Multilateral Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Copyright Royalties

For the purposes of this Convention and subject to the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, copyright royalties are payments of any kind made on the basis of the domestic copyright laws of the Contracting State in which these royalties are originally due, for the use of, or the right to use, a copyright in a literary, artistic or scientific work, as defined in the multilateral copyright conventions, including such payments made in respect of legal or compulsory licences or in respect of the "droit de suite".

This Convention shall not, however, be taken to cover royalties due in respect of the exploitation of cinematographic works or works produced by a process analogous to cinematography as defined in the domestic copyright laws of the Contracting State in which these royalties are originally due when the said royalties are due to the producers of such works or their heirs or successors-in-title.

With the exception of payments made in respect of the `droit de suite' the following shall not be considered as copyright royalties for the purposes of this Convention: payments for the purchase, rental, loan or any other transfers of a right in the material base of a literary, artistic or scientific work, even if the amount of this payment is fixed in the light of the copyright royalties due or if the latter are determined, in whole or in part, by that of the said payment. When a right in the material base of work is transferred as an accessory to the transfer of the entitlement to use a copyright in the work, only the payments in return for this entitlement are copyright royalties for the purposes of this Convention.

In the case of payments made in respect of the "droit de suite" and in all cases of the transfer of a right in the material base of a work referred to ,in paragraph 3 of this Article and independently of the fact that the transfer in question is or is not free of charge, any payment made in settlement of or as a reimbursement for an insurance premium, transport or warehousing costs, agent's commission or any other remuneration for a service, and any other expenses incurred, directly or indirectly, by the removal of the material base in question, including customs duties and other related taxes and special levies, shall not be a copyright royalty for the purposes of this Convention.

For the purposes of this Convention, the State of which the beneficiary of the copyright royalties is a resident shall be deemed to be the State of residence of the beneficiary.

A person shall be deemed to be a resident of a State if he is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of effective management or any other relevant criterion as agreed to in a bilateral agreement concerning double taxation of copyright royalties. But this term does not include any person who is liable to tax in that State in respect only of income from sources in that State as capital he possesses there.

by that State or by a political or administrative subdivision or local authority of that State;

by a resident of that State except where they result from an activity carried on by him in another State through a permanent establishment or from a fixed base;

by a non-resident of that State, where they result from an activity carried on by him through a permanent establishment or from a fixed base.

Each Contracting State undertakes to make every possible effort, in accordance with its Constitution and the guiding principles set out above, to avoid double taxation of copyright royalties, where possible, and, should it subsist, to eliminate it or to reduce its effect. This action shall be carried out by means of bilateral agreements or by way of domestic measures.

The bilateral agreements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article include those which deal with double taxation in general or those which are limited to double taxation of copyright royalties. An optional model of a bilateral agreement of the latter category, comprising several alternatives, is attached to this Convention of which it does not form an integral part. The Contracting States, while respecting the provisions of this Convention, may conclude bilateral agreements based on the norms that are most acceptable to them in each particular case. The application of bilateral agreements concluded earlier by the Contracting States is in no way affected by this Convention.

In case of adoption of domestic measures, each Contracting State may, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1 of this Convention, define copyright royalties by reference to its own copyright legislation.

The Secretariat of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization shall assemble and publish relevant normative information concerning taxation of copyright royalties.

Each Contracting State shall communicate, as soon as possible, to the Secretariat of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the text of any new law, as well as all official texts concerning the taxation of copyright royalties, including the text of any specific bilateral agreement on the relevant provisions on the said subject contained in any bilateral agreement dealing with double taxation in general.

The Secretariat of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization shall furnish to any Contracting State, upon its request, information on questions relating to this Convention; they shall also carry out studies and provide services in order to facilitate the application of this Convention.

This Convention shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Organization. It shall remain open until October 31, 1980, for signature by any State that is a member of the United Nations, any of the Specialized Agencies brought into relationship with the United Nations or the International Atomic Energy Agency, or is a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice.

This Convention shall be subject to ratification or acceptance by the signatory States. It shall be open for accession by any State referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Instruments of ratification, acceptance or assession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

It is understood that, at the time a State becomes bound by this Convention, it will be in a position in accordance with its domestic law to give effect to the provisions of this Convention.

This Convention shall enter into force three months after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession.

For each State ratifying, accepting, or acceding to this Convention after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession, this Convention shall enter into force three months after the deposit of its instrument.

Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention by a written notifi-cation addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Such denunciation shall take effect twelve months after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

After this Convention has been in force for five years, any Contracting State may, by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, request that a conference be convened for the purpose of revising the Convention. The Secretary-General shall notify all Contracting States of this request. If, within a period of six months following the date of notification by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, not less than one-third of the Contracting States, provided the number is not less than five, notify him of their concurrence with the request, the Secretary-General shall inform the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, who shall convene a revision conference with a view to introducing into this Convention amendments designed to improve action against double taxation of copyright royalties.

The adoption of any revision of this Convention shall require an affirmative vote by two-thirds of the States attending the revision conference, provided that this majority includes two-thirds of the States which, at the time of the revision conference, are parties to the Convention.

Any State which becomes a party to the Convention after the entry into force of a new Convention wholly or partially revising this Convention shall, failing an expression of a different intention by that State, be considered as:

This Convention shall remain in force as regards relations between or with the Contracting States, which have not become parties to the revised convention.

This Convention shall be signed in a single copy in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish, the five texts being equally authoritative.

Official texts shall be established by the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, after consultation with the interested Governments concerned, in the German, Italian and Portuguese languages.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify the States referred to in Article 11, paragraph 1, as well as the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization of

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit two certified copies of this Convention to all States referred to in Article 11, paragraph 1.

A dispute between two or more Contracting States concerning the interpretation or in the matter of application of this Convention, not settled by negotiation, shall, unless the States concerned agree on some other method of settlement, be brought before the International Court of Justice for determination by it.

Any State may, at the time of signing this Convention or depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession, declare that it does not consider itself bound by the provisions of paragraph 1. In the event of a dispute between that State and any other Contracting State, the provisions of paragraph I shall not apply.

Any State that has made a declaration in accordance with paragraph 2 may at any time withdraw it by notification addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations.