COPYRIGHT ISSUES IN THE PROTECTION OF ARCHITECTURAL WORKS

France and Belgium were the first nations which proposed the inclusion of protection for “architectural works” in the Berne Convention in 1896. This move was majorly supported by the United Kingdom. United Kingdom copyright law protects architectural works as a sub-category of artistic works.^[1] The U.K. Parliament has given a broad definition to the term “work of architecture”. According to the definition, a “work of architecture” means “a building or a model for a building”. A “building” under the U.K. Copyright law is defined as including “any fixed structure” and “any part of a fixed structure”. Most other common law countries take a similarly broad approach to copyright protection for architectural works.