International fight for copyright

The fight for the copyright of media employees is a global issue, and the work to secure the rights of individual media employees therefore transcends borders in companies with international business.

For a number of years, the Danish Union of Journalists has been actively involved in influencing the Danish Copyright Act as well as collaborated with other unions of journalists and rights organisations around the world to influence and coordinate copyright work internationally. We are convinced that the efforts we invest in international copyright work benefit our members and their own fight to protect their rights.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has an Authors’ Rights Expert Group (AREG). The Danish Union of Journalists has done extensive work for AREG, including chairing the group for about 25 years. This work also generated valuable knowledge for the work of the Danish Joint Council of Authors' and Performers' Rights. The members of this council include all unions for inventors and performing artists in Denmark.

Via its role in the AREG, the Danish Union of Journalists has represented the IFJ in the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) where the Danish Union of Journalists for long periods have served on the board on behalf of authors around the world. In recent years, the work for the IFRRO has included considerable efforts to create close and systematic collaboration between authors and performing artists around the world. This helps highlight the importance of copyright, also for individuals supplying content to the media.

Via the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Danish Union of Journalists has actively influenced work  in the European Commission and the European Parliament and contributes to this work on an ongoing basis  when it is relevant for the media and the people who supply content to the media.

At an international level, copyright issues are handled by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). WIPO is an organisation under the UN that administers a world-wide convention on copyright (the Berne Convention). The roles of the Danish Union of Journalists within IFJ and IFRRO have therefore also led to many assignments for this organisation.