The basic law on copyright in Burma is The Copyright Act of 1911 (promulgated 1914 and sometimes known as the 1914 Act) and the Merchandise Marks Act 1889. Related and subsequent amending legislation are listed at the relevant WIPO page. Burma has not signed the Berne Convention but it has signed the TRIPS Agreement of the World Trade Organisation. Burma is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The 1911 Act (formerly known as the India Act III, 1914) was based on the 1911 Copyright Act of the United Kingdom. Despite the Act, no formal copyright registration procedure has ever been instituted in Burma. The Act also does not recognise the copyright of any other country and registration of copyright must be carried out using other methods that have been developed over the years. In 2004, new copyright legislation began to be drafted based upon the WIPO model law but that legislation has never entered into force.