@article{42037, recid = {42037}, author = {Ginsburg, Jane C.}, title = {Toward Supranational Copyright Law? The WTO Panel Decision and the 'Three-Step Test' for Copyright Exceptions}, pages = {16 pages}, abstract = {The WTO panel decision marks the first time an international adjudicative body has interpreted either art. 13 of TRIPs, or art. 9.2 of the Berne Convention, the text TRIPs incorporates, and generalizes from the Berne Convention reproduction right to all TRIPs and Berne rights under copyright. Berne art. 9.2/TRIPs art. 13 impose the "three-step test" to evaluate the legitimacy of exceptions and limitations on copyright; the panel's decision extensively analyzes each of the steps. As other multilateral instruments, such as the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty (art. 10) and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty (art. 16.2), as well as the pending European Union Information Society Directive (art. 5.4), increasingly adopt the "three-step test," the WTO Panel decision may significantly advance the development of a truly supra national law of copyright. This article will analyze the Panel's interpretation of the test's three steps, and their application to the U.S.-law exemption. The article will also compare the Panel's treatment of the three-step test with the prior analyses proposed by several Berne Convention commentators, in order to reflect on what the Panel's analysis might mean for copyright exceptions more broadly. It is important to recognize, however, that the decision's actual impact on international copyright law will also depend on other considerations that will not be addressed here, including: Member State compliance with Panel decisions; the precedential effect of one Panel decision on later dispute resolution panels; and the willingness of national courts to look to WTO Panel decisions for guidance in evaluating local exceptions.}, url = {http://tind.wipo.int/record/42037}, }