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CS Professional · Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · Role of International Institutions

Sundar Publishers of Delhi publishes a novel in India. A pirated edition is printed in Germany, also a Berne Convention country, without permission. Sundar asks whether it must register the work in Germany to claim copyright there. Under the Berne Convention principle India is bound by, what is the position?

Copyright protection arises automatically in Germany without registration. The Berne Convention, to which both India and Germany belong, grants national treatment and bars formalities as a condition of protection, so Sundar Publishers can enforce its rights there like a German author.

  1. ARegistration in Germany is mandatory before protection arises
  2. BProtection arises automatically in Germany without any formality, on national treatment termsCorrect
  3. CProtection arises only if the book is also patented in Germany
  4. DProtection is available only for 5 years unless renewed in Germany

Explanation

The Berne Convention provides national treatment and says enjoyment of copyright must not be subject to any formality such as registration. So the Indian work is protected in Germany automatically, as German authors' works are. Requiring registration contradicts the no-formalities rule.

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