Copyright: Its History and Its Law

The official language of the International Office is French.

Article 22

Duties of International Office

The International Office collects all kinds of information relative to the protection of the rights of authors over their literary and artistic works. It arranges and publishes such information. It studies questions of general utility likely to be of interest to the Union, and, by the aid of documents placed at its disposal by the different administrations, edits a periodical publication in the French language treating questions which concern the Union. The governments of the countries of the Union reserve to themselves the faculty of authorizing, by common accord, the publication by the Office of an edition in one or more other languages, if experience should show this to be requisite.

Will furnish information as to copyright

The International Office must always hold itself at the disposal of members of the Union, with the view to furnish them with any special information they may require relative to the protection of literary and artistic works.

Annual report of Director of International Bureau

The Director of the International Bureau makes an annual report on his administration, which is communicated to all the members of the Union.

Article 23

Expenses of the International Office to be shared by contracting States

The expenses of the Office of the International Union are shared by the contracting States. Unless a fresh arrangement be made, they cannot exceed a sum of sixty thousand francs a year. This sum may be increased by the decision of one of the Conferences provided for in Article 24.

Method of sharing expenses

The share of the total expense to be paid by each country is determined by the division of the contracting and acceding States into six classes, each of which contributes in the proportion of a certain number of units, viz.:

These coefficients are multiplied by the number of States of each class, and the total product thus obtained gives the number of units by which the total expense is to be divided. The quotient gives the amount of the unity of expense.

Each State will declare, at the time of its accession, in which of the said classes it desires to be placed.

Swiss Administration to prepare the budget of the International Office, etc.

The Swiss Administration prepares the budget of the Office, superintends its expenditure, makes the necessary advances, and draws up the annual account, which shall be communicated to all the other Administrations.

Article 24

Revision of Convention

The present Convention may be subjected to revision in order to introduce therein amendments calculated to perfect the system of the Union.

Future conferences

Country where a conference is to be held to prepare programme

Director of the International Office to participate

Questions of this kind, as well as those which are of interest to the Union in other respects, are considered in Conferences to be held successively in the countries of the Union by delegates of the said countries. The Administration of the country where a Conference is about to be held, prepares the programme of the same with the assistance of the International Office. The Director of the International Office attends the sittings of the Conferences, and takes part in the discussion without a deliberative voice.

Alterations of Convention must be by unanimous consent

No alteration in the present Convention is binding on the Union except by the unanimous consent of the countries comprising it.

Article 25

Accession of other countries

The States outside of the Union which assure legal protection of the rights which are the object of the present Convention, may accede to it upon their request.

Such accession shall be notified in writing to the Government of the Swiss Confederation, who will communicate it to all the other countries of the Union.

May substitute provisions of previous conventions

Such accession shall imply full adhesion to all the clauses and admission to all the advantages provided by the present Convention. It may, however, indicate such provisions of the Convention of September 9, 1886, or of the Additional Act of May 4, 1896, as it may be judged necessary to substitute provisionally, at least, for the corresponding provisions of the present Convention.

Article 26

Accession for colonies or foreign possessions

The contracting countries have the right to accede at any time to the present Convention for their colonies or foreign possessions.

They may do this either by a general declaration comprehending all their colonies or possessions within the accession, or by specially naming those comprised therein, or by simply indicating those which are excluded.

This declaration shall be made known in writing to the Government of the Swiss Confederation, and by the latter to all the others.

Article 27

Present Convention to replace Berne Convention and Paris Acts

But Berne Convention remains in force between countries not signatory to present Convention

The present Convention shall replace, in the relations between the contracting States, the Convention of Berne of September 9, 1886, including the Additional Article and the Final Protocol of the same day, as well as the Additional Act, and the Interpretative Declaration of May 4, 1896. The conventional acts above-mentioned shall remain in force in the relations with the States which do not ratify the present Convention.

Signatory States may declare themselves bound by former Conventions upon certain points

The States signatory to the present Convention may, at the time of the exchange of ratifications, declare that they intend, upon such or such point, still to remain bound by the provisions of the Conventions to which they have previously subscribed.

Article 28

Convention to be ratified

The present Convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged at Berlin, not later than the first of July, 1910.

Exchange of ratifications

Each contracting party shall send, for the exchange of ratifications, a single instrument, which shall be deposited, with those of the other countries, in the archives of the Government of the Swiss Confederation. Each party shall receive in return a copy of the procès-verbal of the exchange of ratifications, signed by the Plenipotentiaries who shall have taken part therein.

Article 29

Convention to take effect three months after exchange of ratifications