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Berne-plus,adj. Copyright. Of or relating to a copyright-treaty provision that affords greater intellectual-property protection than the minimum required by the Berne Convention, either by granting stronger rights or by extending protection to new forms of subject matter. • The term arose during negotiations over the TRIPs Agreement, reflecting the principle that the treaty should incorporate…

Berne Paris Act.Copyright. A 1971 revision of the Berne Convention reducing the obligations of nations that became members as colonies of signatories. — Also termed 1971 Paris Act of the Berne Convention.[Blacks Law 8th]

Berne-minus,adj. Copyright. Of or relating to the second sentence of Art. 9(1) of the TRIPs Agreement, which provides that intellectual-property rights and duties under the Berne Convention will not be expressly enforced on noncomplying signators through the TRIPs Agreement. U.S. reluctance to expressly protect moral rights of authors and artists has been criticized as a…

Berne Copyright Convention.See BERNE CONVENTION.[Blacks Law 8th]

  Berne Convention Implementation Act.Copyright. The 1988 federal law making the United States a signatory to the Berne Convention, 102 years after the convention was first opened for signatures. • The law ended rigid formalities for registration and marking, although registration is still required before U.S.-copyright owners can sue for infringement. Pub. L. No. 100-568,…

Berne Convention.Copyright. An international copyright treaty providing that works created by citizens of one signatory nation will be fully protected in other signatory nations, without the need for local formalities. • The treaty was drafted in Berne in 1886 and revised in Berlin in 1908. It is now administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization…

Berne Additional Protocol.Copyright. A 1914 amendment to the Berne Convention providing for reprisals against a foreign national who publishes simultaneously in both a member nation and the author’s own nonmember and nonreciprocating country. • The reprisal was aimed at the United States, which until 1989 refused to join the Berne Convention but whose citizens could…

Berlin Act.Copyright. A 1908 revision of the Berne Convention prohibiting formalities as a requirement for copyright protection, recommending (but not requiring) a term of protection equal to the life of the author plus 50 years, and expanding the types of works eligible for copyright protection. • Motion pictures were included in copyright protection for the…

bequest (bi-kwest), n.1. The act of giving property (usu. personal property) by will. [Cases: Wills  1. C.J.S. Wills §§ 1, 3, 174.] 2. Property (usu. personal property other than money) disposed of in a will. — Also termed bequeathal (bi-kwee-th<<schwa>>l). Cf. DEVISE; LEGACY. charitable bequest.A bequest given to a philanthropic organization. See CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION. [Cases:…

bequeathal. See BEQUEST. [Blacks Law 8th]