International treaties and conventions

The national nature of intellectual property laws

IP laws are almost always national in nature. However, there are many conventions and treaties under which nations agree to provide minimum levels of IP protection, and to protect IP created by nationals of other countries.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) administers over 20 treaties and conventions on the registration, classification and protection of IP. Details of the treaties it administers, and the parties to those treaties, can be found on its website. This subtopic examines some of the key conventions and treaties it administers.

For further information, see Practice Note: Intellectual property international treaties and conventions.

International aspects of copyright

An international system of copyright enforcement exists and it is established by four conventions. The effect of use of the conventions is that copyright can be enforced cross-border. At the heart of the system is the principle of national treatment. This means that a copyright owner will be treated as if they are a national