The first international agreement to try to make sure copyrights were respected in other countries as well as the country of origin is the Berne Convention of 1886. The Berne Convention contains fundamental principles of mutual protection by means of national treatment.
Each member state of the Berne Convention must offer the same protection it offers to works of its national creators to works by authors from other member states. In addition according to the Berne Convention, works do not need to be registered in order to be protected by copyright. Copyright protection is automatic from the moment the work is created.
Since the adoption of the Berne Convention in 1886 authors have enjoyed a set of common rights in more than 160 countries that have signed the Convention.
However, PNG is not a member of the Bern Convention