This commentary deals with the history and development of the major international agreements affecting copyright and related rights, including the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1886-1970, the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Phonogram Producers and Broadcasting Organisations 1961, the WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties 1996 and the TRIPS Agreement (so far as it affects copyright and related rights). Doctrinal analysis exposes gaps and ambiguities in the current text and considers the extent to which subsequent international instruments have resolved those questions. The authors analyse questions of subject matter coverage, copyright ownership, duration, nature and scope of rights, and exceptions and limitations to copyright protection. Extensive analysis of private international law matters also figures prominently, with two chapters devoted to problems of international jurisdiction and choice of law.This magisterial commentary deals both with the history and with the modern application of the major international agreements affecting copyright and related rights. In particular, it analyses the interpretation and application of the following conventions: the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1886-1970, the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Phonogram Producers and Broadcasting Organisations 1961, the WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties 1996 and the TRIPS Agreement (so far as it affects copyright and related rights).

The organization of the text separates historical review from doctrinal analysis of the current application of the Berne Convention's provisions. The latter exposes gaps and ambiguities in the current text and, in a third section to each of the central chapters, considers the extent to which subsequent international instruments have resolved those questions. Issues concerning new technologies and digital networks thus receive in-depth treatment. The authors analyse questions of subject matter coverage, copyright ownership, duration, nature and scope of rights, and exceptions and limitations to copyrights protection. Extensive analysis of private international law matters also figures prominently in this edition, with a new chapter devoted to problems of international jurisdiction and choice of law.

The book contains a helpful compilation of relevant treaties and related materials, while a companion website to the book will supplement these with a collection of the travaux preparatoires of the Berne Convention itself. This work is the significantly expanded and updated second edition of Sam Ricketson's seminal work The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works: 1886-1986 first published in 1987.