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Bilateral copyright agreements of the United States are agreements between the United States and another country which allow U.S. authors to claim copyright protection in the other country and authors from that country to claim protection under United States copyright law.

The agreements can take one of two forms with respect to the United States:

• An exchange of notes, which is given effect in U.S. law by a presidential proclamation under
  • International Copyright Act of 1891 (March 3, 1891, 26 Stat. 1106)
  • Copyright Act of 1909 (March 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1075), later Title 17 of the United States Code
  • Act of December 18, 1919 (41 Stat. 368), which extended the period of time available to complete copyright formalities in the U.S. to take account of World War I
  • Act of September 25, 1941 (55 Stat. 732), which extended the period of time available to complete copyright formalities in the U.S. to take account of World War II
  • Copyright Act of 1976, which completely restated Title 17, notably 17 U.S.C. 104(b)(6)
  • Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Pub. L. 103–465, 108 Stat. 4809), codified as 17 U.S.C. 104A(g), which deals with restored copyrights
• A treaty ratified by the United States Senate, which has direct effect under
  • Copyright Act of 1909
  • Copyright Act of 1976 (17 U.S.C. 104(b) and 104A)

Treaties which deal only with copyright matters are usually known as "conventions": however, certain other treaties (e.g., peace treaties) also contain provisions concerning copyright.

Countries affected

It is impossible to give a definitive list of countries which are affected by the proclamations listed below. The law of succession of states allows for the de facto continuation of a treaty or agreement when a territory becomes independent, and many of the proclamations had effect in former dependent territories.

The United States Department of State has the responsibility to determine whether an agreement is still in force or not with respect to a given territory: it does not make this determination unless there is an actual case in question. For several former dependent territories, the question has yet to be posed and the status of their copyright relations with the United States is listed as "uncertain" by the U.S. Copyright Office.

If the country concerned has continued to protect U.S. copyrighted works since independence, the agreement may be considered to be still in force: under U.S. law, the decision lies with the Secretary of State. The President also has the option of issuing a proclamation under 17 U.S.C. 104A, which has the effect of recognizing the copyrights of the country concerned but provides safeguards for anyone who has used works in the United States while believing they were in the public domain. This latter option has been used once since it was introduced by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act in 1994, with respect to Vietnam.

Effect of the Copyright Act of 1976

Proclamations issued before January 1, 1978, the effective date of the Copyright Act of 1976, remain in force under section 104 of that Act, which provides that: "All proclamations issued by the President under section 1(e) or 9(b) of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, or under previous copyright statutes of the United States, shall continue in force until terminated, suspended, or revised by the President."

Chronological list

As of January 1, 2006, the U.S. State Department lists the following bilateral treaties in force.

See also

• International copyright agreements
• List of parties to international copyright agreements
• List of parties to international related rights treaties

References

1. International Copyright U.S. Copyright Office Circular 38a: Relations of the United States (PDF). United States Copyright Office. Nov 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
2. "Presidential Proclamation 7161: Extending United States Copyright Protections to the Works of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" (PDF). Office of the President. December 23, 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-23.
3. Treaties in Force: a List of Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States in Force on January 1, 2006; Appendix A, International Copyright Relations of the United States (PDF). U.S. Department of State. 2006.
4. "Scambio di note relativo ai diritti d'autore" – via ITRA. Vigenza italiana Dal 28/10/1892 Vigenza internazionale Dal 28/10/1892 INDETERMINATA. DENUNCIABILE IN QUALSIASI MOMENTO SENZA PREAVVISO. Provvedimento legislativo RD N. 17 DEL 12.01.1893 - GU N. 31 DEL 07.02.1893 Pubblicazione ove reperire il testo Note e clausole RIMESSO IN VIGORE CON NOTA DEL 12.03.1948 - GU N. 217 DEL 17.09.1948. PUBBLICAZIONE OVE REPERIRE IL TESTO: TRATTATI E CONVENZIONI VOL. XIII PAG. 200.
5. "INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES" (PDF). The exchanges of notes between the United States and Italy, on the basis of which the proclamations of October 31, 1892 and May 1, 1915, were issued, were the subject of a note delivered on March 12, 1948, to the Italian Foreign Office by the American Embassy at Rome with respect to pre-war bilateral treaties and other international agreements which the United States desired to keep in force or revive pursuant to Article 44 of the Treaty of Peace with Italy. The note stated in part that the Government of the United States of America wishes to include the reciprocal copyright arrangement between the United States and Italy effected pursuant to the exchange of notes signed at Washington October 28, 1892, and the exchanges of notes signed at Washington September 2, 1914, February 12, March 4, and March 11, 1915, among the pre-war bilateral treaties and other international agreements with Italy which the United States desires to keep in force or revive. Accordingly, it is understood that the aforementioned arrangement will continue in force and that the Government of each country will extend to the nationals of the other country treatment as favorable with respect to copyrights as was contemplated at the time the arrangement was entered into by the two countries. (Department of State Bulletin, April 4, 1948, p. 455).

• United States copyright law