Chloe Olore, Educational Program Specialist at CCC, provides her perspective on this question below.
Most countries have their own copyright laws and requirements. While there is no single unifying copyright law, there are several international treaties that cover copyright law, and the United States has agreed to comply with a number of them.
The broadest of these agreements is the Berne Convention. The Berne Convention covers several basic copyright concepts like types of rights and prohibits what are called “formalities,” which are requirements that must be met before copyright protection is allowed. Requiring registration for copyright protection is one example of a formality. While the treaties and the implementing laws can be complex, there are three principles that they all have in common:
- Territoriality – Each country has its own copyright law and implements treaties separately. There are differences in how countries approach implementation, so you should look at the specific law governing uses in the country the work is created or used in in addition to the treaty language.
- National Treatment – A country must treat foreign works and foreign rightsholders no less well than rightsholders and their works in that country.
- Minimum Protection – Whatever the treaty states is the minimum standard for copyright protection and for exceptions and limitations to those protections; this means that specific countries might have additional protections and requirements in place, beyond those in a treaty.
When using content globally, you should consider both applicable international treaties as well as the national laws of the country where the content is created and will be shared. Also consider the licenses and subscriptions that the company has invested in and, of course, compliance with the company’s copyright policies. All these elements must be factored into any decision about reusing, sharing and/or publishing content internationally.
25 June 2025
