BERNE CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF
LITERARY AND ARTISTIC WORKS (Paris Text 1971)

Article III

(1) Any country which has declared that it will avail itself of the faculty provided for in this Article shall be entitled to substitute for the exclusive right of reproduction provided for in Article 9 a system of non-exclusive and non-transferable licenses, granted by the competent authority under the following conditions and subject to Article IV.

(2)

• (a) If, in relation to a work to which this article applies by virtue of paragraph (7), after the expiration of
  • (i) the relevant period specified in paragraph (3), commencing on the date of first publication of a particular edition of the work, or
  • (ii) any longer period determined by national legislation of the country referred to in paragraph (1), commencing on the same date, copies of such edition have not been distributed in that country to the general public or in connection with systematic instructional activities, by the owner of the right of reproduction or with his authorization, at a price reasonably related to that normally charged in the country for comparable works, any national of such country may obtain a license to reproduce and publish such edition at that or a lower price for use in connection with systematic instructional activities.
• (b) A license to reproduce and publish an edition which has been distributed as described in sub-paragraph (a) may also be granted under the conditions provided for in this article if, after the expiration of the applicable period, no authorized copies of that edition have been on sale for a period of six months in the country concerned to the general public or in connection with systematic instructional activities at a price reasonably related to that normally charged in the country for comparable works.

(3) The period referred to in paragraph (2)(a)(i) shall be five years, except that

• (i) for works of the natural and physical sciences, including mathematics, and of technology, the period shall be three years;
• (ii) for works of fiction, poetry, drama and music, and for art books, the period shall be seven years.

(4)

• (a) No license obtainable after three years shall be granted under this article until a period of six months has elapsed
  • (i) from the date on which the applicant complies with the requirements mentioned in Article IV(1), or
  • (ii) where the identity or the address of the owner of the right of reproduction is unknown, from the date on which the applicant sends, as provided for in Article IV(2), copies of his application submitted to the authority competent to grant the license.
• (b) Where licenses are obtainable after other periods and Article IV(2) is applicable, no license shall be granted until a period of three months has elapsed from the date of the dispatch of the copies of the application.
• (c) If, during the period of six or three months referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), a distribution as described in paragraph (2)(a) has taken place, no license shall be granted under this article.
• (d) No license shall be granted if the author has withdrawn from circulation all copies of the edition for the reproduction and publication of which the license has been applied for.

(5) A license to reproduce and publish a translation of a work shall not be granted under this article in the following cases:

• (i) where the translation was not published by the owner of the right of translation or with his authorization, or
• (ii) where the translation is not in a language in general use in the country in which the license is applied for.

(6) If copies of an edition of a work are distributed in the country referred to in paragraph (1) to the general public or in connection with systematic instructional activities, by the owner of the right of reproduction or with his authorization, at a price reasonably related to that normally charged in the country for comparable works, any license granted under this article shall terminate if such edition is in the same language and with substantially the same content as the edition which was published under the said license. Any copies already made before the license terminates may continue to be distributed until their stock is exhausted.

(7)

• (a) Subject to sub-paragraph (b), the works to which this article applies shall be limited to works published in printed or analogous forms of reproduction.
• (b) This article shall also apply to the reproduction in audio-visual form of lawfully made audio-visual fixations including any protected works incorporated therein and to the translation of any incorporated text into a language in general use in the country in which the license is applied for, always provided that the audio-visual fixations in question were prepared and published for the sole purpose of being used in connection with systematic instructional activities.