In 1886 the "Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works" was held to further protect artists, musicians, photographers, designers etc. A fundamental new principle was laid down, namely that copyright automatically exists from the day a creative work is available in a tangible form (for instance when it is recorded, or written down). The Berne Convention also states that the creator of a work doesn't need to apply for copyright, or to register it.* It automatically exists once it has been put it into a fixed form.

Below is a list of signatories of the copyright treaty known as the "Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works", commonly referred as The Berne Convention. The Berne Convention was held in 1886 in Berne, Switzerland. The treaty states that if copyright exists in one of these countries, then this copyright is valid in all member countries (contracting parties) who are signatories of the Berne Convention. At present there are 178 signatory countries out of 195 countries in the world today.

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