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3. Copyright United Nations Publications include certain titles containing statistical, scientific or other specialized technical material - in many cases supplied to the United Nations by or with the co-operation of Governments of Member States, which might not have been prepared to furnish the same information to commercial publishers. Such material is copyrighted to discourage its unauthorized reproduction by commercial publishers, which could do so at relatively low cost by photo-offset or other reproduction methods, and to discourage unauthorized editions in languages in which the United Nations does not itself itself publish, where only such items as column headigs, sub-titles and explanatory notes require translation. In some cases the decision to copyright has been based mainly on financial considerations.
4. Some publications have been copyrighted to secure the cooperation of outside publishers; the Yearbook of the United Nations was originally copyrighted for that reason and the practice has been continued since the United Nations itself became the publisher.
5. Other publications which may be added to the list from time to time by decision of the Publications Board, which may consider proposals by departments or offices to copyright publications in the light of the above considerations, notably, the desirability of retaining copyright to ensure that United Nations material is used in the best interests of the Organization, to prevent the unauthorized use or misrepresentation of such material, to protect the revenue the Organization expects from the sale of its publications and to secure the co-operation of external publishers.
II. PRACTICE REGARDING COPYRIGHT
6. The term "United Nations publication" means any written material which is issued by or for the United Nations to the general public, normally under an authorization of the Publications Board. Such publications, which are usually offered for sale, include major studies, reports, statistical compilations and the proceedings of certain conferences, seminars and symposia, as well as such serial publications as yearbooks, Official Records of the principal organs of the United Nations, the United Nations Treaty Series and technical journals and bulletins.
B. Legal Position
7. Under the Universal Copyright Convention, Geneva, 1952 (revised at Paris, 1971) and Protocol 2 annexed to that Convention, the United Nations is able to retain copyright in appropriate publications on the completion of certain simple formalities. Detailed instructions on the procedure for obtaining copyright in the United States, in accordance with Section 104 (b) (3) of the Copyright Act of 1976,[lapsus] and in the countries which are parties to the Universal Copyright Convention and to the Berne Convention are set out in paragraphs 17 and 18 below.
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