International convention for the protection of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organisations

General Information

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What is it about?

Under the present Convention, performers like actors, singers, musicians, dancers and other persons who perform literary or artistic works are protected against certain acts they have not consented to. Such acts are: the broadcasting and the communication to the public of their live performance; the fixation of their live performance; the reproduction of such a fixation if the original fixation was made without their consent or if the reproduction is made for purposes different from those for which they gave their consent. Producers of phonograms enjoy the right to authorize or prohibit the direct or indirect reproduction of their phonograms. Phonograms are defined in the Rome Convention as meaning any exclusively aural fixation of sounds of a performance or of other sounds. When a phonogram published for commercial purposes gives rise to secondary uses, such as broadcasting or communication to the public in any form, a single equitable remuneration must be paid by the user to the performers, or to the producers of phonograms, or to both; State parties are free, however, not to apply this rule or to limit its application. Broadcasting organizations enjoy the right to authorize or prohibit certain acts, namely to re-broadcast their broadcasts, to fix and reproduce fixes of their broadcasts, to communicate to the public of their television broadcasts if such communication is made in places accessible to the public against payment of an entrance fee.

Why is it relevant?

Within its scope of application the Rome Convention of 1961 provides for a much broader protection than most of the national legislations of its State parties. A majority of the State parties to this instrument are developing countries.

Additional Information

In order to become a party to this Convention, a State must have ratified the Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Bern, 9 September 1886) or the Universal Copyright Convention (Paris, 24 July 1971).

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