Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/11pdf/10-545.pdf
Page Number: 11.0

Cite as:  565 U. S. ____ (2012) 

7 

Opinion of the Court 

Berne,  however,  did  not  provide  a  potent  enforcement
mechanism.  The Convention contemplates dispute resolu-
tion before the International Court of Justice.  Art. 33(1).
But it specifies no sanctions for noncompliance and allows 
parties, at any time, to declare themselves “not . . . bound”
by  the  Convention’s  dispute  resolution  provision.  Art. 
33(2)–(3)  828  U. N. T. S.,  at  277.    Unsurprisingly,  no  en-
forcement actions were launched before 1994.  D. Gervais, 
The  TRIPS  Agreement  213,  and  n.  134  (3d  ed.  2008). 
Although  “several  Berne  Union  Members  disagreed  with 
[our]  interpretation  of  Article  18,”  the  USTR  told  Con-
gress, the Berne Convention did “not provide a meaningful
dispute  resolution  process.”  URAA  Joint  Hearing  137 
(statement  of  Shapiro).  This  shortcoming  left  Congress
“free  to  adopt  a  minimalist  approach  and  evade  Article 
18.”  Karp, Final Report, Berne Article 18 Study on Retro-
active  United  States  Copyright  Protection  for  Berne  and 
other Works, 20 Colum.-VLA J. L. & Arts 157, 172 (1996). 
The landscape changed in 1994.  The Uruguay round of 
multilateral trade negotiations produced the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and the Agreement on Trade-Related 
Aspects  of  Intellectual  Property  Rights  (TRIPS).7    The  
United  States  joined  both.    TRIPS  mandates,  on  pain  of 
WTO  enforcement,  implementation  of  Berne’s  first  21
articles.  TRIPS, Art. 9.1, 33 I. L. M. 1197, 1201 (requiring 
adherence to all but the “moral rights” provisions of Arti-
cle  6bis).  The  WTO  gave  teeth  to  the  Convention’s  re-
quirements:  Noncompliance  with  a  WTO  ruling  could 

—————— 

parties calls into question the dissent’s assertion that, despite the 1988 
Act’s minimalist approach, “[t]he United States obtained the benefits of
Berne  for  many  years.”  Post,  at  22–23.    During  this  six-year  period, 
Congress  had  reason  to  doubt  that  U. S.  authors  enjoyed  the  full 
benefits of Berne membership. 

7 Marrakesh  Agreement  Establishing  the  World  Trade  Organization, 

Apr. 15, 1994, 1867 U. N. T. S. 154.