Macau joins WIPO copyright treaty

The Chinese government has announced that the special administrative region of Macau will adopt the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Performance and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).

According to a notice on WIPO's website, the government has deposited an instrument of accession outlining that it intends Macau to be part of the agreement.

The WPPT was adopted in Geneva in 1996 in order to protect the rights of performers and producers of sound recordings.

It grants performers the right of reproduction, the right of distribution, the right of rental, and the right of making their performances available.

China first deposited its accession to join the treaty in 2007 but said that, unless it notified WIPO otherwise, it would not apply in Hong Kong and Macau, China’s two special administrative regions.

However, the government updated its accession to include Hong Kong in 2008 and Macau earlier this month, on August 6.

A statement on the WIPO website says, "In accordance with the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the Government of the People's Republic of China decides that the Treaty shall apply to the Macau Special Administrative Region."

A former Portuguese colony, Macau was administered by Portugal from the mid-16th century until 1999 when sovereignty was handed back to China.

The treaty will take effect on November 6, this year.