Material reciprocity definition
Material reciprocity means that country A will protect the citizens of country B in the same manner as country B protects the citizens of country A. General rule the Copyright Conventions are opposed to material reciprocity though there are exceptions13. This is made plain in the 'Declaration Against Material Reciprocity' which is included in the Report of the 1971 Paris Revision of Berne Convention." One of the advantages of avoiding material reciprocity in Copyright Conventions is that the courts of member states do not have to interpret the laws of other member states to see whether protection is given in respect of a particular right. The rule of national treatment enables them instead to apply their own law to foreigners. A disadvantage is that it permits sometimes great disparities between the effective levels of protection so that the citizens of high-level protection countries get less rights in some Convention countries than they enjoy at home, whereas the citizens of low protection countries get better protection m some Convention countries than they get at home. However, this is balanced by the advantage that wide-ranging copyright relations are facilitated between countries of differing ideologies and differing stages of economic development.