Studies. The International Bureau has been conducting studies in the field of the law of copyright from the very beginning. The studies have two principal aims: one is to call attention to the desirability of changes at the national level or in international relations because of changing social, economic or technological circumstances; the other is to analyze and explain changes that have been effected in national laws and international treaties. Such studies have become particularly numerous and important since the early nineteensixties. They are separately considered in the part entitled "Copyright Law Subjects of Topical Interest," below.

Changing social and economic conditions are making changes necessary also in the legislations of developing countries. The International Bureau has been studying how best to meet those needs, and among the important results of those studies are the preparation and the publication of model laws for developing countries (see below), including in particular the Tunis Model Law on Copyright for Developing Countries, completed in 1976 by an intergovernmental committee of experts in the capital of Tunisia.

More is said about studies in the part entitled "Development Cooperation in the Field of Copyright," below.

The studies are carried out by the staff of the International Bureau, with or without the help of meetings of specialists, governmental or nongovernmental. Their results are reflected in publicly available documents, in articles in the periodicals of the International Bureau or in separate publications of that Bureau. During the past 98 years, hundreds of articles commissioned by the International Bureau and written by specialists from scores of different countries have been published in the said periodicals.

As far as the analysis and explanation of the meaning of, or changes in, national laws, including the analysis of court decisions, are concerned, they are primarily the subject of articles published in the periodicals of the International Bureau. Some 700 such articles have been so published so far. They were mostly written by specialists of the countries concerned. From time to time, the International Bureau tries to give a general picture of the state of the national legislations on copyright by preparing synoptic tables which show-in a way to make comparisons easy- the solutions given to the most important questions in the different national laws at a given point in time.

But as far as analysis and explanations are concerned, the International Bureau itself is the author of countless papers which explain proposed or existing treaties in the field of copyright. The preparatory documents of the various conferences

of revision of the Berne Convention and the "Records" (Actes) of such conferences are among the most important examples of such published studies. They run into more than a thousand pages.

Among the commentaries on existing treaties, the following three each a separate book deserve particular attention: Guide to the Berne Convention (1978), Guide to the Rome and Phonograms Conventions (1981) and Guide to the Madrid Convention on Double Taxation (1985). They are the work of Claude Masouyé who served the International Bureau, with great distinction, during the period from 1961 to 1986 and who, during the last ten years of that period, was the Director of the Public Information and Copyright Department of that Bureau.

Services. Among the services rendered by the International Bureau, the most important are those rendered to developing countries. They are discussed in detail in the chapter entitled "Development Cooperation in the Field of Copyright," below.

Monthly Periodicals. As already stated, Le Droit d'auteur started as a monthly periodical with the January 1888 issue and, since then, has been published, without any interruption, even during the two world wars, so that, by the end of 1985, 1,176 issues had been published. The number of printed pages was 128 in 1888, 168 in 1908, 156 in 1928, 152 in 1948, 272 in 1968, 499 in 1978 and 418 in 1985. The total number of printed pages during the 98 years between 1888 and 1985 is 20,863. Copyright started as a monthly periodical in 1965 and the total number of printed pages during the 21 years between 1965 and 1985 is 7,000. The number of subscribers, in 1985, to each of those two periodicals was 650 and 780, respectively. During the years 1962, 1963 and 1964, the major part (although not the totality) of the contents of the monthly issues of Le Droit d'auteur was also published in English. The title of that English periodical, during those years, was Le Droit d'auteur (Copyright).

Special Information on Request. Since such information is mainly requested by developing countries, reference is made to the part entitled "Development Cooperation in the Field of Copyright," below.

Official Languages. The original (1886) text of the Berne Convention provided that "The official language of the International Bureau shall be the French language" (Final Protocol of 1886, second paragraph of point 5). This provision was main

tained until the conference of revision of 1967 (Stockholm). The Berne Convention ceases to speak about the official languages of the International Bureau beginning with the 1967 (Stockholm) Act since, by virtue of that Act and by virtue of the WIPO Convention of 1967. the International Bureau of the Berne Union has been replaced by the International Bureau of WIPO. The WIPO Convention itself is silent on the question of official languages, presumably because of the need to allow flexible solutions And, indeed, there has been a constant evolution since 1963: more and more languages are used in more and more fields by the International Bureau. By 1986, the situation was as follows: English and French are generally used to the same extent by the International Bureau and in practically all its activities (correspondence, publications, working documents, interpretation in meetings, etc.). Spanish is also used in correspondence. Arabic, Russian and Spanish are used in many publications and documents and a substantial part of the meetings. Some publications have been translated and distributed also in Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese and Portuguese. A commentary on the Berne Convention was translated and published in Hindi.

Emblem. The International Bureau has used an emblem since approximately 1960. It was Jacques Secrétan, then Director of the International Bureau, who decided that the International Bureau should use an emblem and what the emblem should consist of. In the middle of the emblem, at that time, was the word "BIRPL Since 1970, that has been replaced by "WIPO" or its equivalent in French ("OMPI") or other languages. Around that word, which is in the middle of a circle, there is a second, outer circle, and between the two circles are five designs symbolizing fields of activity whose results may be the subject of intellectual property. They are the following: (i) the neck of a violin, symbolizing music; it may be interpreted both as a reference to the copyright of authors (here, composers) and as a reference to the so-called neighboring rights of performing artists (here, musicians); (ii) a human hand holding what may be a pen, a pencil, a painter's brush or a sculptor's chisel; it may be interpreted as symbolizing a writer of literary works or an artist of the plastic arts (who paints pamtings, draws drawings, etches etchings or makes sculptures); in any case, it is a reference to copyright law; (ii) a cogwheel; a cogwheel is an element of many (mechanical) inventions; it symbolizes inventors and is a reference to the patent law. (iv) a book, it is a reference to the copyright of authors (writers), (v) the head of wheat, wheat is a plant and the symbol was probably chosen in

anticipation of what, a few years later, became a reality, namely, the links that have been established and still exist between the International Bureau and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)

Finances of the Union

First Occurrence in the Berne Convention and the System of Contributions. The original (1886) text of the Berne Convention provides that the expenses (dépenses) of the Bureau of the Berne Union "shall be shared (supportées en commun) by the contracting countries" (sixth paragraph of point 5 of the Final Protocol). In the Final Protocol of 1886, the so-called "class-and-unit system" of con tributions already in use in the Paris Union founded in 1883--is also defined: there are six "classes" (I, II, III, IV, V and VI); a number of "units" are assigned to each class, namely, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 and 3, respectively; the number of the countries belonging to each class is multiplied by the appropriate number of units, and the products of the multiplications are added; the amount of the effective expenses in each given year is divided by the total number of units and the resulting quotient is the amount of contribution to be paid per unit The contributions were in the nature of reimbursement to the Swiss Confederation since the Swiss Confederation advanced the funds necessary for covering the expenses when they arose.

For example, the Management Report (Rapport de gestion) of the International Bureau of the Berne Union for 1888 shows that, the following number of countries having belonged in the classes indicated, the contributions of 23,506 Swiss francs were divided as follows:

The Final Protocol of 1886 stated the principle of free choice of class. It did so in the following terms: "Each country shall declare, at the time of its accession, in which of the above-mentioned classes it wishes to be placed (range)” (ninth paragraph of point 5). The 1928 (Rome) Act stated for the first time that a country may change class. It did so in the following terms: "Each country shall declare, at the time of its accession, in which of the above-mentioned classes it wishes to be placed but it may subsequently, at any time (toujours), declare that it wishes to be placed in another class" (Article 23(4)). This rule, subject to small changes in wording, was repeated in the 1967 (Stockholm) Act, but the following two sentences were added to it: "If it [a country changing class] chooses a lower class, the country must announce it to the Assembly at one of its ordinary sessions. Any such change shall take effect at the beginning of the calendar year following the session." (Article 25(4)(b)).

The 1967 (Stockholm) Act also created a new class. In that class, contributions are the lowest: it is Class VII, and the number of units corresponding to it is one.

On January 1, 1986, that is, at the beginning of the year of the centenary of the Berne Convention, the countries members of the Berne Union belonged in the following classes for the purposes of computing their contributions:

Class 1: France, Germany (Federal Republic of), United Kingdom (3);

Class II: Japan, Spain (2);

Class III: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland (7);

Class IV: Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, India, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, South Africa (9).

Class German Democratic Republic, New Zealand. Portugal, Venezuela (4).

Class VI: Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Morocco, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Tunisia, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Zaire, (22);

Class VII Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Egypt, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea, Holy See, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg. Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Monaco, Niger, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Togo, Uruguay, Zimbabwe (29)

Amount of the Contributions. The Final Protocol of 1886 said that "until a new decision [is made). they [the expenses, les dépenses] cannot exceed the sum of 60,000 [Swiss] francs a year. This sum may be increased, if necessary, by the simple decision of one of the [Revision] Conferences provided for in Article 17 [of the original (1886) text]" (sixth paragraph of point 5). The 1928 (Rome) Act fixed the total amount of the expenses at a maximum

of 120,000 Swiss francs per year (Article 23(1)). The 1948 (Brussels) Act fixed the maximum amount at 120,000 gold francs (francs-or) and added that the amount could be increased, if necessary, not only by a revision conference but also by a unanimous decision of the countries of the Union (Article 23(1)). The latter possibility was used several times thereafter and, as far as the countries not members of the Assembly are concerned, it is still used at the present time (in the Conference of Representatives acting as a Conference of Plenipotentiaries).

It is to be noted that, until the entry into force of the 1967 (Stockholm) Act, the system was the following: the Contracting States did not vote a budget; they left it to the Swiss Government to authorize expenses; they merely fixed a ceiling for the expenses; the expenses actually incurred were paid--advanced--by the Swiss Government; once yearly accounts were established and the actual amount of the expenses for the preceding year was known, the Contracting States reimbursed the Swiss Government according to the class-and-unit system.

Although the 1967 (Stockholm) Act preserved the class-and-unit system for the purposes of calculating contributions, it changed the system in all other respects (see Article 25): the Assembly of the Berne Union has to vote a budget in advance of the financial exercise; the budget shows, as a component of the expected income, the total amount of the contributions; the contributions are payable on the first day of each calendar year. There is no maximum but a fixed amount. The expenses are paid by the International Bureau from its own funds (not from funds advanced by the Swiss Government), and the contributions are owed to the International Bureau (not to the Swiss Government).

Other Financial Provisions. Article 25 of the 1967 (Stockholm) Act also introduced some of the other financial provisions usual for intergovernmental organizations: the need for a budget (paragraph (1)(a)); the enumeration of the possible sources of income (paragraph (3)); the possible loss of the right to vote for a country not having paid its contributions for two full years (paragraph (4)(e)); the constitution of a working capital fund (paragraph (6)); the auditing of the accounts (paragraph (8)).

The 1967 (Stockholm) Act squarely faces the accounting problem flowing and existing since the International Bureau of the Paris Union was united with the International Bureau of the Berne Union in 1893 from the fact that the International Bureau (of WIPO) is working not for the Berne Union alone but for several (in 1986, eleven dif

ferent) Unions, each of which has financial autonomy. The said Act provides, in particular, that "Expenses not attributable exclusively to the [Berne] Union but also to one or more other Unions [eg, the Paris Union] administered by the Organization [WIPO] shall be considered as expenses common to the Unions. The share of the [Berne] Union in such common expenses shall be in proportion to the interest the [Berne] Union has in them" (Article 25(1)(c)).

Evolution of the Contributions and the Expenses. From the beginning, the amount of the contributions has been established and the contributions have been payable in Swiss francs. The accounts of the International Bureau are also kept in Swiss francs. The yearly amount of the expenses of the International Bureau of the Berne Union, or on account of the Berne Union, was 23,464 Swiss francs in 1888 and doubled (exceeding the following amounts for the first time) in the following years: 50,000 francs in 1919, 100,000 francs in 1929, 200,000 francs in 1957, 400,000 francs in 1963, 800,000 francs in 1968, 1,600,000 francs in 1973 and 3,200,000 francs in 1978.

The yearly amounts, in Swiss francs, of the expenses of the Berne Union and of the contributions to the International Bureau on account of the Berne Union are shown in the following table:

Because of the gradual diminution of the purchasing power of the Swiss franc (or, for that matter, any other currency) during the last one hundred years, the above figures do not give a true picture of the increase "in real terms" either of the expenses or of the contributions Taking as an example the fact that a daily issue of a newspaper - the Journal de Genève--cost 10 Swiss cents in 1888 and one Swiss franc in 1986, the purchasing power of the amounts concerning the years after 1888 has become gradually lower so as to become in 1986 some ten times less than it would have been in 1888.

Plans for Changing the System of Contributions The class-and-unit system is used not only in the Paris Union, the Berne Union and in WIPO but also in a few other intergovernmental organizations, for example, among the United Nations specialized agencies, in the Universal Postal Union and the International Telecommunication Union On the other hand, the other specialized agencies and the United Nations itself have a contribution system in which countries have no choice but are assessed mainly on the basis of their relative wealth.

The first, and so far only, change in the contribution system of the Berne Union was made by the conference of revision of 1967 (Stockholm), which, as already stated, added one new class (Class VII) to the six classes (I, II, III, IV, V and VI) established in, and in existence since. 1886 That new class (with one unit) raised from 1:8 33 to 1:25 the ratio between the contribution class with the highest and the contribution class with the lowest amount of contributions Accordingly, in 1986, any of the three countries belonging to Class I paid 5.88%. and any of the 29 countries belong ing to Class VII paid 0 24% of the total contribu tions in the Berne Union

The difference between the highest and the lowest contributions is less than in most other intergovernmental organizations. For example in the United Nations, it is 25 to 0.01. or two thousand five hundred-fold. Therefore, the question

amendments to Article 22(2)(a)(vi) and (7)(a) and Article 23(6)(a)(ii) and (iii). The amendments entered into force on November 19, 1984, but, in fact, the amendments were applied from the moment they were adopted by the Assembly, and they were so applied by virtue of a corresponding unanimous decision of the Assembly. Amendments increasing the financial obligations have not so far been adopted by the Assembly.

Amendment of the Administrative Clauses

As already stated, the provisions on the Assembly of the Berne Union, on the Executive Committee of that Assembly, on the role of the International Bureau of WIPO and the Director General of WIPO in respect of the Berne Union, and on the finances of the Berne Union--that is, Articles 22, 23, 24 and 25 of the 1967 (Stockholm) Act are generally referred to as "the administrative clauses." The conference of revision of 1967 (Stockholm), conscious of the fact that revising the text of a multilateral treaty in a conference of revision is a difficult and slow task, decided that there should be a simpler method of revising the said administrative clauses. That simpler method - which should also yield results faster is provided for in Article 26 of the 1967 (Stockholm) Act and consists of the possibility of amending the said administrative clauses, including Article 26 itself, by the Assembly of the Union. The entry into effect of any such amendment requires that three fourths of the countries members of the Assembly (members, that is, at the date of the adoption of the amendment) notify their acceptance of it to the Director General. It is to be noted that, once the amendment enters into effect, it binds also those countries of the Assembly which were members of the Assembly at the said date and which have not notified their acceptance of the amendment. There is one exception to this rule: any amendment that increases the financial obligations of countries of the Berne Union binds only those countries which have notified their acceptance of the amendment. Any country that becomes a member of the Assembly after any amendment enters into force is automatically bound by it. All this is provided for in the said Article 26, which, by the way, is identical in the 1967 (Stockholm) and 1971 (Paris) Acts.

The possibility of amendment offered by the Article under consideration was made use of for the first--and so far only time in 1979, when the Assembly decided to replace its triennial ordinary sessions by biennial ordinary sessions, and the triennial budget and annual budgets by a biennial budget. For that purpose, the Assembly adopted

The Locations of the International Bureau

The International Bureau has been in Switzerland from the very beginning: first in Berne, later and now (in 1986) in Geneva.

The first office of the United Bureaus, in 1886, was in an apartment of ten rooms at Kanonengasse 14 in Berne. Six rooms were used for office purposes, the other four were the apartment of the janitor and for storage. All those premises were rented.

A big change occurred in 1904 when the United Bureaus moved into the Helvetiastrasse in Berne. They rented most of a four-storey house. The house number was 7.

The Helvetiastrasse house was the home of the United Bureaus for 56 years, that is, until 1960. In 1958, the construction of the first building belonging to the United Bureaus started, in Geneva, on a piece of land between the Avenue Giuseppe-Motta (Conseiller fédéral (Minister) from 1912 to 1940) and the Chemin des Colombettes ("colombette" is an edible mushroom (lepiota naucina in Latin, large spored lepiota in English, rosablättriger Schirmling in German, also called bisette in French); it was abundant in the suburban meadows of Geneva, where the street (chemin) is today)). The address of that building is 32, chemin des Colombettes. It is some hundred meters from the Place des Nations, a large square on one side of which is the main entrance to the Palais des Nations, the headquarters (since 1936) of the League of Nations and, since 1945, of the Geneva Office of the United Nations.

The construction of the said building of the United Bureaus was completed in 1960, and the Bureaus moved from Berne to Geneva in 1960. It is now referred to as "the BIRPI Building.** Operations started there on July 20, 1960.

The BIRPI Building, when constructed, had four floors and an unequipped conference room. The size of the building is the same in 1986 as it was in 1960 but, in 1964, the (only) conference room, with some 60 seats, was furnished with simultaneous interpretation equipment. (In 1982, the conference room was dismantled.) The first