Berne, CFTA, NAFTA & (and) GATT: The Implications of Copyright Droit Moral and Cultural Exemptions in International Trade Law

Authors

Stephen Fraser

Abstract

Beginning with the United States' accession to the Berne Union in 1988-89, through the negotiations for the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the latest round of the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GAIT), copyright law and its attendant industries have become important foci in the area of international trade. Although the United States may be the world leader in the dissemination of movies, television programs, music, and books and even though through Berne, CFTA, NAFTA, and GATT the United States has managed to obtain increased protection for copyrighted content, it is still unable to convince the international community that trade in copyrighted materials is equal to trade in goods. By examining the course of the negotiations of these treaties and the reasons why the United States has been averse to the concepts of "droit moral" and "cultural exemptions," this article seeks to explain why the United States' position came to be heatedly rejected.

Recommended Citation

Stephen Fraser, Berne, CFTA, NAFTA & (and) GATT: The Implications of Copyright Droit Moral and Cultural Exemptions in International Trade Law, 18 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 287 (1995).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol18/iss2/3