In which countries are my rights over an artwork recognised, and for how long?

When I create an Artwork and therefore own its paternity, if a third party is profiting off it, they owe me some kind of compensation. We can all agree on this, but... what happens if my work is used abroad, or if I work with foreign countries? Will my copyright still be recognised? And how long will the Artwork be 'mine' and therefore protected?

Copyright and Intellectual Property are regulated by the Berne Convention, the most extensive and important international agreement on the topic, first written in 1886 and signed by 176 countries as of 2018.

All European and North American have signed the agreement; this means that your work is legally protected in these countries and that I can ask for compensation in case of infringement.

There are, however, also countries that do not have any kind of protection, such as Singapore for instance, or where copyright protection works differently, like some Asian countries. Therefore, it's important to keep your eyes peeled to avoid potential abuse by dishonest companies, be informed and protect yourself through platforms that unequivocally recognise your intellectual property.

Here is a full list of the countries that signed the agreement so far.

But even if I am protected... for how long? Will the Intellectual Property of my Artwork still belong to me in 10 or 20 years? The Berne Convention states that the right of the author is inalienable, thus lasting for the entire life of the Author, plus 50 years after their death.
The real difficulty lies in proving our ownership of an Artwork in the first place, to enforce our rights over time.

How can we prove we created a drawing or designed a project in 20 years' time? This is where the Blockchain technology comes in: by permanently marking the artwork, it makes the attribution unalterable over time.

Your Art is valuable! To avail yourself of the rights guaranteed by the Berne Convention, you need to be able to prove your paternity of your Artworks.

Rights Chain offers a safe, permanent attribution method through the use of Blockchain technology. You just need to register on the platform and upload your Artworks to have a reliable and permanent proof of paternity free of charge.

Have a look at our services.

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