C. International Law
There is no such thing as an international copyright that will protect a creator's work throughout the entire world. Protection in a country depends on the laws of that nation. Most countries offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions.
(http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#wci)
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an intergovernmental organization with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It is part of the United Nations system of organizations. It began on July 14, 1967. "WIPO is responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the world through cooperation among States, and for administration of various multilateral treaties dealing with the legal and administrative aspects for intellectual property." As of August 1998, there were over 170 States who had membership in this organization.
(http://www.wipo.org/eng/)
WIPO defines works that are copyrightable as "literary and artistic works". It states that "pratically all national copyright laws provide for the protection of the following types of works:
•literary works
•musical works
•choreographic works
•artistic works
•maps and technical drawings
•photographic works
•audiovisual works"
(http://www.wipo.org/eng/)
Copyright is given to the author of the work, with some exceptions. WIPO states that copyright protection begins as soon as the work is created. Like United States law, international copyright has time limits. Most countries end a copyright fifty years after the death of the author.
"The laws of a State relating to copyright are generally concerned only with acts accomplished or committed in the State itself. Consequently, they can not provide for the protection of the State's citizens in another State. It was in order to guarantee protection in foreign States for their own citizens that, in 1886, ten States established the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artisitic Works by signing the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Today, its membership is more than ten times larger.
(http://www.wipo.org/eng/)