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. However, in order to help prove that you're the creator of your works, registration is important. Without registering your works with a third-party copyright registration service like Copyright House, anyone may copy your works and publish it or sell it as their own.

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 179 signatory countries out of 195 countries in the world today.

To find out more about Copyright law, click here!