WIPO

CRNR/DC/4 ORIGINAL: English DATE: August 30, 1996

0.01 During the preparatory stages that led to the production of this proposed Treaty, the expression "protocol" to the Berne Convention had been used tentatively to identify the new instrument under consideration. The proposed Treaty is, however, not an accessory to the Berne Convention. Its objective is rather to supplement and update the international regime of protection for literary and artistic works based fundamentally on the Berne Convention and recently also on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Including Trade in Counterfeit Goods (hereinafter referred to in these Notes as "the TRIPS Agreement"). In addition, membership of the Berne Union is not a requirement for becoming a party to the proposed Treaty. Consequently, no reference to the Berne Convention has been included in the title.

0.02 The Preamble sets forth the objective of the Treaty and the main arguments and considerations relating thereto.

0.03 The first paragraph of the Preamble expresses the most general objective of the proposed Treaty. It reflects the language of the Preamble of the Paris Act of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

0.04 The second paragraph pronounces the recognition that new international rules and clarification of the interpretation of certain existing rules are needed to achieve the objective identified in the first paragraph, having regard to the manifold developments that call for improved protection in the field covered by the proposed Treaty.

0.05 The third paragraph acknowledges the connection of the proposed Treaty to the evolution of the overall environment of the intellectual property system: the accelerating development and convergence of information and communication technologies. This evolution extends its effects even to the convergence of the structures of industries and the content they produce, i.e. protected works and performances, and it has a profound impact on the production and distribution of the results of creative work by authors. While introducing certain provisions on "traditional issues", the proposed Treaty also includes solutions to urgent questions raised by the technological developments referred to above. The proposed Treaty is therefore part of a series of simultaneously published draft Treaties which could be characterized as "Global Information Infrastructure Treaties" in the field of copyright and rights related to copyright.

0.06 The Preamble of this proposed Treaty has been drafted in parallel with the Preamble of the simultaneously published proposed Treaty for the Protection of the Rights of Performers and Producers of Phonograms (hereinafter referred to in these Notes as "the New Instrument").

[End of Notes on the Title and the Preamble]

The Contracting Parties,

Desiring to develop and maintain the protection of the rights of authors in their literary and artistic works in a manner as effective and uniform as possible,

Recognizing the need to introduce new international rules and clarify the interpretation of certain existing rules in order to provide adequate solutions to the questions raised by new economic, social, cultural and technological developments,

Recognizing the profound impact of the development and convergence of information and communication technologies on the creation and use of literary and artistic works,

Have agreed as follows: