There is an international agreement Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_C...Artistic_Works
The Berne Convention requires its signatories to recognise the copyright of works of authors from other signatory countries (known as members of the Berne Union) in the same way it recognises the copyright of its own nationals. For example, French copyright law applies to anything published or performed in France, regardless of where it was originally created.
This page lists all the countries that have signed the agreement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ght_agreements