revised at Stockholm (1967) and at Geneva (1977), and amended in 1979. (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – June 12, 1998).

Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of Figurative Elements of Marks – effective from August 09, 1985.

Locarno Agreement Establishing the International Classification for Industrial Designs – Locarno Agreement (1968), amended in 1979. (Date of joining of the Republic of Belarus – July 24, 1998).

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) .
Adopted in 1994