Copyright and related rights: WIPOs role in formulating international norms in this area

Abstract

The authors provide a chronological account of WIPO's role over the past 50 years in developing new international norms in relation to copyright and related rights. Initially, the situation looked dire, as a gulf between developed and developing countries over the Stockholm Protocol of 1967 emerged, but this was resolved by a more modest Appendix adopted in Paris in 1971. Although still in its infancy, WIPO and its senior officials played a significant role in bringing about this resolution, and continued this work through the 1970s and 1908s in the period of 'guided development' in which widespread consultations on copyright issues were conducted. This led to the Berne Protocol process in t..