Berne Convention
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
Treaty · WIPO
What this does to artists
Malaysia acceded in 1990. Berne is why a Malaysian work is automatically protected in every other member state without registration or formality, and why a foreign work is protected here. It is the answer to 'do I need to register my copyright overseas'.
What to read first
Section numbers read out of the AGC text itself
Where this one bites
Release and distribute a track
Ownership, registration and the two separate rights in every recording.…
ScenarioLicence a song for an ad, film or game
Two permissions, usually from two different owners, and a blanket licence is neither of them.…
ScenarioPublish a book or zine
Printing needs a licence, publishing needs a permit, and the Minister can prohibit the result outright.…
This page is published by ALIM (Art × Law Initiative Malaysia) as general legal information for Malaysia’s creative communities. It is not legal advice. It does not take your circumstances into account, and reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship with ALIM or with anyone associated with it.
The law changes. Each Act reproduced here is the Attorney General’s Chambers’ consolidated reprint and carries the date it was consolidated to; amendments made after that date do not appear in the text, and the authoritative version of any Malaysian law is the one published in the Federal Gazette. Subsidiary legislation, state enactments and local authority by-laws may also apply to your situation and are largely outside this library.
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