So What’s Next?
THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY has exceptional lobbying prowess, and it’s extremely adept at locating sympathetic lawmaking forums in which to pitch its case. Globally, copyright is often interwoven into trade agreements. For example, every country that joins the World Trade Organization also has to sign something called the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement, a precursor to the WCT), which in turn requires them to agree to the Berne Convention. So if your country wants to join the WTO, it has to sign the Berne Convention, too.