Copyright, as other intellectual property rights, was designed to promote intellectual creativity by balancing private rights and the public interest. Limited private rights over intellectual creations were thus established to ultimately enrich and disseminate cultural heritage.1 The proper role of copyright, however, stands challenged by increasingly unbalanced rules at the international and national levels. International copyright norms, for example, impose longer terms of protection, an expanded subject matter, and new measures to support technological protection. Expanding rights are also being granted to activities “related” to copyright – such as those of producers and broadcasting organizations – that can never merit the same or even greater protection from intellectual property rules: neighboring rights do not reward creation, but rather seek to protect investments.3 As a result, current international copyright norms pose serious challenges for access and dissemination of knowledge in both developing and developed countries.
The present note will describe a small number of these copyright provisions in bilateral trade agreements and highlight their potential impact on access to knowledge. After the introduction, Section B will describe the multilateral legal framework for copyright. Then, Section C will address two provisions usually included in U.S. bilateral trade agreements: the extension of the term of copyright protection and the regulation of technological protection measures (TPMs). Finally, Section D will provide some concluding thoughts.