Official texts, lectures, addresses Sample Clauses

Official texts, lectures, addresses. The Berne Convention also gives Member States the discretion to determine whether official government texts, such as judicial opinions, legislative enactments and administrative rules, will be protected by copyright.33 Countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada and other British Commonwealth countries protect such works by copyright (typically referred to as “Crown Copyright” or “Parlia- mentary Copyright”) but with generous provisions for free use by the public. Other countries, such as the United States, Germany and Japan,34 explicitly exclude fed- eral government works from copyright protection.35 Additional areas of national discretion in regard to copyright protection are political speeches, speeches given in the course of legal proceedings, the conditions under which lectures, addresses or speeches to the public may be reproduced by the press, broadcast, commu- nicated to the public by wire and made the subject of public communication when the use is justified by an informatory purpose.36 The discretion granted by Berne Convention Article 2bis in this regard is circumscribed by Berne Convention Article 11bis which requires that countries grant authors of literary and artistic works the exclusive right to communicate their work to the public. Consequently, a country can determine the conditions under which this right may be exercised, 30 See TRIPS Agreement, Article 9.1.