The Senate voted 89-0 approval Wednesday of legislation paving the way for the United States to join a century-old agreement among 76 nations that grants global copyrights to literary and artistic works. ``Adherence to the convention will greatly benefit the United States,'' said Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on patents, copyrights and trademarks. ``It will provide the guidelines which govern the copyright regulations between nations.'' Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ranking Republican on the panel, agreed. ``Our participation will provide benefits to American copyright holders and artists.'' The bill would change U.S. copyright law, paving the way for Senate consent to ratification of the treaty, signed in Berne, Switzerland, on Sept. 9, 1886. Ratification will come on a separate vote. The Berne Convention, which has been signed by 76 nations, spells out minimum copyright standards, detailing what is protected and how long the protection lasts. The pact prohibits member nations from discriminating against copyrighted works of other member nations. It also provides for copyright protection to take effect in other countries automatically without the necessity of government formalities, such as providing official notice of a copyright. The chief dispute over the legislation involved how best to protect what are known as ``moral rights'' _ the authority of a writer or artist to guard the integrity of his work against what he thinks are damaging changes or misuse. Artists have generally argued for stiff coverage in U.S. law of moral rights. Critics have said that strong coverage is unnecessary, although they support the idea of protecting the artistic integrity of works. American copyright law doesn't cover moral rights. The Berne Convention requires signing nations to protect in law the right of an artist to ensure the integrity of his work. However, that protection doesn't have to be part of copyright law. The bill approved Wednesday sidesteps that issue, providing that neither the measure nor adherence to the Berne Convention expands or contracts a copyright holder's rights to object to any change in a protected work.
