[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Berne Convention And How It Relates To Piracy In China
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) is the oldest international agreement in the field of copyright. Copyright is the protection given by the law to original literary and artistic works. The Convention is the most important treaty that governs the area of copyright. It has also been described as being to copyright what the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as the Paris Convention) is to industrial property rights.
The Convention was signed in 1886 and has been revised several times. These revisions typically occur at twenty-year intervals, however, the last revision was done in Paris in 1971. The Paris 1971 Revision was notable because it added to the Convention the Appendix containing the Special Provisions Regarding Developing Countries.
The expression "literary and artistic works" is defined as including every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, irrespective of the mode or form of the production's expression.
This expression is general in the sense that it encompasses every original work of authorship, regardless of the work's literary or artistic merit.
Identified as one of the most prominent media issues of the "digital millennium," global entertainment piracy is a complex issue with important economic, political, cultural and theoretical consequences. In 2002, revenue losses due to copyright piracy totaled $9.21 billion. It has been most severe in Asia where China alone saw a $1.85 billion loss.
This multidimensional and multifaceted issue is inextricably linked to the processes of media globalization.
The filmed entertainment industry is an economic engine, driving hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs in the United States. The copyright industries, including the film industry, provided employment for 6.9 million US workers in 1997, or 5.3% of the US workforce. The copyright industries are a bigger employer....
