The protection of copyright in Côte d'Ivoire is granted to works created in Côte d'Ivoire, works by foreign nationals published for the first time in Côte d'Ivoire and authors whose works are entitled to protection under an international treaty that Côte d'Ivoire is a party to. Works of other foreign authors only benefit from the protection based on reciprocity.

Foreign authors enjoy copyright protection concerning reproduction rights and performance rights. Based on reciprocity, foreign authors may also enjoy protection of making available rights.

The protection of rights in Côte d'Ivoire is granted to performers and producers of phonograms whose performances, phonograms and videograms are protected under international conventions to which Côte d'Ivoire is a party. Foreign performers and producers of phonograms enjoy protection concerning reproduction rights.

Côte d'Ivoire also protects

1) performers whose performance takes place in Côte d'Ivoire, is fixed in a protected phonogram/videogram or audiovisual fixation or if performance is incorporated in a protected broadcasting program and

2) producers of phonograms if the first fixation of sounds was made in Côte d'Ivoire.

Based on the above, qualifying foreign performers and producers of phonograms enjoy protection concerning performance rights and digital exploitation.

“National Treatment” refers to the assimilation of the treatment of foreign right holders to that of domestic right holders. It is a basic rule of most international conventions and mandates that foreign rights holders from contracting countries must receive the protection within any other contracting country as that country grants to its own nationals, ensuring equal rights under the scope of the relevant convention.

General national treatment obligations are set out in Article 5 of the Berne Convention and Article 2 of the Rome Convention, providing that the members of respective conventions must grant to each other’s nationals the rights provided in the convention. Berne Convention also extends the national treatment to “the rights which their respective laws do now or may hereafter grant to their nationals,” while Rome Convention members are not obliged to extend national treatment to the rights of performers and producers of phonograms which are accorded under their national law over and above the rights enshrined in the Rome Convention.

The criteria for eligibility for protection are provided in Article 3 of the Berne Convention and Articles 4 and 5 of the Rome Convention. With regards to national treatment of producers of phonograms, members of the Rome Convention may reserve the right not to apply either the criterion of fixation or that of publication of the phonogram.

As per WIPO, the total number of members to the key treaties above is as follows:

Berne Convention: 181 Members
Rome Convention: 98 Members
WIPO Copyright Treaty: 118 Members
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty: 114 Members
TRIPS Agreement: 166 Members

This is a high-level overview concerning national treatment of music authors, performers and producers of phonograms; for comprehensive and detailed provisions, refer to the laws of each country. The overview:

1) details only the criteria applicable to foreign rights holders, without including the broader set of qualification rules for domestic protection that do not concern them,

2) is limited to performance rights and digital exploitation of recorded music, including works and other protected objects:

- “Performance rights” include radio and TV broadcasting, public performance, and communication to the public,

- “Digital exploitation” includes reproduction rights, distribution rights, communication to the public and making available rights.

The term "based on reciprocity" used in the overview for some countries means that Country A will protect the works of authors or other right holders who are nationals of Country B that is not a member of treaties Country A is a party to, and whose works or other protected objects were first published outside of Country A, only if Country B offer similar copyright protection to Country A’s authors or other rights holders and works and other protected objects respectively first published in Country A.

The term "treaty" in the overview includes conventions and international agreements.