Burundi Accedes to the Berne Convention and WIPO Copyright Treaty

It appears that the Republic of Burundi is starting to settle back into the normal course of business after the recent political unrest and joining into global commerce.

This appears from the fact that Burundi has recently acceded to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the WIPO Copyright Treaty. According to the notifications issued by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) (which can be accessed here and here respectively), the instruments of accession to these treaties were both deposited with WIPO on 12 January 2016 and as such will enter into force in Burundi on 12 April 2016. On this date, Burundi will also become a member of the body founded by the Berne Convention, namely the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (the so-called Berne Union).

The Berne Convention and the WIPO Copyright Treaty are both concerned with the international standardisation of legislation dealing with the protection of copyright in member states. While the Berne Convention has the purpose of (among others) setting certain minimum protections that should be granted for copyright by member states in respect of all types of works, the WIPO Copyright Treaty is a special agreement under the Berne Convention and extends the rights recognised by the Berne Convention, particularly in respect of the protection of works in the digital environment.

For more information kindly contact Adre Greeff