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WIPO Copyright Treaty
WCT
World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty
Member states, as of 26 September 2022 Ratified and in force Ratified as part of European Union Ratified, but not yet in force Signed, but not ratified Not signed and not ratified
Signed	20 December 1996
Location	Geneva, Switzerland
Effective	6 March 2002
Condition	30 ratifications
Parties	110
Depositary	Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization
Languages	English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish
Full text
WIPO Copyright Treaty at Wikisource

The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO Copyright Treaty or WCT) is an international treaty on copyright law adopted by the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1996. It provides additional protections for copyright to respond to advances in information technology since the formation of previous copyright treaties before it. As of August 2023, the treaty has 115 contracting parties. The WCT and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, are together termed WIPO "internet treaties".

History

During the earlier stages of negotiations, the WCT was seen as a protocol to the Berne Convention, constituting an update of that agreement since the 1971 Stockholm Conference. However, as any amendment to the Berne Convention required unanimous consent of all parties, the WCT was conceptualized as an additional treaty which supplemented the Berne Convention. The collapse of negotiations around the extension of the Berne Convention during the 1980s saw the shifting of the forum to the GATT, resulting in the TRIPS Agreement. Thus, the nature of any copyright treaty by the World Intellectual Property Organization became considerably narrower, being limited to addressing the challenges posed by digital technologies.

Protection granted by the Treaty

The WCT emphasizes the incentive nature of copyright protection, claiming its importance to creative endeavours. It ensures that computer programs are protected as literary works (Article 4), and that the arrangement and selection of material in databases is protected (Article 5). It provides authors of works with control over their rental and distribution in Articles 6 to 8, which they may not have under the Berne Convention alone. It also prohibits circumvention of technological measures for the protection of works (Article 11) and unauthorized modification of rights management information contained in works (Article 12).

The treaty has been criticised for being too broad (for example in its prohibition of circumvention of technical protection measures, even where such circumvention is used in the pursuit of legal and fair use rights) and for applying a "one size fits all" standard to all signatory countries, despite their widely differing stages of economic development and knowledge industry.

Implementation

The WIPO Copyright Treaty is implemented in United States law by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). By Decision 2000/278/EC of 16 March 2000, the Council of the European Union approved the treaty on behalf of the European Community. European Union Directives which largely cover the subject matter of the treaty are: Directive 91/250/EC, creating copyright protection for software; Directive 96/9/EC on copyright protection for databases; and Directive 2001/29/EC, prohibiting devices for circumventing "technical protection measures", such as digital rights management (also known as DRM).

References

"WIPO Lex". wipolex.wipo.int.
^ "Contracting Parties > WIPO Copyright Treaty- contracting parties". World Intellectual Property Organization. Archived from the original on 24 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
"Contracting Parties > WIPO Copyright Treaty". World Intellectual Property Organization. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
Julie S Sheinblatt, 'The WIPO Copyright Treaty' (1998) 13 (1) Berkeley Technology Law Journal 535 <https://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.15779/Z383X1Q>
"Contracting Parties. WIPO Copyright Treaty". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
Ficsor, Mihály (1997). "Copyright for the Digital Era: the WIPO Internet Treaties". Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts. 21: 197–223.
^ Mort SA, 'The WTO, WIPO & the Internet: Confounding the Borders of Copyright and Neighboring Rights' (1997–98) 8 Fordham Intell Prop Media & Ent LJ 173.
'The New WIPO Copyright and Phonograms Treaties: Steps Toward Harmonized Protection for the Digital Age | Publications and Presentations' (Arnold & Porter, 1 October 1996) https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/publications/1996/10/the-new-wipo-copyright-and-phonograms-treaties-s__?keyword= Retrieved 17 May 2018.
Sapp HA, 'North American Anti-Circumvention: Implementation of the WIPO Internet Treaties in the United States, Mexico and Canada.' (2005) 10(1) Computer L Rev & Tech J 1, at 7
Peter Drahos, John Braithwaite, Information Feudalism: Who owns the knowledge economy 112 (Earthscan Publications: 2002)

External links and references

The full text of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (adopted in Geneva on December 20, 1996) (in English) in the WIPO Lex database – official website of WIPO.
- Parties to the Treaty
Summary: https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/summary_wct.html

v t e WIPO-Administered Treaties
Intellectual Property protection treaties	Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods Marrakesh VIP Treaty Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property Patent Law Treaty Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits Trademark Law Treaty Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks WIPO Copyright Treaty WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
Global protection system treaties	Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks Patent Cooperation Treaty
Treaties against biopiracy and misappropriation	WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge
Classification treaties	Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks