Pot - meet kettle
First - I am not a Lawyer. Though some of what follows was provided by a US IP lawyer in another place. Second I don't agree with thr UK Govt. approach in any way - but this from the US is a bit rich.
It's a bit apropos, as I've been watching a related discussion on copyright and the ability of a litigant in the US to pursue attorney costs and statutory damages if they're not registered under US copyright, but registered elsewhere. In essence, US Title 17 (the relevant statute) says, sure. You can open a case here. But even if you win, you can't get Attorney fees or statutory damages. And it doesn't matter if Berne says we have to give it to you - because we don't care. So nyah, nyah, nyah.
Here are the selections from Title 17:
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17 USC 104 - Subject matter of copyright: National origin
(c)
Effect of Berne Convention. No right or interest in a work eligible for protection under this title may be claimed by virtue of, or in reliance upon, the provisions of the Berne Convention, or the adherence of the United States thereto. Any rights in a work eligible for protection under this title that derive from this title, other Federal or State statutes, or the common law, shall not be expanded or reduced by virtue of, or in reliance upon, the provisions of the Berne Convention, or the adherence of the United States thereto.
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Here's the section on requirement of US registration to gather Attorney fees and statutory damages:
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17 USC 411 - Registration and infringement actions
(a)
Except for an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a) [17 USC 106A(a)] (GS – my addition. This section appears to refer to works of art only), and subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title.
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There is supporting case law, where Berne Convention rights were specifically found to be non-valid. The case in question was "Elsevier V UnitedHealthGroup". The following was sent to a group of which I'm a member by a US Atttorney:
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In *Elsevier v. UnitedHealthGroup*, Reed Elsevier, a foreign company whose copyrights are by and large not registered in the US, but are valid elsewhere with treat parties, argued that it was entitled to attorneys fees and statutory damages under 17 USC 412. United Health Group argued that 17 USC 412, which states:
"no award of statutory damages or of attorney's fees...shall be made for...any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration, unless such registration is made within three months after the first publication of the work."
The court held that notwithstanding the text of the Berne Convention' s. 412 contains no exception for foreign works, and therefore Elsevier, a foreign rights holder, was not eligible to seek statutory damages/attorney's fees.
It further held that the Berne Convention is not "self-executing," a legal term that means that if Congress doesn't write laws that are consistent with the treaty, the treaty itself cannot be used to determine the scope of your rights.
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So in essence, the court said what the UK are saying. "Berne Convention? Huh? Say what? Oh, well. Tough."
Biting the hand that feeds IT
