International copyright laws

Under a variety of treaties, most countries in the world offer protection to U.S.intellectual property used abroad. And, under these same treaties, the U.S. protectsintellectual property created in these other countries. Several major internationaltreaties—the Berne Convention is the most important—govern rights in copyrights in most countries. International patent rights are broadly recognized under the ParisConvention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Trademark owners also have someinternational rights and obligations under the Paris Convention and Madrid Protocol.And trade secrets receive international protection under GATT (General Agreementon Tariffs and Trade).

Legal Basis of Intellectual Property Laws
The sources of intellectual property laws vary according to the subjectmatter. Trade secret law derives both from federal and state legislation andfrom court cases that have developed their own set of principles used todecide new trade secret cases that come before them (termed the “commonlaw”). Trademark and unfair competition laws originate primarily in bothfederal and state statutes, but also, especially in the area of unfair competition,come from court decisions that apply principles developed by earlier courtsas part of the common law. Copyright and patent laws originate in the U.S.Constitution and are specifically and exclusively implemented by federalstatutes. In all these intellectual property areas, court decisions interpretingand enforcing applicable statutes also provide an important source ofintellectual property law.