The Contracting States,
concerned at the widespread and increasing unauthorized duplication of phonograms
and the damage this is occasioning to the interests of authors, performers and producers
of phonograms;
convinced that the protection of producers of phonograms against such acts will also
benefit the performers whose performances, and the authors whose works, are recorded
on the said phonograms;
recognizing the value of the work undertaken in this field by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization;
anxious not to impair in any way international agreements already in force and in
particular in no way to prejudice wider acceptance of the Rome Convention of October 26, 1961, which affords protection to performers and to broadcasting organizations as well
as to producers of phonograms;
For the purposes of this Convention:
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(a) “phonogram” means any exclusively aural fixation of sounds of a performance or of
other sounds;
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(b) “producer of phonograms” means the person who, or the legal entity which, first fixes
the sounds of a performance or other sounds;
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(c) “duplicate” means an article which contains sounds taken directly or indirectly from
a phonogram and which embodies all or a substantial part of the sounds fixed in that
phonogram;
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(d) “distribution to the public” means any act by which duplicates of a phonogram are
offered, directly or indirectly, to the general public or any section thereof.
Each Contracting State shall protect producers of phonograms who are nationals of
other Contracting States against the making of duplicates without the consent of the
producer and against the importation of such duplicates, provided that any such making
or importation is for the purposes of distribution to the public, and against the
distribution of such duplicates to the public.
The means by which this Convention is implemented shall be a matter for the domestic
law of each Contracting State and shall include one or more of the following: protection
by means of the grant of a copyright or other specific right; protection by means
of the law relating to unfair competition; protection by means of penal sanctions.
The duration of the protection given shall be a matter for the domestic law of each
Contracting State. However, if the domestic law prescribes a specific duration for
the protection, that duration shall not be less than twenty years from the end either
of the year in which the sounds embodied in the phonogram were first fixed or of the
year in which the phonogram was first published.
If, as a condition of protecting the producers of phonograms, a Contracting State,
under its domestic law, requires compliance with formalities, these shall be considered
as fulfilled if all the authorized duplicates of the phonogram distributed to the
public or their containers bear a notice consisting of the symbol
, accompanied by the year date of the first publication, placed in such manner as
to give reasonable notice of claim of protection; and, if the duplicates or their
containers do not identify the producer, his successor in title or the exclusive licensee
(by carrying his name, trademark or other appropriate designation), the notice shall
also include the name of the producer, his successor in title or the exclusive licensee.
Any Contracting State which affords protection by means of copyright or other specific
right, or protection by means of penal sanctions, may in its domestic law provide,
with regard to the protection of producers of phonograms, the same kinds of limitations
as are permitted with respect to the protection of authors of literary and artistic
works. However, no compulsory licenses may be permitted unless all of the following
conditions are met;
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(a) the duplication is for use solely for the purpose of teaching or scientific research;
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(b) the license shall be valid for duplication only within the territory of the Contracting
State whose competent authority has granted the license and shall not extend to the
export of duplicates;
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(c) the duplication made under the license gives rise to an equitable remuneration fixed
by the said authority taking into account, inter alia, the number of duplicates which
will be made.
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(1) This Convention shall in no way be interpreted to limit or prejudice the protection
otherwise secured to authors, to performers, to producers of phonograms or to broadcasting
organizations under any domestic law or international agreement.
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(2) It shall be a matter for the domestic law of each Contracting State to determine the
extent, if any, to which performers whose performances are fixed in a phonogram are
entitled to enjoy protection and the conditions for enjoying any such protection.
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(4) Any Contracting State which, on October 29, 1971, affords protection to producers
of phonograms solely on the basis of the place of first fixation may, by a notification
deposited with the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization,
declare that it will apply this criterion instead of the criterion of the nationality
of the producer.
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(2) The International Bureau shall, on request, furnish information to any Contracting
State on matters concerning this Convention, and shall conduct studies and provide
services designed to facilitate the protection provided for therein.
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(3) The International Bureau shall exercise the functions enumerated in paragraphs (1)
and (2) above in cooperation, for matters within their respective competence, with
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International
Labour Organization.
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(1) This Convention shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
It shall be open until April 30, 1972, for signature by any State that is a member
of the United Nations, any of the Specialized Agencies brought into relationship with
the United Nations, or the International Atomic Energy Agency, or is a party to the
Statute of the International Court of Justice.
No reservations to this Convention are permitted.
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(2) For each State ratifying, accepting or acceding to this Convention after the deposit
of the fifth instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession, the Convention shall
enter into force three months after the date on which the Director General of the
World Intellectual Property Organization informs the States, in accordance with Article
13, paragraph (4), of the deposit of its instrument.
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(3) Any State may, at the time of ratification, acceptance or accession or at any later
date, declare by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations
that this Convention shall apply to all or any one of the territories for whose international
affairs it is responsible. This notification will take effect three months after the
date on which it is received.
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(1) Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention, on its own behalf or on behalf
of any of the territories referred to in Article 11, paragraph (3), by written notification
addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
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(1) This Convention shall be signed in a single copy in English, French, Russian and Spanish,
the four texts being equally authentic.
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(2) Official texts shall be established by the Director General of the World Intellectual
Property Organization, after consultation with the interested Governments, in the
Arabic, Dutch, German, Italian and Portuguese languages.
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(3) The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify the Director General of the
World Intellectual Property Organization, the Director-General of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Director-General of the
International Labour Office of:
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(a) signatures to this Convention;
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(b) the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance of accession;
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(c) the date of entry into force of this Convention;
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(d) any declaration notified pursuant to Article 11, paragraph (3);
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(e) the receipt of notifications of denunciation.
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(4) The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization shall inform
the States referred to in Article 9, paragraph (1), of the notifications received
pursuant to the preceding paragraph and of any declarations made under Article 7,
paragraph (4). He shall also notify the Director-General of the United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Director-General of the International
Labour Office of such declarations.