Blakeney, Michael --- "Hans Christian Andersen and the Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions" [2006] ELECD 103; in Porsdam, Helle (ed), "Copyright and Other Fairy Tales" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: Copyright and Other Fairy Tales

Editor(s): Porsdam, Helle

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845426019

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: Hans Christian Andersen and the Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions

Author(s): Blakeney, Michael

Number of pages: 21

Extract:

6. Hans Christian Andersen and the
protection of traditional cultural
expressions
Michael Blakeney

THE PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL CULTURAL
EXPRESSION IN THE INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY ARENA
Probably the first step towards establishing a political agenda for the protec-
tion of traditional cultural expressions was an African Study Meeting on
Copyright, held in Brazzaville in August 1963, which had advocated copyright
concessions for developing countries including reductions in the duration of
protection and the protection of folklore.1 At the time of the Stockholm
Conference for the Revision of the Berne Convention, which was convened in
June 1967, there were ten African states2 included in the 58 members of the
Berne Union.
The Stockholm Conference witnessed the first significant agitation from
developing countries for an acknowledgement of their particular circum-
stances. In the preparations for the Stockholm Conference, it was proposed
that the concerns of developing countries could be accommodated in a separ-
ate protocol. This question was the subject of some fairly acrimonious
debates at Stockholm.3 The critical issues for developing countries were the
definition of developing-country translation rights and compulsory licensing.
The establishment of a protective regime for folklore was a burgeoning
consideration. Although a Protocol was grudgingly adopted by the final
plenary session of the Stockholm Conference, it did not come into force as it
failed to secure the requisite number of ratifications. This Protocol became an
Appendix to the Paris Act, which was adopted by the Paris Revision
Conference of 1971.
The current significance of the ...