The Rome Convention

A very important international treaty protecting performers' rights is the Rome Convention. The countries who signed and ratified this treaty have largely based their legislation on it. One of the convention’s principles is that countries grant nationals of other signatories the same level of protection as their local artists.

However, the rules determining whether a recording qualifies for neighbouring rights royalties can differ per country. In some countries, the artist's nationality is relevant. In others, it is the country of recording, the country where the record label is based, or even the country where the track was released. To complicate things even further, there are countries using a combination of rules.