A European company in the dental instruments sector was selling their product in China through a Chinese distributor. They discovered a competitor in China was offering a similar product, but built to lower-specification

International instruments do not usually constitute a directly applicable source of rights to private parties. An international treaty rather imposes obligations on the states, parties to the convention, to adapt their domestic legislation according to its provisions. In the field of copyright and related rights, the relevant conventions establish a certain level of protection in the contracting states through the principle of national treatment and the guaranteeing of a number of minimum standards. International copyright law is complex in its detail and in its relationship with national laws. These complexities include national laws giving effect to the internationally agreed minimum standards and where national law allows for exceptions to those standards that they comply with the internationally agreed frameworks for exceptions. An important aspect of understanding and dealing with the international complexity is the interpretation of international law at both international and domestic levels. According to the national treatment principle, works originating in a contracting state are protected in every other contracting state in the same manner as these states protect works originating in their own territory. For example, a textbook first published in contracting State A will be protected in contracting State B in the same manner as State B protects a school text originating in its own territory. The guaranteed minimum standards ensure that the protection provided by national laws of states parties and notably scope of rights, possible exceptions and limitations, as well as terms of protection and does not fall below the level agreed in the respective international instrument. Often there are several possible ways for national legislations to comply with international prescriptions. In order to find out how copyright and related rights are protected abroad, one has therefore always to consult the laws of the respective country in which protection is sought. The central feature of the Berne Convention is that it prohibits member countries from imposing "formalities" on copyright protection, in the sense that the enjoyment and exercise of copyright cannot be subject to any formality except in the country of origin. Likewise, foreign jurisdictions cannot impose similar formality requirements on U.S. copyright owners as a condition to filing suit in their national courts, even though they can impose those requirements on their own nationals. The other main characteristics of the Berne Convention are the concepts of "minimum standards" and "national treatment." "Minimum standards" are the baseline that all nations must provide to non-domestic claimants. The "national treatment" principle in copyright law states that authors should enjoy the same protection for their works in other countries as those countries accord their own authors. Therefore, a country that is a member of the Berne Union must afford copyright protection to foreign nationals without a requirement of any formalities (like use of a copyright notice or a registration requirement). Foreign nationals must be afforded the same rights and treatment that a domestic copyright holder would receive. European company can file for copyright violation against the Chinese company under Berne Convention or the Universal Copyright Convention.