How does a copyright work?

Question

Are all copyrights universal? If, so how are they are universally governed by law, what if there are differences in copyright laws in different countries.

Answer 1

There is an International Copyright Convention, by which all signator countries agree to enforce copyrights of other signatory states as if they were their own. Because countries have different means of defining & acquiring copyrights enforcement can be a quite complex issue. The latest version of the convention (ca. 1970's) is at: www.unesco.org/culture/laws/copyright/images/copyrightconvention.rtf
Copyright & enforcement make up whole law school courses, so detailed discussion is beyond the capacity of this forum.

Answer 2

There are numerous international treaties concerning copyright and other intellectual rights. However as a practical matter, it is the World Trade Organization (WTO) that provides for enforcement mechanisms between its member countries. Generally each country respects the copyright protection effective in the author's home country. That is the reason most music CDs are registered in the USA, because no other country in the world offers the same kind of phonorecord protection to their home industry.

Answer 3

Copyrights are only legally enforceable in the country where the copyright is registered. That's why so many companies that import goods into the United States register their copyrights and trademarks in the United States -- to protect their goods from counterfeiting and piracy. If you have a copyright or trademark registered somewhere, and someone else produces illegal copies of your goods or goods that are very similar to yours, you can take them to court for trademark or copyright infringement.

Answer 4

As far as I know, if you obtain a copyright in the US, no matter where you are, the US copyright laws apply to it.