Commons:Copyright rules by territory: Difference between revisions

Shortcut: COM:CRT

Worldwide map of copyright term length

Laws about copyright differ from country to country. Images uploaded to Commons, unless uploaded from the United States, involve the interaction of two or more copyright jurisdictions. The laws of individual countries differ especially in the following points:

• The time for which a copyright applies. In most countries, copyright on works published during the author's lifetime expires 50 or 70 years after the death of the author (p.m.a.).
• Status of works of the government. In many (but not all) countries, documents published by the government for official use are in the public domain.
• Material applicable for copyright. In some jurisdictions, pictures of artistic work like architecture, sculptures, clothing etc. can not be used freely without the consent of the creator of the original artwork.

Almost all countries in the world are party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (see here for the text). Following this convention, countries enforce copyrights from other countries, according to certain rules.

Full details for each country or territory are covered below. Some countries also have individual pages (highlighted in bold), which you can reach directly from the summary table below.

Countries with summary:
Note: Links go to country specific laws sections below summary table.

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Algeria
• Argentina
• Czech Republic
• France
• Germany
• India
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Peru
• United Kingdom

International law

Berne Convention

Almost all countries in the world are party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (see here for the text). Following this convention, countries enforce copyrights from other countries, according to certain rules. One consequence of these rules is that we should always care about the laws of the country of origin of the work.

Most important is article 7, which sets the term of duration of the protections granted by the Convention. The Convention sets a minimal term of 50 years after the life of the authors (subject to some exceptions). However, each country is free to set longer terms.

In any case, the term shall be governed by the legislation of the country where protection is claimed; however, unless the legislation of that country otherwise provides, the term shall not exceed the term fixed in the country of origin of the work.

Even though many countries have accepted the rule of the shorter term based on Article 7 of the Convention, please note that the United States Copyright Act has not honored such a rule. For example, 17 U.S.C. 104A(a)(1)(B) may restore copyright on a work published outside the USA for the remaining American copyright term even if its copyright may expire sooner in its source country. This may affect works that were still copyrighted on 1 January 1996 in their source countries. This means that a work now in the public domain in a Commons user's home country might still be legally copyrighted in the USA. For further details, please visit w:en:Wikipedia:Non-US_copyrights#Dates_of_restoration_and_terms_of_protection for a list of American copyright restoration dates.

European copyright law

The European Union has issued directives harmonizing copyright rules in the European Union (see Copyright law of the European Union). Note, however, that directives, unlike European regulations, do not apply uniformly. They have to be transposed into national law by each country's legislature, and they often offer significant leeway in doing so. This is, for instance, the case for the legal exemptions of copyright (equivalent of "fair use"), which are allowed to differ within certain limits.

The most important, for our purposes, is the Directive on harmonizing the term of copyright protection (text). This directive sets the duration of copyright to 70 years following the death of the author (for multiple authors, of the last author; for collective, pseudonymous or anonymous works, following the date of publication).

However, this directive does not shorten already running extended copyright terms in countries that apply them.

The 2001 EUCD, article, 5 specifies exceptions to copyright. However, only one of these exceptions is mandatory (it concerns caching). The others are optional, meaning that for each exception, each country is free to choose whether it adopts it and how it restricts it. Thus, one should not assume that one exception true in one EU country applies in another. Notably, each country is free to chose how to copyright objects permanently located in public places and "simple" photographs.

Finally, there is a considerable amount of case law or jurisprudence on these issues. In some cases, they may create rights or restrictions that do not appear in the text of the law. Thus, one should always be wary in how the law is interpreted in the country of interest, as opposed to merely reading the legal texts.

Country-specific laws

Laws about copyright differ from country to country. Images uploaded to Commons, unless uploaded from the United States, involve the interaction of two or more copyright jurisdictions. Generally, the policy applied on Commons is to only allow images that can be used in all (or at least most) countries. The laws of individual countries differ especially in the following points:

• The time for which a copyright applies. In most countries, copyright expires no later than 70 years after the death of the author (p.m.a.).
• Status of works of the government. In many (but not all) countries, documents published by the government for official use are in the public domain.
• Material applicable for copyright. In some jurisdictions, pictures of artistic work like architecture, sculptures, clothing etc. can not be used freely without the consent of the creator of the original artwork.

The safest way to apply international copyright law is to consider the laws of all the relevant jurisdictions and then use the most restrictive combination of laws to determine whether something is copyrighted or not. The jurisdictions that might need to be considered are:

• The place where the work was created;
• The place where the work is being uploaded from;
• The place that any web server the work has been downloaded from physically is;
• The United States.

A work is only allowed on Commons if it is either public domain in all relevant jurisdictions or if there is a free licence which applies to the work in all relevant jurisdictions.

In the case of a painting published in France please do apply US-American copyright laws as those copyright laws apply to the servers of Commons. Also apply the copyright laws of the country you are in and the copyright laws of any web server you got the work off. In the case of a French painting uploaded to Commons from a French web server by someone living in the UK three copyright jurisdictions would apply: France, UK and US. US law would mean that if the painting had not been published before 1923 it would be in copyright. British law would mean that if the painting was by an artist who had been dead for less than 70 years it would be in copyright. French law would mean that, if the painting was by an artist who died while in service for France (a concept called Mort pour la France), it would be in copyright for 100 years after the artist's death: an additional 30 years past the term provided by British law. In this case the most restrictive combination of jurisdictions would be French and US. Only if the painting was legally in the public domain in both France and the United States could it be uploaded from a French web server to Commons.

UNESCO has a collection of national copyright laws that should be referred to when creating country-specific tags such as those below.

The Public Domain Calculator by the Europeana Connect project/Österreichische Nationalbibliothek is useful (for people who are not legal newbies) for determining the copyright status of European works in their source nations.

Authorship

• Rules are generally different for works with known authors and works published anonymously or pseudonymously. Works published anonymously or pseudonymously may gain the standard known-author copyright term if authorship is subsequently made public.
• Rules may also be different for works of collective, corporate or government authorship.
• Note that copyright rules based on the death of the author normally assume the work to have been published, and often require the work to have been published during the author's lifetime. Unpublished works, or works published posthumously, may have different rules.

See also Commons:Anonymous works.

Derivative works

Main page: Commons:Derivative works.

Many creative works are derivatives of other creative works. This may be a copyright infringement if the work used is not in the public domain. Exceptions exist for allowing derivatives to be made without infringing copyright; whether and how these apply varies widely across countries, by subject matter, and may depend on a range of circumstances.

See

• Commons:Freedom of panorama
• Commons:Threshold of originality
• Commons:De minimis
• Commons:Copyright rules by subject matter

Summary table

Refer to the pages for each country or territory for details.

Relevant country-specific differences in the duration of copyright (from 70 years pma) and exceptions of the application of copyright are discussed below (countries are listed in alphabetical order):

Afghanistan

Copyright rules: Afghanistan Shortcut: COM:AFGHANISTAN
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years (Afghan calendar)
Photograph	Publish + 50 years
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Publish + 50 years
Posthumous	Publish + 50 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-Afghanistan}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	AFG
Treaties
Berne convention	2 June 2018
WTO member	29 July 2016
URAA restoration date‌*	29 July 2016
WIPO treaty	9 February 2021
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Afghanistan relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Afghanistan must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Afghanistan and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from Afghanistan, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Afghanistan came under loose British control in the late 19th century. After the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 the country regained independence. Since then the country has suffered from coups, invasions and civil war.

Afghanistan has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 29 July 2016, the Berne Convention since 2 June 2018 and the WIPO Copyright treaty since 9 February 2021.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the 2008 Law Supporting the Rights of Authors, Composers, Artists and Researchers (Copyright Law) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Afghanistan. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

The Taliban government since 2021 is unrecognized, but continues to enforce existing copyright law.^{[clarification needed]}

Durations

Under the 2008 Copyright Law, protection is as follows:

• Works published or broadcast during the life cycle of the author shall be protected 50 calendar years after his/her death unless the author has decided differently.^{[2008 Article 16.1.1]}
• Joint works published or broadcast during the life cycle of the authors shall be protected for 50 years after the death of the last author.^{[2008 Article 16.1.2]}
• Works published or broadcast with metaphorical (pseudonym) names shall be protected for 50 years after the first year of the publication.^{[2008 Article 16.1.3]}
• Works not published during the life cycle of the author and in the case of the joint work, that have not been published during the life cycle of the last author, shall be protected for 50 years effective from the first year of publication and broadcast.^{[2008 Article 16.1.4]}
• ­ Audiovisual works shall be protected for 50 years effective from the first year of the publication or broadcast.^{[2008 Article 16.1.5]} If the work is not published or broadcast, it shall be protected for 50 years from fixation.^{[2008 Article 16.2]}
• Photography and painting works shall be protected 50 years effective from the first year of publication and broadcast.^{[2008 Article 16.1.6]}

Folklore

Public Culture (National Folklore) is an expression which include characterized principles of traditional artistic heritage originated or developed by a group of people in the State which reflect their artistic heritage and include the following expressions: Oral expressions such as tales, popular poetry and riddles; Musical expressions: include popular songs accompanied by music or without music; Motion expressions, include popular Atans (national dance), plays and other special popular artistic and ritual forms; Identical expressions such as products or popular art such as drawings with lines and colors, engravings, statuary, pottery, needlework, woodwork, mosaic, metalwork, jewelry, knitting, carpet weaving and other textiles; Musical instruments; Different architectural works.^{[2008 Article 3.23]}

National folklore shall be the public property of the State, the Ministry of Information and Culture, shall protect National Folklore by all legal means.^{[2008 Article 45]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Afghanistan}} – public domain (no existing copyright law)

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK. The 2008 Law Supporting the Rights of Authors, Composers, Artists and Researchers (Copyright Law) does not contain a freedom of panorama provision. None of the exceptions under Articles 39–44 contain a provision allowing free uses of images of architectural and artistic works that can be found in public spaces.

Article 39 permits reproductions of published works "for personal use only". Article 40 only allows noncommercial uses of extracts of works for teaching purposes. Article 42 is a close provision that allows "the press or other information media" to publish "works displayed openly to the public, provided that the name of the author is clearly indicated," but the types of works are restricted to "speeches, lectures, as well as legal proceedings or similar works," not architectural works or statuaries.

Threshold of originality

According to the 2008 Copyright Law, work that may be protected includes: Photography work that has been created using an innovative mode; Innovative work of handicraft or industrial art (carpet designs, rugs, felt carpet and its attachments etc.); Innovative work which has been created based on the public culture (folklore) or national cultural heritage and art.^{[2008 Article 6(1) items 7-9]}

Stamps

Copyright expires 50 years after first put in circulation.^{[2008 Article 16.1.6]}. For stamps published more than 50 years ago (before 1 January 1975) use {{PD-Afghanistan}}.

See also

• افغانستان
• Category:Afghan FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of Afghanistan

Citations

Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer

Albania

According to Copyright law of Albania the duration of copyright is 70 years post mortem auctoris. Copyright terminates 70 years after publication for pseudonymous or anonymous work. The following are not copyrightable and thus in public domain:

• the ideas, theories, concepts, discoveries and inventions in a creative work, apart from the way of acquiring, explanation or expression;
• the official texts of a legal, administrative, legislative, political nature and their respective official translations;
• the official symbols of the state, symbols of other public organizations and public authorities, such as: Coat of arms, seals, flags, emblems, medallions, medals;
• Means of payment;
• news and press information;
• simple data and facts.
• Folk expressions.

Albanian Laws on Copyright

Here are some of the orginals, see also wikisource for texts.

• Law 7564 on Copyright
• Law 8594 ammendments on Copyright
• 8630 on copyright
• 8826 on copyright

Algeria

Current Algerian law states that photos and films are protected for 50 years starting from the end of the publication year, after which they are in the public domain. However, all photographs which were first published before January 1, 1987 are in the public domain, see {{PD-Algeria-photo-except}}.

Andorra

The copyright law of Andorra states that the copyright term lasts for life extended for 70 years as from the first of January of the year following the death of the author. In a work of joint authorship, the term of 70 years shall be calculated from the death of the last surviving joint author. In a work of an author/s not identified individually (collective, anonymous or pseudonymous), the term is 70 years from the first time at the public disposal.

This is not applicable to any official text of legislative, administrative or judicial nature. However, the works of architecture are protected.

Andorra is party to the Berne Convention since June 2, 2004.

Angola

In 2014, the Angolan National Assembly passed Law n.º 15/14, de 31 de julho - Lei dos Direitos de Autor e Direitos Conexos, which replaced the previous 1990 copyright law. The new law came into effect in 2017, by Presidential Decree 125/17 of 12 June.

Extension

• Copyright in Angola lasts for life of the author + 70 years (life of the author + 45 years for photographs and applied arts); (§72º1 & §73º2); unpublished works get 15 years of additional protection (§76º4);
• Anonymous and collaborative works are protected for 70 years after being published (§73º1);
• Copyright of anonymous works belongs to who publishes the work, at least until the original author is found (§9º);

Types of protection

• Photographic works are protected when organized on such a way that transmits a journalistic, artistic or aesthetic message, showing originallity on its creation (§10º);
• Architecture erected in Angola is protected, along with any works of art included in the buildings (§2º); the author of a work of architecture, urbanism or design is the creator of its global conception, as well as the project (§15º);

Other

• Traditional learning and use are made the same as literary, artistic and scientific works (§2º);
• The works are protected by the mere fact of being created, no matter what may be its expression, and independently of its content, value, destiny and divulgation to the public (§2º);

Argentina

See templates for details.

• {{PD-AR-Photo}}: photographs—not drawings or other works—published in Argentina 20 years ago;
• {{PD-AR-Movie}}: movies whose script writer, producer, and director died 50+ years ago;
• {{PD-AR-Anonymous}}: anonymous works published 50+ years ago belonging to an institution, corporation or legal entity registered in Argentina;
• {{CC-AR-Presidency}}: photographs taken from the Presidency of Argentina web site.

The original copyright law of Argentina (Ley 11.723) from September 30, 1933 had a general copyright term of 30 years p.m.a. In 1957, this was increased to 50 years p.m.a. by Decreto-Ley 12.063/57, published in the Boletin Oficial on October 11, 1957. In 1997, the term was again increased to 70 years p.m.a. by Ley 24.870, published in the Boletin Oficial on September 16, 1997. This extension to 70 years re-copyrighted works on which the earlier 50-year term had already expired, but the new 70-year term had not expired yet (see Ley 24.870, or art. 84 of the current Argentine copyright law). For photographic works the duration of copyright is twenty years from the date of the first publication (article 34 of last version of 11723 law, updated (August 13, 1998) by law 24249 art 1).

Armenia

According to the Copyright law of 1999 the duration of copyright is 50 years after the death of the author and 50 years after publication for anonymous work. Moral rights are perpetual.

On June 15, 2006 new law was passed, according to which duration of copyright was prolonged to 70 years after death of author, last death of co-author, or 70 years after being published, for work which remained anonymous. The new law also prolongs copyright for those works, which have become PD according to previous law, but are still copyrighted according to new law (e.g. less then 70 years passed from author's death).

The copyright in a work created on an employment assignment shall belong to the author of the work.

Armenia has freedom of panorama limited to de minimis use and non-commercial purposes.

Australia

Government-produced works

According to [10], copyright of works with commonwealth, state, or territory-owned copyright expires 50 years from the date of creation (rounded up to the nearest year). Following that logic, all government-created works created before 1 January 1975 should be in the public domain.

Use {{PD-AustraliaGov}} in this case.

Non-government works

Presently, the Australian Copyright Act 1968[11] should be consulted to determine whether the copyright of a work produced or published in Australia has expired. The Australian Copyright act 1968 was amended as of the 1st January 2005 and further amended in February 2008. Prior to these amendments the time limit was 50 years. The amendments were not retroactive, copyrights that had expired were not revived [12]

• Australian copyright is applied to works published first in Australia or whose original author is/was an Australian citizen, Australian resident or person under protection of the Australian government.[13]
• For published works, the copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author.[14]
• For previously unpublished works, the copyright cannot expire less than 70 years after the first publication of the work. [15]
• For anonymous/pseudonymous works, the copyright expires 70 years after the first publication of the work.[16]

Following this logic:

• All published works whose author deceased before 1 January 1955 are in the public domain.
• What is more, since works that went out of copyright before the change of the law in 2005 did not regain copyright, all published works whose author died before 1 January 1955 are public domain, as they went out of copyright before the new law came into effect. Copyright is lost at the start of the next year, so works of authors who died in 1955 will not be out of copyright until 2026.
• All anonymous/pseudonymous works published before 1 January 1955 are in the public domain.
• Unpublished works are not in the public domain.

Note:

• Photographs (published or unpublished) taken prior to midnight on the 31st December 1954 are in the public domain[17], photographs taken on/after 1st January 1955 are not PD unless prescribed by the copyright owner.

See {{PD-Australia}} and {{PD-Australia-currency}}.

Austria

Freedom of panorama

Objects permanently located in public that can be photographed from public (accessible) grounds, without devices such as a ladder, can be used by its photographer for any purpose, regardless of whether they display an artwork/building or not. This right is called Panoramafreiheit (freedom of panorama). However in some circumstances certain modifications (but not usage) of the image can be prohibited by the copyright owner of the object (artist or architect) if the copyright of that object has not expired. Generally, an image taken in a public space might not be used to produce an object similar to the original.

Official works

By Austrian law, documents are in the public domain (gemeinfrei) if they have been published as part of a law or official decree or edict, or if they have been released as an official announcement or for public information. The relevant law is paragraph 7 of the UrhG.

• § 7. (1) Officials, ordinances, official decrees, announcements and decisions as well as official or official works of the type referred to in § 2, items 1 or 3, exclusively or primarily for official use shall not be protected by copyright.

Azerbaijan

According to the Copyright law of 1996 the duration of copyright is 50 years post mortem auctoris. The duration of copyright for anonymous work is 50 years after publication unless the author is identified. Post-humously work is protected 50 years after death if the work is published within 30 years after death.

According to article 8 copyright registration or explicit mention of copyright may be necessary. The English translation is not clear on this point.

The following are not subjects of copyright:

• official documents (laws, court decisions, other texts of legislative, administrative or judicial character) and their official translations;
• State emblems and official signs (flags, armorial bearings, decorations, monetary signs and other State symbols and official signs);
• works of folklore;
• communications concerning events and facts that have informational character.

The reproduction, broadcasting or communication to the public by cable of architectural works, photographic works and works of fine art permanently located in a public place shall be permissible without the author's consent and without payment of remuneration, except where the presentation of the work constitutes the main feature of the said reproduction, broadcast or communication to the public by cable, if it is used for commercial purposes.

Bahamas, The

According to the Statute Law of The Bahamas - Chapter 323 the duration of copyright is 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies. If a work is anonymous, pseudonymous or made for hire, copyright in that work expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the year of its first publication or a term of one hundred years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. The Bahamas has freedom of panorama for architecture, and 2D and 3D artistic works on display in places or premises open to the public.

Bangladesh

The Copyright Act 2000 of Bangladesh gives works a basic protection of sixty years after the death of the author. There is Freedom of panorama for "making of a drawing, engraving or photograph of an architectural work of art, or a sculpture kept in a public place". Works of the government are copyrighted until 60 years after creation.

Belarus

The Law On Copyright and Adjacent Rights of Belarus states that the copyright term lasts for life, then extended for the next 50 years after the death of the author. In the case of more than one author, it will be 50 years p.m.a. after the death of the last author. Freedom of panorama exists in a specified way: direct shots of not-PD statues, artworks, etc. are copyright violation.

Belgium

According to the Copyright law of 1994 the duration of copyright is 70 years post mortem auctoris. For anonymous works the duration of copyright is 70 years after publication if the author is not identified.

The 1994 law has been replaced by a new copyright law starting 1 January 2015.

Belize

According to the Belize's Copyright Act of 2000, literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic works are protected for 50 years after the death of the author. If the author is unknown, the works are protected for 50 years after publication. Sound recordings and films are protected for 50 years after they are made.

Benin

The Law of 2006 (French) gives a term of 70 years pma.

Bhutan

According to the International Property Division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Bhutan joined the Berne Convention in 2004. Copyright applies automatically and is not required to be registered in Bhutan.

Bolivia

Copyright law of Bolivia at WIPO (en) at the Wayback Machine

Botswana

Copyright in Botswana is governed by Chapter 68:02 Copyright and Neighboring Rights adopted in 2006. Copyright is protected 50 years from the death of the author (10.1) or last-surviving author (10.2). For collective works, audiovisual works (10.3), anonymous works, or pseudonymous works (10.4), copyright is protected 50 years from the date of publication. For works of applied art, copyright is protected for 25 years from creation (10.5).

Bosnia and Herzegovina

See also: Commons:Copyright tags#Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Works of authors who died in 1945 or earlier are public domain both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the United States. Works of authors who died in 1946 or later are copyrighted.
• An exception applies to the photographic and similarly-made works, and the works of applied art, which are considered free if published before 1 January 1971.
• The publication right applies for all works, published for the first time on 11 August 2010 or later, even if the copyright has already expired. It lasts for 25 years starting 1 January of the year following the year of the publication.
• There is no Commons-suitable freedom of panorama in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Details

• Full text of Bosnia and Herzegovina's copyright law from 2010: in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and English.
• Full text of Bosnia and Herzegovina's copyright law from 2002: in Bosnian and English.
• Works of authors who died in 1951 or earlier are public domain in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Works of authors who died in 1952 or later are copyrighted. Note however that the URAA date for Bosnia and Herzegovina is 1 January 1996, which means that works made by people who died on or before December 31, 1945 were public domain on the URAA date. A similar case applies to photographs and works of applied art, which are public domain in Bosnia and Herzegovina if published before 1 January 1977, but are again copyrighted in the United States if published on 1 January 1971 or later.
• Unprotected creations (see article 8): ideas, concepts, and principles; official texts (and accompanying material); political and court speeches; daily news; folk literary and artistic creations.
• Duration of copyright: see article 55–62 – generally 70 years after death of the author except for anonymous works (70 years after anonymous publication).

Brazil

According to Brazilian Copyright law of 1998 (in Portuguese) translation:

Chapter III -The Economic Rights of the Authors and Term Thereof

• Art. 28. The author has the exclusive right to use his literary, artistic or scientific work, to derive benefit from it and to dispose of it.
• Art. 41. The author's economic rights shall be protected for a period of 70 years as from the first of January of the year following his death, subject to observance of the order of succession under civil law.
• Art. 42. Where a literary, artistic or scientific work of joint authorship is indivisible, the term of protection provided for in the foregoing Article shall be calculated from the death of the last surviving joint author.
• Art. 43. The term of protection of economic rights in anonymous or pseudonymous works shall be 70 years counted from the first of January of the year following that of the first publication.

Sole Paragraph. The provisions of Articles 41 and its sole paragraph shall be applicable where the author makes his identity known before the expiry of the period referred to in the introduction to this Article.

• Art. 44. The economic rights in audiovisual and photographic works shall be protected for a period of 70 years from the first of January of the year following that of their disclosure.
• Art. 45. In addition to the works in respect of which the protection of the economic rights has expired, the following shall pass into the public domain:
  • I. the works of authors deceased without heir;
  • II. the works of unknown authors, subject to the legal protection of ethnic and traditional lore.

Chapter V - Term of Protection for Neighboring Rights

• Art. 96. The term of protection of neighboring rights shall be 70 years from the first of January of the year following fixation for phonograms, transmission for the broadcasts of broadcasting organization, and public performance in other cases.

Freedom of panorama

• Art. 48. Works permanently located in public places may be freely represented by painting, drawing, photography and audiovisual processes.

Government works

There are no official response to the Article 2.4 of the Berne Convention, to give or not protection to official texts, in its implementation as Federal Decree nº 75.699 of 1975. Only in 1988, with the new Fededeal Constituion (translation) some freedom of access was expressed,

• Article 5th (inciso XIV), ensure "everyone access" to information for work (tipically access to obligation norms);
• Article 216 (§ 2nd) states the "mandatory deductible access" (no pay for law-documents).

After, in 1998, the exclusion from Berna protection of this kind of works was expressed by article 8, items I and IV, of the Copyright law. It excludes legislative and juridic documents, but not all works (ex. cited maps, tables, etc.) created by the federal government.

See {{PD-BrazilGov}}. Note: there are a special clause to add in the CC0 implicit license of legislative documents, make by tradition, that obligates the copies to add a red notice "This text does not substitute the original published in the Official Gazette".

URAA

See {{PD-Brazil-URAA}} for compatibility between URAA and works in the public domain in Brazil.

Some examples to help define which photos are, and are not, "artistic creations", and therefore object of protection under the 1973 copyright law:

• OK The facade of the Jung Frau building, in Joinville, as well as partial views of the city, when photographed in an obvious simple way, without employment of any special ("diferenciada") technique" TJ-SC - Apelacao Civel : AC 111630 SC 2002.011163-0 (2006): "não se considera criação artística as fotografias tiradas por profissional do ramo que retratam de forma manifestamente singela, sem o emprego de qualquer técnica diferenciada, o frontispício de um edifício residencial e a vista parcial da cidade, em observância a contrato de prestação de serviços entabulado com empresa do ramo imobiliário e com destino publicitário previamente ajustado entre as partes"
• OK Mere documental, descritive photographs in general, such as photographs documenting social reunions: TJ-SC - Apelacao Civel : AC 111630 SC 2002.011163-0 (2006): ""mera documentação fotográfica, sem caráter artístico, afasta a incidência do direito de autor, "... tornando possível o uso de terceiro sem menção do nome do fotógrafo, pois, conforme lei brasileira, somente a fotografia artística (pela escolha do objeto e condiçõe de execução) se inscreve dentre as obras protegidas." (...) [segue exemplo ilustrativo] fotografias documentárias de reuniões sociais - Autor que na época estava do desempenho de funções junto ao réu - Inexigível a referência ao nome do fotógrafo por não se tratar de trabalho artístico - Falta de originalidade, criatividade, valor estético ou de furo de documentação "
• OK TJ-PR - Apelação Cível : AC 946589 PR Apelação Cível - 0094658-9 (2000) "As fotografias destinadas a documentos de identidade, produzidas por máquinas automáticas, não são obras artísticas. (...) Também não devem alcançar a proteção do direito de autor as fotografias meramente técnicas, em que se procura uma reprodução tal qual de certo objetivo, sem a menor preocupação artística."
•  Not OK TJ-MG : 2933464 MG 2.0000.00.293346-4/000(1) (2000) "as fotos [...] denotam caráter artístico, caracterizando-se pela originalidade, criatividade e técnica da sua autora, elementos que dela não se podem excluir como reveladores, a princípio, de uma obra de arte. Não são elas, como pretende o apelante, meras constatações ou reproduções de imagens para fins publicitários, ou instantâneos comuns"

Bulgaria

Life+70 years (EU)

• {{PD-BG-exempt}} – for works exempt from copyright under Bulgaria law.
• {{PD-BulgarianGov}} - for government works exempt from copyright under Bulgaria law.

Burma

According to the paper "Legal Status of Intellectual Property Rights in Myanmar" by U Tin Ko Win (2006) and the WIPO Lex website as of November 2010, copyright law in Burma (Myanmar) is governed by the Burma Copyright Act 1914, which is based on the UK Copyright Act 1911.

• Photographs. The copyright in a photograph expires 50 years after the date of the making of the original negative from which the photograph was directly or indirectly derived. The author of the work is the owner of the negative at the time it was made: Burma Copyright Act, First Schedule, section 21.

• Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works.

As regards original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works (but not photographs), copyright lasts for 50 years after the author's death: Burma Copyright Act, First Schedule, section 3; and see MODiNS.net.

The copyright in a work of joint authorship expires:

• 50 years after the death of the author who first dies; or
• upon the death of the author who dies last;

whichever period is longer: First Schedule, section 16(1).

However, where a literary, dramatic or musical work, or an engraving (but not some other type of artistic work), is concerned, if the work had not been published (or, in the case of a dramatic or musical work, performed in public) at the date of the author's death (or, for a work of joint authorship, the date of the death of the author who died last), the copyright in the work expires 50 years after the work is published, or performed or delivered in public, whichever occurs first: First Schedule, section 17(1).

• Freedom of panorama. It is not an infringement of copyright to make or publish paintings, drawings, engravings or photographs of (1) a work of sculpture or artistic craftsmanship permanently situated in a public place, or (2) an architectural work of art (except that architectural drawings or plans may not be produced): First Schedule, section 2(1)(iii). Artistic work is defined as including "works of painting, drawing, sculpture and artistic craftsmanship, and architectural works of art and engravings and photographs", which suggests that works of artistic craftsmanship do not include paintings, drawings, sculptures, engravings, photographs and architectural works of art. An "architectural work of art" is any building or structure having an artistic character or design or any model for such building or structure, but does not include processes or methods of construction: First Schedule, section 35(1).

• Government works. Copyright in a work prepared by or published by or under the direction or control of any government department belongs to the Government, and expires 50 years after the date of first publication of the work: First Schedule, section 18.

Cambodia

According to Cambodia's Law on Copyright and Related Rights, enacted in 2003:

• Copyright expires 50 years after the death of the author (or last surviving author for a work of collaboration)
• For anonymous and pseudonymous works, copyright expires 75 years after publication. If not published within 50 years of its creation, copyright expires 75 years after it was made accessible to the public. If not made accessible to the public within 50 years of its creation, copyright expires 100 years after creation. If the identity of the author is revealed or is established beyond doubt of the public before this period of expiration, copyright instead expires 50 years after the death of the author.
• For collective, audiovisual, or posthumous works, copyright expires 75 years after publication. If not published within 50 years of its creation, copyright expires 75 years after it was made accessible to the public. If not made accessible to the public within 50 years of its creation, copyright expires 100 years after creation.
• Certain works are ineligible for copyright protection, including: "Constitution, Law, Royal Decree, Sub-Decree, and other Regulations. Proclamation (Prakas), decision, certificate, other instructed circulars issued by state organizations. Court decision or other court warrants."

Cameroon

According to Cameroon's Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, enacted in 2000:

• Copyright lasts for 50 years after the death of the author
• For anonymous and pseudonymous works, copyright lasts for 50 years after publication
• Coats of arms, decorations, currency marks and other official insignia are not protected by copyright
• There is no freedom of panorama

Canada

All photographs (except those subject to Crown Copyright, for which see below) taken before 1 January, 1949 are in the public domain.

For works from after that time, or non-photographs, the Copyright Act states a copyright subsists for the life of the author plus 50 years following the end of the calendar year of death (section 6). If the work is anonymous or pseudonymous then the copyright lasts either 50 years following publication or 75 years after the making of the work, whichever is earlier (section 6.1), provided the authorship does not become known in that timeframe.

Works subject to Crown Copyright enter the public domain 50 years after publication, except for certain very rare exceptions (see WP:Crowncopy).

Chile

See Template talk:PD-Chile and {{PD-Chile}}.

China

People's Republic of China

According to the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国著作权法) in effect in Mainland China:

• Article 5: The law does not apply to those specified in Template:PD-PRC-exempt.
• Article 16: A work created by a citizen when fulfilling the tasks assigned to him by a legal entity or another organization shall be deemed to be a service work. Unless otherwise provided in Paragraph 2 of this Article, the copyright of such a work shall be enjoyed by the author, but the legal entity or organization shall have a priority right to exploit the work within the scope of its professional activities....
• Article 20: The rights of authorship, alteration and integrity of an author shall be unlimited in time.
• Article 21: For the rights provided in Items (5) through (17) of Paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this Law:
  • A work of a citizen: the term of protection of the rights and the right of publication shall be the lifetime of the author and 50 years after his death, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after his death. In the case of a work of joint authorship, such term shall expire on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the death of the last surviving author.
  • The copyright belongs to a legal entity or another organization, or in respect of a service work where the legal entity or organization enjoys the copyright (except the right of authorship): the term of protection of the rights and the right of publication shall be 50 years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of such a work, however, any such work that has not been published within 50 years after the completion of its creation shall no longer be protected by this Law.
  • A cinematographic work or a work created in a way similar to cinematography, or a photographic work: the term of protection of the rights and the right of publication shall be 50 years, expiring on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of such a work, however, any such work that has not been published within 50 years after the completion of its creation shall no longer be protected by this Law.
• Article 22: In the following cases, a work may be exploited without the permission from, and without payment of remuneration to, the copyright owner, provided that the name of the author and the title of the work are mentioned and the other rights enjoyed by the copyright owner by virtue of this Law are not infringed upon:
  (1) use of a published work for the purposes of the user's own private study, research or self-entertainment;
  (2) appropriate quotation from a published work in one's own work for the purposes of introduction of, or comment on, a work, or demonstration of a point;
  (8) reproduction of a work in its collections by a library, archive, memorial hall, museum, art gallery or similar institution, for the purpose of the display or preservation of a copy of the work;
  (10) copying, drawing, photographing, or video recording of an artistic work located or on display in an outdoor public place;...
  The provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be applicable to the limitations on the rights of publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, radio stations and television stations.
• Article 60: The rights of copyright owners, publishers, performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, radio stations and television stations as provided in this Law, of which the term of protection specified in this Law has not yet expired on the date of this Law's entry into force, shall be protected in accordance with this Law. (The same thing has also been written in Article 55 of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China dated 1990 (中华人民共和国著作权法 (1990年))).

According to the Implementing Regulations of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国著作权法实施条例) in effect in Mainland China:

• Article 13: In the case of a work of an unknown author, the copyright, except the right of authorship, shall be exercised by the lawful holder of the original copy of the work. Where the author has been identified, the copyright shall be exercised by the author or his heir in title.
• Article 16: The using of copyright enjoyed by the State shall be managed by the State Council copyright administration departments.
• Article 17: In the case of posthumous works, the right of publication may be exercised by the author's heir in title or other behested beneficiary within a period of 50 years, unless the author expressly had stated otherwise. In the absence of an heir in title or other behested beneficiary, the said right shall be exercised by the lawful holder of the original copy of the work.
• Article 18: In the case of a work of an unknown author, the protection term in relation to the rights as mentioned by item 5 to item 17 of first paragraph of Article 10 of the Law shall be 50 years ending on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the first publication of the work. Article 21 of the Law shall be applicable after the author of the work has been identified.

According to the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国民法通则) Article 100, photos of regular people may not be used for profit (commercially) without their consent.

Hong Kong

According to Chapter 528 Copyright Ordinance, Section 17 Duration of copyright in literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, in the law of Hong Kong, a work's copyright expires 50 years after the last death of known authors, or the work's first publication for unknown authorship, or the year it made when the work is never made public and with unknown authorship. The above-mentioned ordinance does not apply to the work of Hong Kong Government, Legislative Council and certain international organizations.

If the work in question satisfies the criterion mentioned above, then tag the image with {{PD-HK}}.

Works by the Government

According to Chapter 528 Copyright Ordinance, Section 182 Government copyright, the Government copyright applies to all works made by an officer of the Government. The Government copyright expires after 125 years from the end of the calendar year when the work was made.

Macau

According to the Copyright Law (Decree-Law n.o 43/99/M):

• Article 6: Official works are not protected. See also Template:PD-MacaoGov.
• Article 21: Generally, copyright shall lapse 50 years after the death of the creator of the work, even in the case of works disclosed or published posthumously, to expire at the end of the last year.
• Article 51: Non-Macanese works are copyrightable in Macau for the Macanese copyright duration or the home country or area, whichever is less, i.e. the rule of the shorter term applies in Macau.
• Article 106: The copyright in an audiovisual work shall lapse 50 years after its disclosure.
• Article 148: The copyright in works of applied art shall lapse 25 years after the completion of the work.
• Article 155: The copyright in photographic works shall lapse 25 years after their completion, even if they have never been disclosed or published.
• Article 182: The rights of performers shall lapse 50 years after the performance.
• Article 188: The rights of producers of phonograms and videograms shall lapse 50 years after fixation.
• Article 192: The rights of broadcasting organizations shall lapse 20 years after the broadcast.

Republic of China (Taiwan)

According to the Copyright Act of the Republic of China in effect in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu:

• Article 9: Works specified in Template:PD-ROC-exempt shall not be the subject matter of copyright.
• Article 30:
  • Generally, economic rights endure for the life of the author and 50 years after the author's death.
  • Where a work is first publicly released between the 40th and 50th years after the author's death, the economic rights shall endure for a term of 10 years beginning from the time of the first public release.
• Article 31: Economic rights in a joint work subsist for 50 years after the death of the last surviving author.
• Article 32
  • Economic rights in a pseudonymous work or an anonymous work endure for 50 years from the time of public release; provided, the economic rights shall be extinguished where it can be proven that the author has been deceased for over 50 years.
  • The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply when the pseudonym of the author is well known to the public.
• Article 33: Economic rights in works authored by a juristic person endure for 50 years after the public release of the work; provided, if the work is not publicly released within 50 years from the completion of the creation, the economic rights shall subsist for 50 years after completion of the creation.
• Article 34:
  • Economic rights for photographic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, and performances endure for 50 years after the public release of the work.
  • The proviso of the preceding article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the preceding paragraph.
• Article 35: All terms of duration specified in Articles 30 through 34 terminate as of the last day of the last year of the term.

Colombia

According to the Colombian Law 23 of 1982 on Copyright, Articles 11, 21-29, amended by Law 44 of 1993, Article 2 and Law 1520 of 2012, Articles 4, 6 and 10, the author rights expire eighty (80) years after the death of the author or the death of the last coauthor. Where the copyright has been transferred by means of an act between living persons, the protection period still remains for eighty (80) years after the death of the author. The rights for collective works and anonymous works expires eighty (80) years from the date of publication, and for cinematic works, eighty (80) years after the movie's premiere (end of production). In the act, the term "anonymous" is defined to include "unknown" authors.

In all cases where a literary, scientific or artistic work has as its owner a legal entity or an official body or any institution under government public law, the term of protection shall be deemed to be seventy (70) years as from the date of publication.

In all cases where the applicable term of protection starts on the date of publication, the said term shall be understood to end on December 31 of the relevant year.

The author and the work source must be acknowledged when reused in Colombia, except if the author is unknown.

Congo, Democratic Republic of the (formerly Zaire)

The copyright law of 1986 (Ordinance-Law No. 86-033 of April 5, 1986 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights) states that photographs enter the public domain 25 years after they are first published (Article 77). Non-photographic work enter the public domain when the author has died more than 50 years ago (Article 74), or, for anonymous or pseudonymous works, when they were published more than 50 years ago (Article 76).

As for government works, "official acts of authority" ("actes officiels de l’autorité") are ineligible for copyright protection. All other government publications are copyrighted.

Congo, Republic of the

Copyright in the Republic of the Congo is governed by the Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, enacted 1982. Copyright is protected for 50 years after the death of the author (Art. 61) or last surviving author (Art 62), or 50 years after the publication of an anonymous or pseudonymous work (Art 63). Photographs are protected 25 years from creation (Art 65), and cinematographic works for 50 years from creation (Art 64). "Decisions of courts or of administrative bodies and official translations thereof" are not eligible for copyright protection.

Costa Rica

Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the author (see en:List of countries' copyright length).

Costa Rica's current intellectual copyright law is:

• Law 6683, as amended by Law 8834 of 3 May 2010 (in Spanish)

An English translation is available for the previous revision to the copyright law:

• Law 6683, as amended by Law 7979 of 1 June 2000

Government works

According to Costa Rica's intellectual property law (Law 6683, as amended by Law 8834 of 3 May 2010):

Artículo 63°.- El estado, los consejos municipales y las corporaciones oficiales gozarán de la protección de esta ley, pero , en cuanto a los derechos patrimoniales, los tendrán únicamente por veinticinco años, contados desde la publicación de la obra, salvo tratándose de entidades públicas, que tengan por objeto el ejercicio de esos derechos como actividad ordinaria; en cuyo caso la protección será de cincuenta años.

The English translation from the 2000 revision (text of this article was unchanged between 2000 & 2010 revisions):

Article 63. The State, the municipal councils and the official corporations shall enjoy the protection of this Law, but, as far as economic rights are concerned, only for 25 years from the date of publication of the work, except in the case of public bodies whose purpose is the exercise of such rights as their normal activity, in which case protection shall be for 50 years.

"Economic rights" corresponds to copyright, since the law ("Law" in Article 63) covers intellectual property rights—not just copyright. The law also covers "moral rights", which are a form of non-copyright restriction.

For currency, see Commons:Currency#Costa Rica.

Côte d'Ivoire

Copyright in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) lasts for 99 years after the death of the author for works published within the lifetime of the author. Copyright lasts 99 years from publication for photographic or audiovisual works or works of applied art; anonymous or pseudonymous works; and posthumous works. Côte d'Ivoire has the rule of the shorter term.

• Loi no. 96-564 du 25 juillet 1996 (Art. 45 for copyright length)

Croatia

Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the author (Art. 99, Copyright and Related Rights Act 197/2003). The Yugoslav copyright act (Zakon o autorskom pravu) was in place until 1999, [18] therefore the following applies:

• Works of authors who died in 1948 or earlier are public domain in Croatia. Works of authors who died in 1949 or later are copyrighted.
• An exception applies to the photographic and similarly-made works, and the works of applied art, which are public domain in Croatia and in the United States if published in 1970 or earlier.
• There is Commons-suitable freedom of panorama in Croatia.

Czech Republic

According to the Czech Copyright Law [19], §3 a) there is no copyright on official works, such as legal acts, public documents including those in preparation, documents published by the House of Representatives and Senate, state symbols (flags, coats of arms, anthems) of countries and administrative subdivisions, municipal chronicles and any other works whose exclusion from copyright protection is in public interest.

Freedom of panorama: Works permanently displayed in public area (square, street, park, public road or another public space) can be freely recorded through drawing, painting, photograph or movie, but not through three-dimensional models. Author of the derivative work should only mention the author and name of the original work, if possible (§33).

In line with EU Copyright Directive, authors are entitled to royalties for usage of their works during their lifetime and 70 years after their death (§27). Performing artists (e.g. actors, musicians, dancers) are entitled to royalties for 50 years after publishing of their performance (§73). (All terms are computed from January 1 of the year following the respective event.)

Danzig Free State (1920–1939)

German law as amended to 1910 was applicable (Copyright then expired 50 years after death of the author), thus licences will in most cases be {{PD-old-70}} and {{Anonymous work}} (50 years after publication, Berne Convention).

Denmark

According to the Danish law on authors rights of 2010-02-27 (English translation by the Danish Ministry of Culture), photographic images are protected for 50 complete calendar years after the image's creation and photographic works are protected for 70 years after the death of the author.

The definition of a photographic work, as opposed to image is not precisely defined. However, one of the foremost lawyers in Denmark on intellectual property and author's rights (Peter Schønning), states that for a photograph to be a photographic work it must display "the author's own intellectual creation and reflects his personality". Lacking actual court decisions however, interpretation is still subjective. On Commons a deletion request in 2012 on a regular portrait photo concluded, that it was too simple to be considered photographic work, as were a another post-processed portrait photo in a discussion in 2011, whereas another deletion request in 2009 on a portrait photo of a man sitting with a book in a certain stance was concluded being a photographic work.

Certain maps produced by the Danish government in 1814 or later are subject to perpetual copyright.[20][21] This is covered by section 92 of the Danish copyright law. Currently, all maps made by da:Det Kongelige Søkort-Arkiv in 1814 or later, all maps made by da:Generalstabens topografiske Afdeling in 1831 or later and all maps made by their successors remain copyrighted in Denmark. The rights currently belong to da:Geodatastyrelsen.

Djibouti

See also: Template:PD-Djibouti.

In chapter 5 of the 1996 law copyright law n°114/AN/96/3e L (in French), copyright expired 25 years after author's death (art. 59). In the case of photographs and applied art works, copyright expired 25 years after the work is created (art. 63). In the case of cinematographic works, copyright expired 25 years after the work is created or released (art. 62). In 2006 a new law was passed (copyright law n°154/AN/06/5ème L (in French), which non-retroactively increased the term to 50 years after the author's death (art. 12), and increased the term for cinematographic works to 50 years from publication (art. 15). The term for photographs and applied art remains at 25 years from creation (art. 16).

Dominican Republic

• Generally, copyright expires 50 years pma. However, photographs are "50 years from first publication or public display or, failing that, from the making thereof", and "Audiovisual works shall be protected for 70 years from first publication or presentation or, failing that, from the making thereof, without prejudice to the rights in original works incorporated in productions the protection of which is subject to the general periods of protection provided for in this Law."

• FOP is very broad, covering "Works permanently located on public thoroughfares, streets or squares may be reproduced by means of painting, drawing, photography or audiovisual fixations, and such reproductions may be distributed and communicated publicly. With regard to works of architecture, this provision shall apply only to their external aspect." Note that "works" has no modifiers, so text is included.

• The full text of the law, in both Spanish and English, is available at http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=1191.

Ecuador

• Copyright expires 70 years after death of copyright owner.
• Copyright of anonymous or pseudonymous works expires 70 years after first publication.
• For more information see the "Intellectual Property Law (Codification No. 2006-13)" (English translation)

Egypt

Egyptian law states that works are protected for 50 years pma, after which they are in public domain.

Per Article 167, audio recordings are in copyright for 50 years after publication.

• Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, Law No. 82, 2002

Eritrea

Per articles 1648 et seq. of the Provisional Code of Eritrea of 1993, copyright lasts during the author's life, or 50 years from publication, whichever is later. Photographs (per article 1662) are only protected if they are printed in a book or are part of a collection, or if they bear the name and address of the author or their agent.

Estonia

According to the Republic of Estonia Copyright law Public sources: Copyright does not apply to works of folklore, legislation and administrative documents, court decisions and official translations thereof; official symbols of the state and insignia of organisations. Copyright does not apply to reproduction of work by libraries, archives or museums.

It is permitted, without the authorization of the author and without payment of remuneration, to reproduce works of architecture, works of visual art, works of applied art or photographic works which are permanently located in places open to the public by any means except for mechanical contact copying, and to communicate such reproductions of works to the public except if the work is the main subject of the reproduction and it is intended to be used for direct commercial purposes. If the work specified carries the name of its author, it shall be indicated in communicating the reproduction to the public.

Ethiopia

Works first published in Ethiopia and is now in the public domain because its copyright protection has expired by virtue of the Proclamation No. 410/2004 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights Protection, enacted 2004. The work meets one of the following criteria:

• It is an anonymous, pseudonymous or posthumous work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication
• It is a collective or audiovisual work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication
• It is a photographic work, and 25 years have passed since the date of its creation or its publication if it is later.
• It is another kind of work, and 50 years have passed since the year of death of the author (or last-surviving author)
• It is "any official text of a legislative, administrative or of legal nature, as well as official translations thereof"

Faroe Islands

According to the Faroese law (http://www.logir.fo/foldb/llofo/2013/0000036.htm):

• Works are protected for the term of life of the author plus 70 years (= {{PD-old-70}}) (§ 53, 1)
• Anonymous works are protected with a copyright term of 70 years after the work was made available to the public if the author never disclosed their identity (= {{Anonymous-EU}}) (§ 53, 2)
• Photographic images are protected for the rest of the year they were created + 50 full years. (§ 58)
• Stamps are public domain - see OTRS permission on {{Faroe stamps}}

Fiji

According to the Fiji Copyright Act of 1999, the following works are automatically protected with no requirement to register:

• Literary works: dramatic works, translations, adaptations, computer programs, periodicals, tables, compilations, typographical arrangements
• Artistic works: graphics, paintings, drawings, diagrams, maps, plans, photographs, sculptures, architecture, musical works
• Films and audio visual works
• Audio recordings
• Broadcasts, cable programs, communication works

The copyright term for most works lasts for 50 years follow the death of the author or 50 years after publication. This includes works by the government. The copyright term for typographical arrangements is 25 years.

Finland

The Finnish Copyright Act

– current version in Finnish

– current version in Swedish

– an unofficial translation in English published by the Finnish Ministry of Justice (a pdf file)

Works of art

Copyright subsists until seventy (70) years have elapsed from the year of the author's death or, in the case of a work having two or more authors whose contributions do not constitute independent works, from the year of death of the last surviving author. Copyright in a cinematographic work subsists until seventy years have elapsed from the year of the death of the last of the following to survive: the principal director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue and the composer of music specifically created for use in the cinematographic work. (Section 43 of the Copyright Act)

The copyright in a work that is made public without mention of the author's name or generally known pseudonym or pen name subsists until the end of the seventieth (70) year after the year in which the work was made public. If the work is published in parts, the duration of copyright shall be calculated separately for each part. (§ 44.1) However, if the identity of the author is disclosed during this period, the copyright subsists according to the general principle (70 years from the year of the author's death). (§ 44.2) The copyright in a work that is not made public and whose author is unknown, subsists until seventy years have elapsed from the year in which the work was created. (§ 44.3)

Anyone who for the first time publishes or makes public a previously unpublished work or a work not made public, which has been protected under Finnish law and the protection of which has expired, shall obtain a right in the work as provided in section 2 of the Copyright Act. The right shall subsist until twenty-five years have elapsed from the year in which the work was published or made public. (Section 44 a)

Photographs that are not works of art

According to the Act copyright expires for such photographs as are not considered "works of art" 50 years after the photograph was made (Section 49a of the Act). Photographs considered to be "works of art" are protected normally for 70 years after the death of the works creator (Section 43).

The difference between a photograph and a photographic work of art is not precisely defined. To qualify as a work of art, the photograph must express personal vision such that no other person can be expected to have produced a similar image. As an example, the (legally not binding) statement by the Finnish Copyright Council 2003:6 states that this photograph of Paavo Nurmi "-- is, despite its historical importance, a regular photograph of contemporary events. The photograph does not demonstrate original and personal contribution on the part of the photographer and so it cannot be regarded as -- a photographic work (of art)." See partial English translation.

An amendment to the Copyright Act (1991) extended the copyright time from 25 years (according to the 1961 copyright law) to 50 years. However, material already released to public domain according to the 1961 law remain in public domain and therefore all photographs (but not photographic works of art) released before 1966 are in the public domain.

Photographs featuring works of art exhibited in public spaces can only be used for non-commercial purposes other than in certain contexts (similar to "fair use"), unless it is clear that the work is not the main subject in the photo (freedom of panorama). Taking photographs of buildings is explicitly allowed, but photographing single, private homes or yards may be illegal based on privacy laws.

Photographs of people

The law regarding images of living people is unclear and the advice below is mostly deduced from recommendations, case law and legal literature.

Photos of people who are of public interest (famous politicians, artists, sportsmen) and who are carrying out their public duties or going about their usual work may be published without consent. In case of politicians, public officials and important persons in economical life, photos of private life may also be published in certain cases, where the information is important for their role and for public interest.

Photos of regular people in public places may only be published without their consent if the person is clearly not the main subject of the image and the picture does not cause damage, suffering or despise to the person in the picture. Photographs of public events or regular life in the streets should be unproblematic.

However, if the person can be identified, the image may not be used in advertisement (commercially or non-commercially) without consent. Even when a person is not clearly identifiable, using a picture with the person as the main subject may require their consent. The images should be marked with {{Personality rights}} as the uploader may be held responsible for allowing such use.

Coats of arms

The textual, and in many cases the graphical, representations of Finnish coat of arms of municipalities, regions and provinces are considered to be part of decisions of public bodies and therefore they are not protected by copyright.

According to the opinions of the Finnish Copyright Council 1997:11 and 1998:5 even the graphical representation is thought (at least in these cases) not to be protected by copyright. In the former case also the graphical representations were part of the decisions of the municipalities (whether they could be considered works of art was thought to be irrelevant), in the latter the alterations made did not meet the requirements for an original work of art. Neither are the coats of arms of historical provinces and other historical coats of arms protected by copyright (if there has been any copyright, it has expired).

Coats of arms of new entities should be analysed on a case-by-case bases: usually they are based on old coats of arms and not eligible but there is no guarantee, unless they are included in public decisions.

Some unofficial coats of arms, e.g. for former municipalities, which never had official coats of arms, are private creations under copyright.

Reproductions of out-of-copyright works

Main page: Commons:Reuse of PD-Art photographs#Nordic countries.

National recommendations (JHS 189) for open licensing in Finland is CC-BY and most of the open digital archives are following it. A digitised work (particularly of a three-dimensional object) could lead to protection by a related right as a non original photograph. Copyright council has made the statement TN 2017:15 that states that the start time of copyright protection of a photograph is when the photograph is taken and reproductions of out of copyright photographs are copies and they don't get a new copyright protection.

France

Copyright rules: France Shortcut: COM:FRANCE
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Posthumous	Publish + 25 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-France}} {{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-EU-no author disclosure}} {{PD-EU-unpublished}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	FRA
Treaties
Berne convention	5 December 1887
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	14 March 2010
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of France relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in France must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both France and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from France, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

France has been a member of the Berne Convention since 5 December 1887, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 14 March 2010.

The relevant laws are in the first book of the Code of Intellectual Property. The code includes dispositions transposed from the 1993 European directive on Copyright.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Intellectual Property Code (consolidated version as of September 7, 2018) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of France.WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General

• Standard copyright term: Life + 70 years, (except posthumous works, musical works, and works whose author "died for France")
• Wartime copyright extensions may apply to musical works: + 6 years 152 days for musical work published through 1920 (Art. L123-8); + 8 years and 120 days for musical work published through 1947 (Art. L123-9); these extensions are cumulative with each other and with the "died for France" extension.
• Anonymous works: 70 years after publication (if author never disclosed)
• Posthumous works: Life + 70 years if published within 70 years of the author's death, otherwise, 25 years from publication[22]
• Government works: not free except for video, text and graphics published on the gouvernement.fr site between March 2014 and September 2014 (Please use {{Gouvernement.fr}})

The normal duration of copyright is 70 years following the end of the year of death of the author (or the death of the last author for multiple authors); if the work is anonymous, pseudonymous or collective, it is 70 years following the end of the year of publication of the work (unless the authors named themselves). This applies only if publication occurs within 70 years of creation (see Article L123-3).

Images from public web sites

Note that French government services often use professional photographers who are not government employees to make official photographs. These photographers then typically sell usage rights of the photograph to the government. In such circumstances, the government does not own the copyright to the photograph, and thus could not give us a license to use it even if it wanted to.

The rules for protection of works by the government are somewhat fuzzy, and one should assume by default that anything from a government entity is copyrighted. One should refer to the Law of 17 July 1978 and Decree of 30 December 2005.

Laws, decrees, court decisions and other similar government texts (but not the translations or commentaries thereof), possibly found on the Légifrance website, are in the public domain. This seems acknowledged by Légifrance's copyright terms.

Video, text and graphics published on the gouvernement.fr website are now licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND but where in 2014 under CC BY 3.0 FR. Be careful, since this does not apply to photographs. However, it is possible to import images taken from videos. Please use {{Gouvernement.fr}} Unless you really know what you're doing, please abstain from copying photos from French government web sites to Commons. Thanks.

Wartime copyright extensions

On February 27, 2007, the Court of Cassation, supreme jurisdiction, first civil chamber, ruled in the Hazan case (arrêt n° 280 du 27 février 2007) that articles L123-8 and L123-9, extending the duration of protection to compensate for periods of wartime, were not applicable to works for which an extended protection period (beyond 70 years) had not started to elapse on July 1, 1995. The judgment regarding Giovanni Boldini's work was broke too, by the same court.

Previously, French law granted extensions to copyright because of the World Wars. The extensions were:

• 6 years and 152 days for World War I
• 8 years and 120 days for World War II
• 30 years for people who died for France, example includes Alain-Fournier (d.1915), Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (d.1944) and Jehan Alain (d.1940).

Several extensions can be added together, by example: Alain-Fournier, « Mort pour la France » on 1 January 1915 : +50 years, +30 years, +6 years +152 days, +8 years +120 days = 30 September 2009.

In practice, copyright extensions today only apply for authors "Mort pour la France", but even this is subject to debate.

It was previously assumed that the European directive on copyright did not necessarily suppress these extensions:

• Article 10 – Where a term of protection, which is longer than the corresponding term provided for by this Directive, is already running in a Member State on the date referred to in Article 13 (1), this Directive shall not have the effect of shortening that term of protection in that Member State.

According to the French Ministry of Culture, the legal status of these extensions, adopted when copyright was 50 years after death, was unclear in the context of the new 70-year law; the Ministry called for erring on the side of caution and assuming they are valid.

It was also assumed that copyright holders do try to enforce these extensions. In 2005, right holders demanded payment for a movie where a character whistled The Internationale, whose author died in 1932. (See also Template:PD-Internationale for further information.) On the other hand, the Paris Appeal Court ruled against applying the extensions in 2004. However, on 12 October 2005, another section of the same court applied the extension so that the works of the painter Giovanni Boldini who died in 1931 will not enter the public domain before late 2016.

Works of arts, including architecture, exhibited in public spaces

The architect of a notable building owns copyright over the representations of that building, including postcards and photographs. For instance, the architect of the pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum may claim copyright over images of the pyramid. This, for instance, extends to the designer of lighting systems; for instance, the company operating the Eiffel Tower claims copyright of images of the tower when lighted at night.

Place des Terreaux, Lyon

However, ruling #567 of March 15, 2005 of the Court of Cassation denied the right of producers of works of arts installed in a public plaza over photographs of the whole plaza:

Because the Court has noticed that, as it was shown in the incriminated images, the works of Mr X... and Z... blended into the architectural ensemble of the Terreaŭx plaza, of which it was a mere element, the appeals court correctly deduced that this presentation of the litigious work was accessory to the topic depicted, which was the representation of the plaza, so that the image did not constitute a communication of the litigious work to the public

The court draws a distinction between depictions of a work of art, and depictions of whole settings of which the work of art is a mere part, and denies the right of the artist over such images.

While architects may have rights to works derived from their work of art, this is not the case of the owners of works of art or buildings, in general. The summary of the conclusions of a May 7, 2004 ruling by the Court of Cassation was:

The owner of a thing does not have an exclusive right over the image of this thing; he or she can however oppose the usage of this image by a third party if this usage results in an abnormal disturbance to him or her.

In this decision, the court excluded that the owner of a hotel, who had made extensive repairs and enhancements to the buildings at high costs, could claim exclusive rights to the image of that hotel: merely demonstrating that the costs supported did not demonstrate that the publishing of images was an abnormal disturbance.

The Court already ruled on [June 5, 2003], that the right of property comprised absolutely no right to the image of this property. However, they also upheld the right to privacy of the homeowners: in this case, not only a photograph of a house was published, but also its exact location and the name of the owners. Earlier rulings similarly rejected requests based on ownership without a justification of an abnormal disturbance.

Historical terms

In 1866, France enacted a copyright term of life + 50 years for most works. On January 1, 1986, the term for musical compositions was increased to life + 70 years. On July 1, 1995, the copyright term for most works was increased to life + 70 years (in harmonization with the rest of the European Union).

Prior to July 1, 1995, posthumous works were protected for 50 years from the date of publication.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-France}} – Public domain because the author(s) died more than 70 years ago and did not benefit from any copyright extension, or it is an anonymous, pseudonymous or collective work and more than 70 years have passed since its publication, or it is the recording of an audiovisual or musical work already in the public domain, and more than 50 years have passed since the performance or the recording.
• {{PD-Archivesnormandie}} – for pictures from the site Archives Normandie 1939-45. Pictures credited to the National Archives USA or the National Archives Canada and tagged "libres de droits" are in the public domain.
• {{PD-JORF}} – for French official legal texts as published in the Journal officiel de la République Française or reprinted on Légifrance; note: not all texts on Légifrance are out-of-copyright, many others are copyrighted under free licenses, and sometimes under unfree licenses).
• {{PD-JORF-nor-conso}} – with NOR (identification number) and index of the updated text.
• {{PD-ID-France}} – Ineligible for copyright and therefore in the public domain because it is a legally valid French identity photograph.
• {{Licence Ouverte}} and {{Licence Ouverte 2}} – For documents issued under the Licence Ouverte (for example from http://data.gouv.fr).
• {{Gouvernement.fr}} – For extracts from a video, text or infographic issued on the French government's website.

Currency

OK Regarding former French currency (francs), case law states that copyright exists, but is paralysed by the ‘allocation to the general interest and character of public service’ of currency. See, for instance, Cour de Cassation 5 February 2002.

Please use {{Money-FR}}.

De minimis

This photograph is not a copyright violation since it is of the entire plaza, and not just the Louvre Pyramid.

The white triangle in this derivative work covers the copyright protected region of the top image.

French case law admits an exception if the copyrighted artwork is "accessory compared to the main represented or handled subject" (CA Paris, 27 octobre 1992, Antenne 2 c/ société Spadem, « la représentation d'une œuvre située dans un lieu public n'est licite que lorsqu'elle est accessoire par rapport au sujet principal représenté ou traité »). Thus ruling #567 of March 15, 2005 of the Court of Cassation denied the right of producers of works of arts installed in a public plaza over photographs of the whole plaza:

• Because the Court has noticed that, as it was shown in the incriminated images, the works of Mr X... and Z... blended into the architectural ensemble of the Terreaux plaza, of which it was a mere element, the appeals court correctly deduced that this presentation of the litigious work was accessory to the topic depicted, which was the representation of the plaza, so that the image did not constitute a communication of the litigious work to the public.

French case law states that the said artwork must not be intentionally included as an element of the setting: its presence in the picture must be unavoidable (CA Versailles, 26 janvier 1998, Sté Movie box c/ Spadem et a.):

• It can be considered as an illicit representation of a statue by Maillol, the broadcasting of a commercial in which it appears, as it was not included in a film sequence shot in a natural setting—which would explain the brief and non-essential to the main subject, appearance of the sculpture, which is set in the Tuileries gardens, but used as an element of the setting.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK {{NoFoP-France}}

Please, tag France no-FoP deletion requests: <noinclude>[[Category:French FOP cases/pending]]</noinclude>.

On 7 October 2016, the French parliament approved a law recognizing a limited version of the freedom of panorama that authorizes the reproduction by individuals (not organizations) of buildings and sculptures permanently located in public space, but only for non-commercial utilizations.

• Reproductions and representations of architectural works and sculptures, permanently placed on public roads, carried out by natural persons, to the exclusion of any commercial use.^{[L.122 5]}

On 4 April 2001, a court emphasized that "droit d'auteur unquestionably applies to the reproduction of artworks placed in public space" (« le droit d'auteur s'étend incontestablement à la reproduction de l'œuvre installée dans un espace public »). Concerning buildings, case law defines several criteria for originality:

• "a definite artistic character" (« un caractère artistique certain »), as opposed to the building being purely functional, and not being part of a series (as is the case in housing development) (CA Riom, 26 May 1966) [ this decision has been criticised as the law explicitly states copyright protection is granted regardless of merit, art.L.112-1 of the French copyright act but another decision of French supreme court concludes on 20 october 2011 that creation must be original as required by art 111-1 of French copyright act and that it is up to appeal court to decide if it is original work or not.
• a harmonious combination of its composing elements, like volumes and colours (TGI Paris, 19 June 1979)
• an “esthetic preoccupation”, here the choice of a sphere and of a mirror surface (CA Paris, 23 October 1990, about en:La Géode)
• a choice which cannot be ascribed to purely technical reasons (CA Paris 20 November 1996, about stairs and a glass roof)
• Works are protected if the creation is original, but not if the realization is purely technical.
• Works without a particular or original character, which are a trivial reproduction of building types largely found across the country, are not protected. (#13).
• It is up to the author or an architectural, art or picture work to prove that it is original and not just application of a technical knowledge.

Case law traditionally admits an exception if the copyrighted artwork is "accessory compared to the main represented or handled subject" (CA Paris, 27 octobre 1992, Antenne 2 c/ société Spadem, « la représentation d'une œuvre située dans un lieu public n'est licite que lorsqu'elle est accessoire par rapport au sujet principal représenté ou traité »). Thus, ruling #567 of March 15, 2005 of the Court of Cassation denied the right of producers of works of art installed in a public plaza over photographs of the whole plaza:

• Because the Court has noticed that, as it was shown in the incriminated images, the works of Mr X... and Z... blended into the architectural ensemble of the Terreaux plaza, of which it was a mere element, the appeals court correctly deduced that this presentation of the litigious work was accessory to the topic depicted, which was the representation of the plaza, so that the image did not constitute a communication of the litigious work to the public.

Case law states that the said artwork must not be intentionally included as an element of the setting: its presence in the picture must be unavoidable (CA Versailles, 26 janvier 1998, Sté Movie box c/ Spadem et a.):

Courts are traditionally lenient with pictures showing urban landscapes, cf. Tour Montparnasse, C.A. Paris - 7 novembre 1980.

• Copyright protection expires 70 years after the death of the original author (who is defined as the creator or designer) here. On January 1st of the following year (ie. January 1 of the 71st Year), freely licensed images of the author's 3D works such as sculptures, buildings, bridges or monuments are now free and can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. The lack of Freedom of Panorama is no longer relevant here for states with no formal FOP since the author's works are now copyright free.

Two-dimensional public art

The non-commercial freedom of panorama exception only covers works of architecture and sculptures in public spaces. A case file from 2023 (Combo v. Melénchon), concerning a politician's use of a street art in their ad campaign, sets a precedence that all street art is not covered by the panorama exception. Therefore, all 2D art is  Not OK, even for non-commercial uses. Another precedence is that graphic works are not permanent because these are always exposed to hazards, like bad weather or damage by passersby.

Illegal graffiti are also protected under French copyright law. One image of an illegal graffiti was deleted after a cease-and-desist letter was sent to Wikimedia France in 2012.

Local transfer to French Wikipedia

If the subject of the picture is either a building or an architectural artwork, and if the picture is already used on the French-speaking Wikipedia, w:fr:Utilisateur:Le plus bot can transfer the picture from Commons to this local Wikipedia under a local exception, as voted by the community in 2006 and 2011 (see w:fr:Wikipédia:Exceptions au droit d'auteur#Exceptions).

• This minimal exception is only for the illustration of the most directly related article in French Wikipedia (this illustration is not usable elsewhere), or outside French Wikipedia.
• Their licencing terms must not permit their extension to derived works (for example, sales of these pictures is not authorized, as well as offline republication or online republication via external proxies and aggregators)
• The copyrighted protection must be stated explicitly in their description page, with relevant licencing templates tracking usage of these images in French Wikipedia.
• The image description page will also display the full list of local pages (most often only one) embedding for their illustration a very limited number of such medias (images in galleries showing all artistic and creative aspect of the same copyrighted subject should not be integrated in these French Wikipedia articles: generally a single illustration is enough). These images should not be integrated in templates reusable in an unbound number of pages.
• Most free images currently hosted on French Wikipedia should be transferred to Commons, so that French Wikipedia will only host non-free copyrighted materials subject to these restrictions: this will allow remote proxies or Wikipedia contents aggregators, or other linguistic editions of Wikipedia to block these images, even if they display the rest of articles embedding these non-free illustration images, only by looking at the prefix of their URL on the image servers (instead of displaying these images, they can display only their textual description with a direct link to the French Wikipedia article showing these images covered by this exception).
• Do not transfer these non-free images currently hosted by French Wikipedia (including corporate logos unless they are accessory to the rest of the image and unavoidable) to any other editions of Wikipedia or to other Wikimedia sites (including Commons, as stated by licencing templates shown in their description pages in French Wikipedia).
• Even if these non-free images are now tolerated in French Wikipedia articles, the legitimate copyright holders can send their veto so that these images will be deleted on French Wikipedia too. The same deletion will occur when receiving a French court order: their long-term presence is not warranted as long as the copyright protection persists.

Stamps

According to La Poste, French stamps have the same legal status as any other work of art. Stamps by designers deceased more than 70 years ago are public domain. The names of the artists are generally printed at the bottom of the stamps or its main picture. Check the individual artists death dates in the frwiki category: Dessinateur de timbres/Stamp designers and also the French Phil-ouest website that lists many more than have wiki articles.

On 1st January 2015, it appears that all postage stamps of France issued until 1922 are in the public domain (doubts about the 1919 stamp known as "The Two Orphans" – cause: no information found on the date of death of Surand and Jarraud).

The following list of artists whose works are in public domain in France (but not necessarily in the United States) because they died before 31 December 1954 is non-exhaustive:

• Barre, Jacques-Jean (1793–1855)
• Delacroix, Ferdinand Victor Eugène (1798–1863)
• Barre, Désiré-Albert (1818–1878)
• Merwart, Paul (1855–1902)
• Blanc, Joseph (1846–1904)
• Dubois, Alphée (1831–1905)
• Chaplain, Jules (1839–1909)
• Sage, Jules-Auguste (1840–1910)
• Roty, Oscar (1846–1911)
• Mouchon, Louis-Eugène (1843–1914)
• Nézière, Georges de la (1878–1914)
• Puyplat, Jules-Jacques (1843–1915)
• Merson, Luc-Olivier (1846–1920)
• Thévenin, Auguste (1856–1921)
• Dumoulin, Louis (1860–1924)
• Froment, Eugène (1844–1926 (?))
• Paul Albert Laurens (1870–1934)
• Ruffé, Léon (1864–1935)
• Mignon, Justin Abel Francois Xaviér (1861–1936)
• Dezarrois, Antoine (1864–1939)
• Gandon, Gaston (1872–1941)
• Delzers, Jean Antonin (1873–1943)
• Degorce, Georges Léo (1894–1943)
• Nézière, Joseph de La (1873–1944)
• Grégoire, René (1871–1945)
• Prudhomme, George Henri (1873–1947)
• Cortot, Henri (1892–1950)
• Ouvré, Achille (1872–1951)
• Hourriez, Georges (1878–1953)
• Dulac, Edmond (1882–1953)
• Nézière, Raymond de la (1865–1953)

Works by the following artists will be in public domain in France (but not necessarily in the United States) on 1 January following 70 years after their death:

• Feltesse, Émile Henri (1881–1955) @2026
• Barlangue, Gabriel Antoine (1874–1956) @2027
• Dufresne, Charles Paul (1885–1956) @2027
• Lemasson, Henri (1870–1956) @2027
• Cheffer, Henry (1880–1957) @2028
• Rigal, Louis Pierre (1888–1959) @2030
• Munier, Pierre (1889–1962) @2033
• Cocteau, Jean (1889–1963) @2034
• Kieffer, Clément (1881-1964) @2035
• Mazelin, Charles (1882–1964) @2035
• Louis, Robert (1902–1965) @2036
• Serres, Raoul (1881–1971) @2042
• Cami, Robert (1900–1973) @2044
• Lemagny, Paul Pierre (1905–1977) @2048
• Spitz, André (1883–1977) @2048
• Piel, Jules (1882–1978) @2049
• Picart Le Doux, Jean (1902–1982) @2053
• Monvoisin, Michel (1932–1982) @2053
• Miró, Joan (1893–1983) @2054
• Fernez Louis (1900–1984) @2055
• Decaris, Albert (1901–1988) @2059
• Delpech, Jean (1916–1988) @2059
• Haley, Claude (1923–1988) @2059
• Gandon, Pierre (1899–1990) @2061
• Pheulpin, Jean (1907–1991) @2062
• Cottet, René (1902–1992) @2063
• Combet, Jacques (1920–1993) @2064
• Lengellé, Paul (1908-1993) @2064
• Peynet, Raymond (1908–1999) @2070
• Hundertwasser, Friedensreich (1928–2000) @2071
• Leguay, Marc (1910–2001) @2072
• Durrens, Claude (1921–2002) @2073
• Hertenberger, Claude (1912–2002) @2073
• Bridoux, Charles (1942–2003) @2074
• Dessirier, René (1919–2003@2074
• Guillame, Cécile (1933–2004) @2075
• Folon, Jean-Michel (1934–2005) @2076
• Forget, Pierre (1923–2005) @2076
• Lacaque, Eugène (1914–2005) @2076
• Slania, Czeslaw (1921–2005) @2076
• Schach-Duc, Yvonne (1933–2009) @2080
• Sainson, Huguette (1929–2011) @2082
• Mathieu, Georges (1921–2012) @2083
• Béquet, Pierre (1932–2012) @2083
• Leliepvre, Eugène (1908–2013) @2084
• Wou-Ki, Zao (1920–2013) @2084
• Markó, Serge (1926–2014) @2085
• Taraskoff, Mark (1955–2015) @2086
• Quillivic, René (1925–2016) @2087
• Andréotto, Claude (1949–2017) @2088

Threshold of originality

French law asserts that a work is copyrightable when it bears the "imprint of the personality of the author". In practice, it depends on the work in question, but this has left the bar quite low for many works where an artistic intent can be shown. For an art exhibition, a man placed the word paradis with gold lettering above the bathroom door of the old dormitory of alcoholics at a psychiatric facility, and termed it artwork; the French courts agreed with him that it was copyrightable based on the aesthetic choices made ("affixing the word 'paradise' in gold with patina effect and a special graphics on dilapidated door, the lock-shaped cross, encased in a crumbling wall with peeling paint").

France has "a slightly higher threshold of originality in general, and particularly so in the context of photographic works".

A decision from Supreme court (Cour de Cassation) on October 2011 agreed with appeal court decision saying that a quite artistic picture of two fish on a yellow plate about a traditional Marseille meal could not be protected by French law because of lack of originality. According to this decision, level of originality required by this appeal court is very high. This decision was criticized but French supreme court does not control facts but only controls interpretation of the law. In 2017, copyright protection on this image of Jimi Hendrix was restored after a court initially denied protection.

See also

• France
• Category:French FOP cases
• Category:License tags of France
• Category:Stamps of France

Citations

Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer

Georgia

According to Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (1999) as well as newer 2010 law copyright lasts 70 years pma.

Germany

Copyright rules: Germany Shortcut: COM:GERMANY
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-EU-no author disclosure}} {{PD-EU-unpublished}} {{PD-GermanGov}} {{FoP-Germany}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	DEU
Treaties
Berne convention	5 December 1887
Univ. Copyright Convention	16 September 1955
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	14 March 2010
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Germany relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Germany must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Germany and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from Germany, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Germany has been a member of the Berne Convention since 5 December 1887, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995, and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 14 March 2010.

As of 2019, the main copyright law of Germany is the 1965 Act on Copyright and Related Rights (Gesetz über Urheberrecht und verwandte Schutzrechte) (UrhG). In general, the current (consolidated) text of the law is provided by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and can be found here. An unofficial English translation is also available courtesy of the Ministry—see here—, but often does not reflect the most recent amendments, so you may wish to review the "Version information" at the top.

Summary of copyright terms

Standard term for works

As of 2019, the standard copyright term for works is life + 70 years.

Anonymous and pseudonymous works

The treatment of anonymous and pseudonymous works in copyright law changed in 1995. Since then, for all anonymous or pseudonymous works created prior to 1 July 1995 the term of copyright must be calculated as follows: Calculate the point of expiry under the old law (the "old method"), then calculate the point of expiry under the new law (the "current method"). Copyright expires on whichever date comes last.

The old method

Unpublished works: The term of copyright is life + 70 years (the special rules for anonymous and pseudonymous works did not apply to unpublished works).

Published works: It was controversial whether the special rules for anonymous and pseudonymous works applied to all published works or only to so-called released works (verbreitete Werke). ("Released" is a special case of "published".A work is deemed to have been released "when copies of the work have been offered, with the rightholder's consent, to the public or brought to the market after their production in sufficient quantity", § 6(2) UrhG. By way of example, when a new film is shown on television, that makes it a "published" work, but not yet a "released" one. Once DVDs of the film are distributed to stores, it would also be considered "released".)

That aside, the general rules were as follows: If and only if the following three conditions are met:

1. The work is not a work of fine art and
2. neither the real name of the author nor a known pseudonym of his were specified in the usual manner on a released/published copy of the work, and
3. neither the real name of the author nor a known pseudonym of his were specified within the context of a communication to the public of the work

then the copyright term for the work was 70 years after publication unless

1. the work was published (again) within that period of time and this time the author was designated with their real name or their known pseudonym in the usual manner on a published copy or
2. the author has become known in some other way within that period of time, or
3. an application was filed within that period of time to enter the author's name in the register of anonymous and pseudonymous works, or
4. the work has never been published during the lifetime of the author.

If any of these four conditions is met, then the term of copyright was life + 70 years.

The current method

Unpublished works: If an anonymous or pseudonymous work is still unpublished 70 years after its creation, its copyright expires.

Published works: The copyright term for anonymous and pseudonymous works is 70 years after publication unless

1. the author reveals their identity within that period of time, or
2. an application is filed within that period of time to enter the author's name in the register of anonymous and pseudonymous works, or
3. the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his identity.

If any of these three cases applies, the term of copyright is life + 70 years instead.

Two miscellaneous comments on these provisions are in order: First, it should be noted that the prevailing view is that the term "work of fine art" in (A) also applies to works of applied art and architectural works; it does not extend to photographic works. This implies that the copyright term of works like oil paintings, sculptures, or buildings created before July 1 1995 is, effectively, always life + 70 years, irrespective of whether they would otherwise qualify as anonymous/pseudonymous. Second, as a practical matter, condition (2) is particularly problematic. It is very much unclear how one would ascertain whether the author "has become known in some other way" during the 70 years following the work's (first) publication. Courts have so far not provided meaningful guidance on the issue. Academic commentators seem to advocate a rather low bar. In the view of Paul Katzenberger, "it was sufficient if a not completely insignificant part of the relevant public became aware of the author's identity[;] by no means was it necessary that [the identity] became general knowledge".

Related rights

• Publication right: 25 years from first publication or first public performance if copyright has expired before such publication or performance, or if the work has never been protected in Germany and the author died more than 70 years before the first publication.^{[UrhG/2017 § 71]}

Official works

Section 5(1) works

Not protected

Under § 5(1) of the 1965 Act on Copyright and Related Rights (Gesetz über Urheberrecht und verwandte Schutzrechte) (UrhG), acts, statutory instruments, official decrees and official notices, decisions, and official headnotes of decisions do not enjoy copyright protection.

The fuzziest element within this enumeration is perhaps the fourth, "official notices" (amtliche Bekanntmachungen). According to the Federal Court of Justice, such notices need to have "regulatory substance"—the provision is not intended to render unprotected "merely informatory expressions by an administrative body". More broadly, the Court held that § 5(1) as a whole applies only to works that contain a "normative or individual legal stipulation" (normative oder einzelfallbezogene rechtliche Regelung) for only in this case there is a "sufficient public interest in the distribution to justify the exception from copyright with no strings attached". "Decisions" are decisions by federal or state courts or administrative authorities that, as judgements, court orders, official ordinances, etc, contain legally binding stipulations.

An important question for this project is whether § 5(1) is capable of applying to all types of works. A 2012 decision by the Berlin Regional Court (which has garnered some attention by users of this project as the lawsuit was brought against the Wikimedia Foundation) followed some academic and non-judicial commentators in holding that § 5(1) applies exclusively to literary works (Sprachwerke). This view has been criticised by others who have pointed out that official decrees, decisions, etc may very well contain other types of works and that it would defeat the purpose of § 5(1) if these all had to be removed prior to publication.

The prevailing view is that § 5(1) does not apply to currency (notes and coins), postage stamps, or official coats of arms (although the latter thus far have not nearly received as much academic—let alone judicial—attention). Those who deem § 5(1) applicable to non-literary works mostly agree that the provision applies to land-use plans (Bebauungspläne) pursuant to § 8(1) of the Federal Building Code (Baugesetzbuch), which contain legally binding designations for urban development, as well as to official road signs. Most maps and plans originating in government, however, do not qualify for subsection 1 but either for subsection 2 (see below) or are not considered "official works" at all. According to the Federal Court of Justice, for instance, topographic maps issued by the state offices for survey are not official works under copyright law.

Section 5(2) works

Section 5(2) broadens the scope of application of the German official works provision, stating that "official works published in the official interest for general information purposes" also do not enjoy copyright protection. However, these works—unlike the § 5(1) works described above—may not be modified (prohibition of alteration, § 62) and when using them the source must be acknowledged (§ 63). Due to these requirements, there has been some discussion on this project whether official works pursuant to § 5(2) should be accepted. As of 2019, the prevailing view seems to be that we may not rely on § 5(2): The {{PD-GermanGov}} template refers exclusively to § 5(1) as a possible justification. We will therefore forego a more thorough analysis of § 5(2) on this page.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-GermanGov}} – for public domain images from German statutes or other regulations.
• {{PD-BW}} – for publicly available service regulations ("Zentrale Dienstvorschrift") of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr).
• {{PD-Coa-Germany}} – for German coats of arms of corporations governed by public law that are in the public domain according to German law because they are official works (§&5 Abs.1 UrhG).
• {{PD-Flag-Germany}} – for German flags of corporations governed by public law that are in the public domain according to German law because they are official works (§5 Abs.1 UrhG).
• {{PD-Seal-Germany}} – for German seals of corporations governed by public law that are in the public domain according to German law because they are official works (§5 Abs.1 UrhG).
• {{PD-VzKat}} – for road signs published as statutes or other regulations.
• {{PD-German stamps}} – for current German stamps.
• {{PD-Deutsche Bundespost stamps}} – for German stamps released as Deutsche Bundespost.
• {{PD-GDR stamps}} – for German stamps released as Deutsche Post der DDR.
• {{PD-Meyers}} – for images from the 4th edition of Meyers Konversationslexikon (1885–90).
• {{PD-Germany-§134}} – for literary works, works of music and scientific or technical images published by a legal entity under public law more than 70 years ago that do not mention the author.
• {{PD-Germany-§134-KUG}} – for photographs and works of art published by a legal entity under public law more than 70 years ago that do not mention the author.
• {{Data license Germany-attribution-2.0}} – for data from German authorities, very similar to CC BY-SA
• {{Data license Germany-Zero-2.0}} – for data from German authorities, very similar to CC0

Currency

 Not OK except for Deutsche Mark bank notes.

• At present many Commons images of German coins and banknotes use {{PD-GermanGov}}, but this template relies on § 5 Abs. 1 UrhG, which has recently been declared by a low German court (Landgericht) to apply only to text, not images. See discussion at Commons:Village pump/Copyright/Archive/2012/07#German currency.
• Deutsche Bundesbank has confirmed public domain for German DM-banknotes 1949–2001, which is, however, a permission for simple usage only (and not solely sufficient) towards Wikipedia.
• According to the coinciding German copyright literature, works like bank notes, coins and stamps are not to be considered works by the government and are not free. This, however, does not influence above-mentioned permission by Deutsche Bundesbank affecting Deutsche Mark bills (not coins!).

De minimis

Under § 57 of the 1965 Act on Copyright and Related Rights (Gesetz über Urheberrecht und verwandte Schutzrechte) (UrhG), "any reproduction, distribution, and communication in public of a work shall be admissible if the work is to be regarded as an immaterial supplement in comparison to the actual subject matter of the reproduction, distribution, or communication in public."

The first step in assessing whether a particular use of a work is covered by § 57 is to determine the actual (primary) subject matter reproduced, distributed, or communicated to the public. The primary subject matter does not itself need to be protected by copyright.To qualify under § 57, the work must not only "fade into the background" or be of "subordinate significance" relative to the primary subject matter; rather, it must not even attain marginal or minor significance.

According to the Federal Court of Justice, this is the case

1. if it could be omitted or replaced and the average observer would not notice it (or, in the alternative, the overall impression of the primary subject matter would not be at all affected); or
2. if, in light of the circumstances of the case, it bears not even the slightest contextual relationship (inhaltliche Beziehung) to the primary subject matter, but rather is without any significance to it whatsoever due to its randomness and arbitrariness.

The Federal Court of Justice also provided a (non-exhaustive) list of examples where it is "regularly impossible" that the use of a work qualifies as de minimis:

1. The work noticeably impacts the style or mood conveyed (erkennbar stil- oder stimmungsbildend);
2. the work underscores a particular effect or statement;
3. the work serves a dramaturgic purpose; or
4. the work is characteristic in any other way.

Note that whether the work can be replaced with another work is relevant only to the extent that if an average observer of the primary subject matter would not notice the work in question because it can be arbitrarily replaced or omitted, this supports a finding of immateriality (see above). However, as soon as it has been established that the work is part of the overall concept (say, because it impacts the mood of the picture), it no longer matters if the work could be replaced: Section 57 does not apply.

Examples of de minimis use from court cases:

There are very few court decisions discussing the German de minimis provision and the 2014 decision by the Federal Court of Justice, which set out the tests expounded above, was the first by Germany's highest court of civil jurisprudence that revolved around § 57. In the case at issue, the Court looked at a photograph in a furniture catalogue depicting several furniture items for sale and a painting on the wall in the background (pictured here, p 3). The Court held that the publisher could not rely on § 57 for its use of the painting after the lower court found that the painting added a "markedly contrasting colour accent". The Court deemed this sufficient to rule out an immaterial use pursuant to § 57. In another decision, the Federal Court of Justice held that the use of a picture of a Spanish city as part of a high-school student's essay on that city does not qualify as de minimis.

In light of the 2014 judgement, older decisions by lower courts will need to be viewed with some caution. That being said, the use of a photograph of an individual wearing a T-shirt with a protected design on the cover page of a magazine (pictured here) was held by the Munich Higher Regional Court in 2008 to fall within the definition of use as an immaterial supplement because the design did not bear any contextual relationship to the primary subject matter due to its randomness and arbitrariness.

Freedom of panorama

OK {{FoP-Germany}}

See also: de:Panoramafreiheit#Deutschland

General

Under section 59(1) of the 1965 Act on Copyright and Related Rights (Gesetz über Urheberrecht und verwandte Schutzrechte) (UrhG), it is permitted to "reproduce, distribute and communicate to the public, by means of painting, drawing, photography, or cinematography, works located permanently in public streets, ways, or public open spaces".

Section 59(1) applies to all types of works as long as they are reproduced by painting, drawing, photography, or cinematography. The German freedom of panorama limitation is thus capable of applying to photographs of works of artistic art (such as paintings, fountains, sculptures, or photographic works) as well as to pictures of poems and song lyrics inscribed on commemorative plaques.

For the exception to arise, two principal conditions must be met: The work must be located in a place that is "public" and the work needs to be located there "permanently". The two conditions are discussed in more detail below.

Public

Despite the somewhat ambiguous wording, a work is located "in" a public place if it can be observed from a public place. In other words, what needs to be public is the place from where the photograph is taken; it does not matter if the work itself is accessible to the public. It is important to note that only the view from the public place is privileged: If, for instance, a statue is located next to a public street, photographs of the statue taken from that street enjoy freedom of panorama, but photographs of the very same statue taken from a non-public spot do not. Accordingly, the Federal Court of Justice held that a picture of a building taken from the balcony of a privately owned flat across the street did not comply with the requirements of § 59(1) because the balcony is not a public place. To simplify life for re-users of pictures, there is a rebuttable presumption that if a given photograph of a work could have been made from a public place, it was in fact made from a public place.

When a photographer has used special tools (such as a ladder) to create the picture or has taken the picture after removing objects that otherwise would have shielded the work from the public eye (think of a photographer brushing aside the branches of a hedge to get a better view of a sculpture), § 59(1) cannot be relied upon for the resulting view is no longer part of what the general public can visually perceive from the public place. Based on the same reasoning, the Federal Court of Justice has held that aerial photography does not meet the requirements of § 59(1). Accordingly, the Court held in 2024 that freedom of panorama does not apply to drone-captured images of permanent art installations on slag heaps. There is some controversy in the legal literature as to whether telephoto lenses should also be treated as impermissible tools—the majority of commentators answers this in the affirmative.

Whether a place is "public" for purposes of § 59(1) does not depend on whether it is public or private property. Instead, the question turns on its actual accessibility, which, according to the prevailing view, needs to be such that one can infer a (sufficient) dedication to the public. Against this backdrop, many academic and extra-judicial commentators argue that publicly accessible station halls, subway stations, and departure halls fall short of the "public" requirement because they are not in the same way dedicated to the public as streets, ways, or public open spaces. The status of atria and passages is controversial. The Federal Court of Justice so far has only clarified that streets, ways, and open spaces are "public" for purposes of the provision "if they are freely accessible for anyone". On the other hand, according to commentators, the place does not need to be accessible all the time. Graveyards are frequently cited as an example of a place that is public despite the fact that it is often closed during night hours. Private property that cannot be freely accessed, for instance because there is some type of access control in place (or even an entrance fee is charged), does not fall under § 59(1). Buildings such as museums, public collections, churches, or administrative buildings are not "public" within the meaning of the statute, and thus photographs of works exhibited in their interior do not qualify under § 59(1).

The location alternatives listed in § 59(1) ("streets", "ways", and "open spaces") are merely illustrative; freedom of panorama also extends, inter alia, to what can be seen from international and coastal waters, waterways, and ocean harbours.

Permanent

Permanently located in a public place (see Bundesgerichtshof 27 April 2017, case I ZR 247/15 AIDA Kussmund, (2017) 119 GRUR 798): protected work of art ("Smiling Lips") on the bow and the hull of a cruise ship
(design by Feliks Büttner; pictured here near Funchal, Madeira)

Permanently located in a public place (see Bundesgerichtshof 19 January 2017, case I ZR 242/15 East Side Gallery, (2017) 119 GRUR 390): protected work of art on a remaining section of the Berlin Wall
("Hommage an die junge Generation" by Thierry Noir, East Side Gallery)

Permanently located in a public place (see Oberlandesgericht Köln 9 March 2012, case 6 U 193/11 Liebe deine Stadt, (2012) 16 ZUM-RD 593) based on having been in place for five years: installation by Merlin Bauer (protected as a work of art) on a rooftop in Cologne, Germany, Nord-Süd-Fahrt

To meet the condition as to permanence, a work does not need to remain at its location during its entire existence. According to the Federal Court of Justice, the proper test is whether the display or the erection of the work in a public place, as perceived by an objective observer, serves the purpose of a not-merely-temporary presentation. In a more recent decision, the Court clarified that a work is permanently located in a public place if "from the point of view of the general public, [it is] intended to remain in the public place for a long, mostly indefinite, period of time". On that basis, the Court determined that a work presented to the public for just two weeks—the so-called Wrapped Reichstag—cannot be reproduced under § 59(1). In the same vein, a regional court held that an artistic "grass sofa" installed in a freely accessible garden for many years without any indication of an end date of the exhibition, is located there permanently. These cases must be distinguished from the case of ephemeral works, such as ice or sand sculptures, or chalk paintings on streets, whose lifetime is limited by certain natural constraints; leading academic commentaries almost universally consider such works permanent even though they often exist only for a short period of time. The same position is usually taken with respect to graffiti on exterior walls (which in all likelihood will be painted over sooner or later).

Works displayed in shop windows do not fall under § 59(1) due to a lack of permanent display. There is some controversy in the literature over the permanent nature of posters on advertising columns and similar structures.

In order to be located "permanently" in a public place, a work does not need to remain in one and the same place—its location may change. Accordingly, the Federal Court of Justice held that a protected work of art on the bow of a cruise ship meets the "permanence" condition because the artwork and the cruise ship "are intended to be located for a long time in (different) public places". In the view of the Court, this seems to apply more broadly to "street cars, omnibuses, or even freight vehicles", which are "increasingly being used as an advertising medium and at least a non-negligible share of the designs attached to such vehicles are copyright-protected as works of applied art".

Additional requirement for architectural works

In the case of architectural works, the freedom of panorama provision is applicable only to the external appearance. Therefore, pictures of interior staircases and interior courtyards cannot be used under § 59(1) even if all of the above-described conditions are met.

Prohibition of alteration

Section 59(1) does not permit the use of modifications of the depicted work. Therefore, when the photographer of a horse sculpture digitally changed the colour of the horse and digitally added a Santa hat to it, a regional court found that he could no longer use the resulting picture under the freedom of panorama. The same conclusion was reached by a higher regional court when a photographer digitally altered the colour of a protected sign ("Liebe deine Stadt", pictured) and the colour of the sky visible in the background of his photograph. Modifications that directly result from the chosen method of reproduction are permitted. Partial reproductions are generally allowed, even if essential parts of the work are left out and even if it would be possible to reproduce the work as whole.

Acknowledgement of source

The source of the work must be clearly acknowledged. The "source" generally includes the name of the author, but goes beyond that, in that it shall enable a third party to identify the copy of the work that was depicted.

While it is straightforward to apply the attribution requirement when the author is identified directly on/next to the particular copy of the depicted work, it is not entirely clear whether a photographer needs to undertake research (and if so, how thoroughly) when the author is not named on (in the vicinity of) the particular copy. It is widely believed that those who rely for their communication to the public on the freedom of panorama need to undertake a reasonable effort to identify the author, but the interpretations of that differ. Professor Dreier argues in his treatise, for instance, that when using pictures of works of architecture or applied art, less of an effort can be expected than in the case of pictures of works of fine art; Dreyer J, writing extra-judicially, points out that what is reasonable depends primarily on the intensity of the use (publishers printing post cards depicting a work vs tourists giving photographs of a work to their acquaintances as gifts); and Professor Götting argues that it seems unreasonable to him to make the user of a picture of an unsigned architectural work research the name of the author.

Stamps

According to a decision by a German regional court (Landgericht Berlin) in a case of the heirs of German artist Loriot against the Wikimedia Foundation, announced 27 March 2012, German postage stamps are not "official works" according to § 5 I or II UrhG and are therefore not in the public domain, as previously assumed on Commons.

Stamps of other private entities are copyrighted as well. However, the usual German copyright expiration term applies - copyright expires 70 years after 1 January after death of the creator. Some individual stamps may be copyright-free for other reasons (e.g. simple graphic design). For a further discussion, see Wikilegal/Copyright of Images in German Postage Stamps

Outdated license templates, to be deleted or changed

See Commons:WikiProject Public Domain/German stamps review.

• Template:PD-German stamps
  for stamps of Deutsche Post AG, issued from 5 May 1995 on (imprint „Deutschland“)
• Template:PD-Deutsche Bundespost stamps
  for stamps of Deutsche Bundespost (Federal Mail, including Saarland) issued from 1949 until 6 April 1995
• Template:PD-Deutsche Bundespost Berlin stamps
  for stamps of Deutsche Bundespost Berlin issued from 1949 until September 27, 1990
• Template:PD-GDR stamps
  for stamps of Deutsche Post der DDR (German Democratic Republic, 1945 - 1990)
• Template:PD-DBZ stamps
  for stamps issued by Allied Occupation authorities (1945 - 1949)
• Template:PD-German Empire stamps
  for stamps of Deutsche Reichspost (Imperial Mail, including foreign entities) issued before 1945
• For stamps of the pre-Imperial German states the Template:PD-old applies.
  • See talk pages for updates.

Threshold of originality

Works of fine art (including works of applied art and architectural works)

"Works of fine art", as defined in § 2(1)(4) of the 1965 Act on Copyright and Related Rights (Gesetz über Urheberrecht und verwandte Schutzrechte) (UrhG), is a catch-all term for works of fine art in a stricter sense, works of applied art, and architectural works. Fine art is distinguished from applied art by its lack of a utilitarian purpose. For many decades, courts imposed a higher threshold of originality on works of applied art than on works of fine art ("two-tier theory"). In 2013, however, the Federal Court of Justice expressly changed its jurisprudence, holding that "in general, the copyright protection of works of applied art is not subject to other requirements than the copyright protection of works of non-utilitarian fine art or of literary or musical creation. It is hence sufficient that they attain a level of creativity that allows a public open to art and relatively familiar with views on art to justifiably speak of 'artistic' creations".

In assessing whether an article with a utilitarian purpose is protected by copyright, one must take into account, however, that the aesthetic effect of the article can only provide a basis for copyright protection to the extent that it is not dictated by the article's utilitarian purpose, but instead is based on an artistic effort. Only those features of a utilitarian article that are not entirely dictated by the technical function can justify copyright protection. A feature is considered "dictated by the technical function" if the article could not function without it. This includes features that, for technical reasons, must necessarily be used in articles of the same kind as the article concerned, as well as features that, while being used for technical reasons, are freely selectable or interchangeable. To the extent that the design of such features is entirely dictated by their technical function, they are incapable of justifying copyright protection of the utilitarian article.

Examples from court cases on applied art:

Protection denied:

• a climbing structure for playgrounds made of ropes (pictured in the decision, p 3 bottom) because the structure consists of freely selectable or interchangeable yet technically required features and does not exhibit artistic creativity;
• a wooden toy train ("birthday train") with wagons in which candles and numbers can be inserted (pictured in the decision, p 3) because there were similar-looking, pre-existing toy trains.
• a logo (pictured here in black and white) consisting of the text "Match by Audiotec Fischer" and the commonly used "fast-forward" symbol because neither the design of the text nor the design of the symbol ("widely used in the audio world") nor the combination of the two could be considered an artistic creation.
• two models of Birkenstock sandals (pictured in the decision, p 3);

Protection accorded:

• a logo consisting of a mouth, eyes, and wave lines ("eyebrows") (pictured in the decision, p 3) (in the case at issue, the design was painted on the exterior of a ship and therefore could be reproduced under the freedom of panorama limitation);
• a toy train comprised of wooden animal figurines on wheels ("birthday caravan") (pictured in the decision, p 3) because it was a complete redesign of pre-existing toy trains, whose locomotive and wagons were replaced with animals, and the overall design (shapes, colours) was not the result of technical necessities but an expression of the author's artistic creativity;
• an urn emblazoned with an airbrushed depiction of a deer (pictured in the decision, on the left);
• a Porsche 356 sports car (pictured in the decision, 3rd and 4th image from the top);
• a patio heater with a triangular base (pictured in the decision, first image).

In the past decades, court cases where protection as applied art was eventually accorded primarily revolved around renowned designer objects, in particular items of furniture and lamps. A few more recent examples:

• chairs and tables based on drafts by the designers Marcel Breuer ("Wassily" chair, "Laccio" table) and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ("Barcelona" chair, stool, couch, and table; "Brno" chair; "Prag" chair);
• the "Wilhelm Wagenfeld table lamp";
• a brilliant-cut diamond ring ("Niessing-Spannring").

Signatures

German copyright law requires a high threshold of originality, called Schöpfungshöhe.

OK for a typical signature. The relevant law is the Urheberrechtsgesetz, abbreviated UrhG. Paragraph 2(2) UrhG makes it clear that there is a threshold of originality that must be met: "Werke im Sinne dieses Gesetzes sind nur persönliche geistige Schöpfungen", which can be roughly translated as "According to this law, only personal intellectual creations are considered as works." The Schöpfungshöhe defines the minimal requirements that must be met for a work to become a copyrightable intellectual creation. In this context, signatures are comparable to simple graphics that just fulfill some practical purpose which are likewise not eligible for copyright as documented by following cases:

• OLG Köln, 6 U 199/85 (GRUR 1986, 889) ruled that this image is ineligible for copyright including its animation
• BVerfG 1 BvR 1571/02 ruled that this image is ineligible for copyright because it is a work of applied art serving a practical purpose which requires a higher threshold of originality

In general, simple type faces and signatures for practical purposes are not eligible for copyright. To quote from Haimo Schack: Urheber- und Urhebervertragsrecht, p. 118:

"Dagegen wird ein Urheberschutz von Schriftzeichen von der Rechtssprechung in aller Regel verneint. Auch das einprägsame Signet der "ARD-1" erfüllte nicht die Anforderungen an eine persönliche geistige Schöpfung. Seit dem 1.6.2004 werden Schriftzeichen nicht mehr über das Schriftzeichengesetz, sondern unmittelbar als Geschmacksmuster geschützt (vgl § 61 GeschmMG)."

Rough translation:

"In contrast, copyright protection for typefaces is declined by the prevailing case law. Even the catchy logo "ARD-1" did not fulfil the requirements of a personal intellectual creation. Since 1 June 2004 type faces are no longer protected by the Schriftzeichengesetz (law for type faces) but as design patents (see § 61 GeschmMG)."

See also de:Rechtsschutz von Schriftzeichen#Schutz handschriftlicher Schriftarten und Gestaltungen.

However, there may still be copyright be if the signature is sufficiently complex to become a protectable artistic work (e.g. because it has more creativity than this image - see above).

However, in addition to copyright law, the right of privacy also applies. According to the right to informational self-determination, a person can demand that their signature not be published against their will. See Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart, AZ 4 W 42/23, 2023-09-25.

See also

• Deutschland
• Copyright law of Germany on the English Wikipedia
• Wikipedia:Bildrechte on the German Wikipedia.
• Category:German FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Germany
• Category:PD Germany license tags
• Category:Stamps of Germany
• Commons:WikiProject Public Domain/German stamps review

Notes

Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer

Ghana

Online version of the 2005 Copyright Act (Act 690) for Ghana: [23].

Most works of individual authors are protected during the life of the author and 70 years after the author's death (Section 12). Anonymous or pseudonymous works (Section 14), and works of corporate bodies (Section 13) are protected for 70 years after creation or publication, whichever date is the later.

Note: Several special cases and exceptions for government works and specific types of works apply, see online text [24] for more details.

Greece

The terms of WIPO copyright treaty have been introduced with Law 3184/2003. See also [25] for the full text. The economic right on works created by employees (under any work relation) of the Government or a legal entity of public law (greek: Ν.Π.Δ.Δ.) in execution of their duties is transferred to the employer, unless provided otherwise by contract. (Law 2557/1997, Part 8.17)

Duration of copyright protection

According to Law 2557 published in December 1997 (article 8, paragraphs 5, 6 and 7), the duration of the copyright was extended to 70 years after the death of the creator, or 70 years after the date of publication for anonymous and pseudonymous works. After the expiry of the period of copyright protection, the State, represented by the Minister of Culture, may exercise the rights relating to the acknowledgment of the author’s paternity and the rights relating to the protection of the integrity of the work deriving from the moral rights. This clause may prevent the creation of certain types of derivative work, even after the copyright has expired, as the State has the right to prohibit any distortion, mutilation or other modification of the original work. A publisher of an unpublished work, for which the economic right has expired, has a 25-year publication right starting from the date of publication. Typesetting and pagination of a printed work is protected for 50 years after publication.

Exemptions from copyright

There are a few exemptions from copyright, defined in earlier Law 2121/1993, Part 2, paragraph 5. Those which may apply to the content of Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons are:

• Official state, government and judicial texts: Laws, decrees, administrative decisions and circulars, proceedings and decisions of courts of justice etc. It is not clear if pictures of postage stamps (pre 1970), revenue stamps and currency (coins only) are covered by this clause.
• Expressions of popular tradition (folklore), current news items and simple facts and data.

Monuments & antiquities

Photography of ancient monuments and antiquities is allowed only for personal use. The Greek Government requires payment of a fee for publishing images of monuments and antiquities and claims copyright on them. This is specified in a Ministerial Decision published in Government Gazette issue B-1491/2005-10-27, paragraph 2.1.5. However, such images are still acceptable on Commons, see Commons:Image_casebook#Museum_and_interior_photography.

Guatemala

See Decree Number 33-98. In general, works subject to copyright protection enjoy that protection for the life of the author plus seventy-five years after his or her death. (Ch.V, ¶43.) In the case of works created by two or more authors, the period shall start after the death of the last coauthor. In the case of an anonymous or pseudonymous works, the term of protection shall be counted from the first publication or, failing that, of their "realización" (Eng: "realization") (Ch.V, ¶45.))

Guinea-Bissau

While Guinea-Bissau is a party to the Berne Convention since 1991, and the TRIPS Agreement since 1995, as of 2013 there were still no signs of any replacement the colonial copyright Law No. 46,980 of April 27, 1966 (life of the author + 50 years).

Haiti

According to the Décret sur les Droits d'Auteur of 9 March 2006, general copyright protection is 60 years after death. (art. 20 to 24).

The only exception are photographic works, which are protected for 25 years after the end of the year the work was created (art. 25).

Hungary

According to the Hungarian Copyright Act (Act No. LXXVI of 1999 on copyright) (English translation, consolidated text as of 6 September 2010):

• Copyrightable works. A work is in the public domain in the following cases:
  • Published works by known authors. Seventy years have passed since 1 January of the year following the year in which the author died (or, if there were joint authors, the year in which the author dying last died): Articles 31(1) and (2).
  • Published works by unknown authors, and collective works. Seventy years have passed since 1 January of the year following the year in which the work was first disclosed: Articles 31(3) and (5). (In the case of a work by an unknown author, if the author becomes known during this time the preceding paragraph applies.)
  • Unpublished works by unknown authors. Seventy years have passed since the creation of the work: Article 31(7). However, after this period has passed, a person who legally discloses the work enjoys a publication right in respect of it, and is entitled to the copyright of the work for 25 years from 1 January of the year following the year in which the work was first disclosed: Article 32.
• Non-protected works. The following works do not enjoy copyright protection:
  • Official works. Provisions of law, other legal instruments of state administration, judicial and authority decisions, authority or other official announcements and documents, and standards and other like provisions made obligatory by legislative acts: Article 1(4).
  • Facts and daily news. Facts and daily news that serve as a basis for press information: Article 1(5).
  • Ideas, principles, etc. Ideas, principles, concepts, procedures, methods of operation and mathematical operations: Article 1(6).
  • Folklore. Expression of folklore: Article 1(7). (Note, however, that works of an individual and original nature that are inspired by folk art are subject to copyright.)
• Freedom of panorama. There is freedom of panorama for fine art, applied art and architecture erected with a permanent character outdoors in a public place: Article 68(1).

Images of people require their consent, except for public performances: Civil Code (Act No. IV of 1959), section 80.

Iceland

According to the Copyright Act No. 73 of May 29, 1972, as last amended by Act No. 97 of 30 June 2006:

• Copyrightable works.
  • Authors' works (except cinematographic works). Copyright in an author's work expires 70 years after the end of the year in which the author died, or, in the case of a jointly authored work, in which the last surviving author died: Article 43.
  • Cinematographic works. Copyright in a cinematographic work expires 70 years after the end of the year in which the last survivor of the following persons died:
    • the principal directors;
    • the authors of the manuscript (including the authors of the dialogue); and
    • the composers, if the music was composed specially for the cinematographic work: Article 43.
  • Photographs that are not artistic works. The copyright in a photograph that is not an artistic work expires 50 years after the end of the year in which it was taken: Article 49.
  • Anonymous works.
    • Copyright in an anonymous work expires 70 years after the end of the year in which it was presented. However, if the author becomes known within that period, Article 43 applies. If an anonymous work is not presented, the copyright in it expires 70 years after the end of the year in which it was created: Article 44. A work is regarded as having been presented if it has been performed with authorization or shown publicly, or if copies of it have been published (that is, offered for sale, loan or rental or otherwise distributed to the public in appreciable quantity with proper authorization): Article 2.
    • When a work has not been publicly presented within the period of protection mentioned in Article 43 or 44, the person who first presents the work after the period of protection may exercise a right to commercial exploitation of the work equivalent to that enjoyed by the author for 25 years from the end of the year of the presentation: Article 44a. A work is regarded as having been publicly presented if performed or shown at a workplace employing ten or more people: Article 2.
  • Recordings of performances. A performer's right in a performance expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the performance occurred, or, if a recording of the performance has been distributed to the public, 50 years from the end of the year in which the recording was first distributed: Article 45.
  • Audio and video recordings. Audio and video recordings may not be reproduced or publicly distributed without the producer's consent unless 50 years from the end of the year in which the original recording was made, or, if a recording has been distributed to the public, 50 years from the end of the year in which the recording was first distributed: Article 46.
• Non-copyrighted works.
  • Government works. Acts, regulations, administrative provisions, court rulings and similar official documents, as well as official translation of such documents, are not copyrighted: Article 9. In addition, unless prohibited by court order, it is permissible to print, make an audio recording, or otherwise copy and present proceedings of public meetings of official representatives and documents publicly submitted during such meetings which concern such representatives, and "debates on questions concerning the public good which take place at gatherings to which the public has access or are broadcast": Article 22.
• Freedom of panorama. A limited form of freedom of panorama which is not free enough for the Commons exists. Buildings and works of art permanently situated outdoors in public locations may be photographed, but only for non-commercial purposes. If such works are the "principal motif" of photographs which are used for marketing purposes, the authors of the works are entitled to payment unless the photographs are for a newspaper or for television broadcasting: Article 16.

India

Copyright rules: India Shortcut: COM:INDIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 60 years
Photograph	Create + 50 years (before 1958) Publish + 60 years (after 1957)
Anonymous	Publish + 60 years
Audiovisual	Publish + 60 years
Posthumous	Publish + 60 years
Government	Publish + 60 years (sometimes GODL applies)
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-India}} {{PD-India-URAA}} {{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-anon-auto-1996}} {{PD-India-photo-1958}} {{FoP-India}} {{GODL-India}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	IND
Treaties
Berne convention	1 April 1928
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	25 December 2018
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of India relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in India must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both India and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from India, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

In the 19th century most of India came under direct or indirect British rule apart from small French and Portuguese enclaves. The country gained independence in 1947, partitioned between modern India and Pakistan. The princely states were quickly absorbed. French India was transferred to India between 1950 and 1954, and Portuguese India was annexed in 1961.

India has been a member of the Berne Convention since 1 April 1928, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty effective 25 December 2018.

The Copyright Act, 1957 (Act No. 14 of 1957, as amended up to Act No. 27 of 2012) repealed the The Indian Copyright Act, 1914, which was based on the Copyright Act of 1911 of the United Kingdom.^{[1957-2012 Section 79(1)]} It was not retroactive, so did not reinstate copyright in any work in which copyright did not subsist when it commenced.^{[1957-2012 Section 79(3)]}

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act, 1957 (Act No. 14 of 1957, as amended up to Act No. 27 of 2012) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of India. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

A Hand Book of Copyright Law, published by the Government of India, is also relevant.

Durations

Under the Copyright Act, 1957 (Act No. 14 of 1957, as amended up to Act No. 27 of 2012),

• All durations are calculated from the start of the calendar year that follows the event on which the duration is calculated (e.g. from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies or the work is first published.)
• Except as otherwise provided, copyright subsists in any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work published within the lifetime of the author until 60 years after the author's death.^{[1957-2012 Section 22]}
  • Works by authors who died before 1941 entered the public domain after 50 years and copyright has not been restored.
  • The reference to the author shall, in the case of a work of joint authorship, be construed as a reference to the author who dies last.^{[1957-2012 Section 22]}
• With a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) which is published anonymously or pseudonymously, copyright subsists for 60 years from the year in which the work is first published: Provided that where the identity of the author is disclosed before the expiry of the said period, copyright shall subsist until 60 years from the year in which the author dies.^{[1957-2012 Section 23(1)]}
• With a literary, dramatic or musical work or an engraving in which copyright subsists at the date of the death of the author ... but which ... has not been published before that date, copyright shall subsist until 60 years from the year in which the work is first published...^{[1957-2012 Section 24(1)]}
• The term of copyright in photographs was omitted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 (No. 027 of 2012).^{[1957-2012 Section 25]} A photograph is considered an artistic work in this version of the Act.^{[1957-2012 Section 2(c)(i)]}
  • Photographs were formerly protected for 50 years after creation (for creation before 1958), and for 60 years after publication (for publication after 1957).
• With a cinematograph film, copyright subsists until 60 years from the year in which the film is published.^{[1957-2012 Section 26]}
• With a sound recording copyright subsists until 60 years from the year in which the sound recording is published.^{[1957-2012 Section 27]}
• With a Government work, where Government is the first owner of the copyright, copyright subsists until 60 years from the year in which the work is first published.^{[1957-2012 Section 28]} A work is a Government work if it is made or published by or under the direction or control of (1) the Government or any of its departments, (2) any Legislature in India; or (3) any court, tribunal or other judicial authority in India.^{[1957-2012 Section 2(k)]}
• With a work where a public undertaking is the first owner of the copyright therein, copyright subsists until 60 years from the year in which the work is first published.^{[1957-2012 Section 28A]} A public undertaking is (1) an undertaking owned or controlled by the Government, (2) a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act 1956 of India, or (3) a body corporate established by or under any Central, Provincial or State Act.^{[1957-2012 Section 17(dd)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-India}} – India public domain images and sounds, 60 years after the end of the year of first publication for anonymous and government works and a few other categories, provided that the subject matter of the photo or recording is also not protected by copyright. Otherwise public domain 60 years after the author's death.
• {{PD-India-photo-1958}} – Photographs created before 1958 are in the public domain 50 years after creation.
• {{PD-India-URAA}} – For work that is public domain in the United States because it was first published in India (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days) and it was first published before 1978 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities or after 1978 without copyright notice and it was in the public domain in its home country India on the URAA date January 1, 1996.
• {{EdictGov-India}} – For edicts of the Government of India whose copyright have not expired. Subject to restrictions, these include laws, judgements, and Reports on the Table of the Legislature.
• {{Indian navy}} – For works from the Indian Navy.
• {{Indian Army}} – For works from the Indian Army.
• Works by the Government of India can be uploaded under {{GODL-India}} (central government only, not state governments). (under discussion, see template talk page).
• {{PD-TamilGov}} – Work in the public domain because it was nationalized by Tamil Nadu Government and released into the Public Domain.

Currency

OK The Indian government holds the copyright of the images of most denominations of Indian currency, including the ₹1 note, but reproduction is permitted. Please use {{GODL-India}}.

Freedom of panorama

• OK. For 3D (architecture and sculptures) {{FoP-India}},
•  Not OK. For copyrighted 2D (paintings, drawings, maps, pictures, engravings, etc.)

Under the Copyright Act, 1957 (Act No. 14 of 1957, as amended up to Act No. 27 of 2012), the following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright:^{[1957-2012 Section 52]}

• The making or publishing of a painting, drawing, engraving or photograph of a work of architecture or the display of a work of architecture;^{[1957-2012 Section 52(s)]}
• The making or publishing of a painting, drawing, engraving or photograph of a sculpture, or other artistic work falling under sub-clause (iii) of clause (c) of section 2, if such work is permanently situate in a public place or any premises to which the public has access;^{[1957-2012 Section 52(t)]}

  Section 2(c)(iii) reads "any other work of artistic craftsmanship;".^{[1957-2012 Section 2(c)(iii)]} Paintings, drawings, or photographs fall under Section 2(c){i).^{[1957-2012 Section 2(c)(i)]}

• The inclusion in a cinematograph film of (i) any artistic work permanently situate in a public place or any premises to which the public has access;^{[1957-2012 Section 52(u)]}

Case/s

• The Daily Calendar Supplying ... vs The United Concern on 16 January, 1964, by J. Ramakrishnan (by Indian Kanoon)

Indian law is modelled on UK law, and in the scarcity of more specific case laws to the contrary it is reasonable to assume that the rules will be similar. See COM:FOP United Kingdom for more details.

Stamps

: Stamps are now covered under {{GODL-India}}. In addition, all Indian stamps older than 60 years are in the public domain. See en.wikipedia discussion here and here.

Use either {{GODL-India}} or {{PD-India}} where appropriate. Material issued by the Government of India before independence may be covered by {{PD-UKGov}}.

Threshold of originality

India seems to have a similar threshold of originality as the US Courts, called Modicum of Creativity. Older cases may have similar thresholds of originality to the UK Courts called Sweat of the brow but this is no longer applied. Robbin Singh has written an essay on the subject that may be useful.

See also

• India
• Category:Indian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of India
• Category:Stamps of India
• s:en:Indian Copyright Law (Wikisource)

Citations

Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer

Indonesia

Indonesian Copyright Act No. 19, 2002 (in Indonesian) is inherited from the Netherlands and retains the same distinction between works with "no copyright" (tidak ada hak cipta) and works that may be used "without infringement of Copyright" (tidak dianggap sebagai pelanggaran hak cipta).

• No copyright. According to Article 13, the following works have no copyright:
  • any result of open meetings of state institutions;
  • laws and regulations;
  • state addresses or government official speeches;
  • court decisions and judicial orders; or
  • decisions of arbitration boards or of other similar agencies.

These works are in the public domain and should be tagged with {{PD-IDNoCopyright}}.

• May be used without infringement of copyright. According to Article 14, the following classes of works may be used without infringement of copyright:
  • publication and/or reproduction of the symbol of the state and the national anthem in accordance with their original nature;
  • publication and/or reproduction of anything which is published by or on behalf of the government, except if the copyright is declared to be protected by law or regulation or by a statement on the work itself or at the time the work is published; or
  • repetition, either in whole or in part, of news from a news agency, broadcasting organization, and newspaper or any other resources, provided that the source thereof shall be fully cited.

There are no restrictions on commercial use, and Article 1 (6) defines "reproduction" as "to increase the number of a Work, either as a whole or its substantial parts using either the same or different material, including the changing of the form or mode of a work permanently or temporarily", thus allowing derivative works. These may be uploaded to Commons and tagged with {{PD-IDGov}}.

• Expired copyright - Article 29. According to Article 29, the copyright on:
  • books, pamphlets, and all other written works;
  • dramas, musical dramas, dances, choreographic works;
  • all forms of arts such as paintings, engravings, sculptures;
  • batik arts;
  • songs or music with or without lyrics;
  • architecture;
  • sermons, lecturers, addresses and other works of utterance;
  • visual aids for educational and scientific purposes;
  • maps;
  • translations, interpretations, adaptations, anthologies

lasts for the life of the author and for 50 years after the author dies. If it is held by a legal entity, it lasts for 50 years after the initial publication (Article 30 [2]). When the copyright expired, these may be uploaded to Commons and tagged with {{PD-IDOld-Art29}}

• Expired copyright - Articles 30. According to Article 30, the copyright on:
  • computer programs;
  • cinematographic works;
  • photographic works;
  • data-bases;
  • works resulting from adaptations;
  • typographical arrangement of a published work

lasts for 50 years after the initial publication. When the copyright expired, these may be uploaded to Commons and tagged with {{PD-IDOld-Art30}}.

Exclusion: Article 15 defines additional classes of works that may be reused with conditions or only for specific purposes (eg. "for the purposes of advocacy", "solely for education and science", "unless such reproduction is of a commercial purpose"). These works do not qualify as free content and may not be used on Commons.

Note: Photographic works from Indonesia published before 1971 may be in the public domain in the United States if they were published without a copyright notice and not published in the US within 30 days after their Indonesian publication. Law No. 6 of April 12, 1982 concerning Copyright, as amended by Law No. 7 of September 19, 1987, the copyright law in effect at the time of the URAA, prescribed a 25-year post-publication copyright for photographic works, and as such works published before 1971 would have been public domain at the time of the URAA.

Iran

According to the Law for the Protection of Authors, Composers and Artist Rights (English translation by the Iranian Ministry of Science and Higher Education)

• Copyrightable works, such as literary, musical works, paintings, designs and decorative writings, architectural works and buildings, carpet and rug designs, sculptures and photographs are in public domain in the following cases:
  • The creator(s) died more than 50 years ago. (Reformation of article 12 - 22 August 2010)
  • The creator(s) died before 22 August 1980, for works that their copyright expired before 22 August 2010 according to the 1970 law.
    • In the case of works of joint authorship, the date of the death of the last surviving author shall be considered alone for the calculation of the time of protection.
• "Article 16. In the following cases, the author's financial rights will be valid for a period of 30 years from the date of publication or public presentation:

1. Photographic or cinematographic works.

2. In cases where the work belongs to a person of legal position."

Note that this speaks only to financial rights and does not limit the author's exclusive right to publish, etc. The work is therefore not in the public domain.

See also Intellectual property in Iran and Iranian calendar. Since Iran is not part of any international copyright treaty, works published there are public domain in the United States and many other nations.

Iraq

Iraq's copyright law from 1971 protected most works for 25 years from the date of death; snapshot photos were protected for five years from publication and corporate/government works were copyrighted 30 years from publication. (See here for the 1971 law text and the later amendment in English, and here for the original law in Arabic).

In 2004, the CPA non-retroactively amended the law such that the economic rights of author is protected for lifetime of the author and for 50 years from the date of his death, with no exception for simple photographs; corporate/government works are now protected for 50 years from publication.(ART 20).

Also, the economic rights relating to the authors of collective works, other than authors of works of applied art, shall be protected for 50 years from the date on which the work was published or made available to the public for the first time.

Works which had expired under the previous law remain public domain.

There is one claim that the 2004 amendment has not yet been implemented.[26]

• {{PD-Iraq}}
• Iraq intellectual property related information on WIPO website
• AGIP information on Iraq

Ireland

According to sections 24 and 35 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000, all literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works enter the public domain after seventy years counted from the beginning of the following calendar year (i.e. as of 2013, prior to 1943-01-01) after either the death of the author, or, if the author is unknown or pseudonymous, the date of publication.

Israel

According to the Israeli Copyright act, 2007, article 38, works are protected until 70 years after their author's death. Pictures are protected until 70 years after their photographer's death, unless the pictures were taken before May 1st. 2008 - in which case the pictures are protected for 50 years from the day the picture was taken, unless the pictures were taken by a public authority (a government authority) in which case the pictures are protected for 50 years from the day of publication.

Chapter 5 - Ownership of Copyright: at the Wayback Machine

• Article 34. Works Created by Employees: The employer is the first owner of copyright in a work made by an employee in the course of his service and during the period of his service, unless otherwise agreed.
• Article 35. Commissioned Works: (a) In a work made pursuant to a commission, the first owner of the copyright therein, wholly or partially, shall be the author, unless otherwise agreed as between the commissioning party and the author, expressly or impliedly. (b) In a work which is a portrait or a photograph of a family event or other private event, made pursuant to a commission, the first owner of the copyright therein shall be the commissioning party.
• Article 36. State Ownership of Works: The state shall be the first owner of a work made by, or commissioned for, the State or by an employee of the State in consequence of his service and during the period of his service; In this section, "State employee" – includes soldiers, policemen and any other person who holds a position according to a statute in a State entity or institution.
• Article 40.Duration of Copyright in Work Published Anonymously: If no name of a person appears on a work as the author of such work, nor is the author of such work commonly known to the public, or appears on such work a pseudonym of a person not commonly known to the public, then copyright in such a work shall subsist for a period of 70 years from the date such work was first published; If such a work was not published until the end of 70 years from the date of its creation, the copyright therein shall subsist for a period of 70 years from the date of its creation; however where the author's identity becomes publicly known during the period of copyright, then the provisions of sections 38 or 39, respectively, shall apply.

Please note that images distributed by the Israeli Government Press Office are copyrighted. They are not in the public domain. See their copyright statement.

Freedom of Panorama applies; please see Commons:Freedom of panorama#Israel for details and a marker template which should be used on the file's page if a file is using Freedom of Panorama.

Italy

As of 2018, the 2010 version at WIPO of the Copyright law of Italy is current (see similar English translation of superseded 2003 version at WIPO).

Since the 2001 version at WIPO, 70 years after the year of the creator's death for individual works (Art. 25, Art. 32 for photographs defined in Art. 2.7); 70 years after the year of first publication for anonymous or pseudonymous works (Art. 27); 70 years after the year of the creator's death for each creator's individual work in collective works (Art. 26 bis); for magazines, newspapers and other periodic works as a whole, 70 years after the year of first publication (Art. 26). Years are "counted in every case from the first of January of the year following that of the author's death or that in which any other event provided for in this Law has occurred" (Art. 32 ter, quoted from English translation of 2003 version at WIPO). A few exceptions are:

• "Non-creative" photographs: Italian copyright law provides for a shorter term of 20 years since creation. However, which kinds of photographs are considered "simple photographs" is rather vague; this rule is difficult to apply accurately, and hence should be used on Commons very carefully. Artistic photographs enter the public domain 70 years after the author's death. "Simple photographs" include reproductions of figurative art and still frames from movies. See {{PD-Italy}}.
• Audio recordings that were created and published in Italy at least 50 years ago, of a work which is itself in the public domain: These are in the public domain. Article 75 of Italian copyright law treats audio recordings as a special case. See {{PD-Italy-audio}}.
• Texts of official acts published and distributed by the Italian State or Italian public administrations: These are in the public domain, unless the copyright has been reserved explicitly. See {{PD-Italy-EdictGov}}.
• Works of the Italian government: The theory that a 70 year rule applies to works of the Italian government is unproven and disputed. See Commons:Deletion requests/Category:PD Italy.

In Italy there are restrictions on photography of ancient monuments and antiquities, see {{Soprintendenza}} and COM:FOP#Italy. Note that in Italy, the rights of photographs made by a photographer who is working for a commissioner belong to the commissioner (Art. 88).

According to article 52, paragraph 2 of the Digital Administration Code, data and documents published by Italian public administrations without any explicit license are considered "open by default" (with exception of personal data). In this case, data and documents without explicit license can be used for free, also for commercial purpose, like CC-BY license or with attribution, as described in the National Guidelines of Agency for Digital Italy.

Jamaica

According to The Copyright Act of Jamaica, 1993 and The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2015 No.13 copyright expires:

• 95 years after the death of the author (per §5 of the amendment)
• 95 years after when made available to the public for works of unknown authorship (per §6 of the amendment)
• 95 years after creation when the copyright in a work created by an employee is owned by the employer (per §9 of the amendment).

Prior to the enactment of the term extension to 95 years in 2015, the former copyright term was 50 years. Per section 29 of the amendment, the term extension is retroactive to 1 January 2012. Jamaican authors who died on or before 31 December 1961 remain in the public domain in Jamaica.

Japan

According to the Japanese Copyright Act, copyright subsists for the life of the author plus 50 years (Article 51). If the work is anonymous or pseudonymous, the copyright lasts for 50 years after the publication or the death of the author, whichever is the earlier (Article 52). The copyright of a work in the name of an organization expires 50 years after publication, or 50 years after the creation if the work is not published within 50 years after creation (Article 53). The preceding provision shall not apply when the author registers the work to the copyright office while the protection period specified in the preceding provision (Article 53-2). Since June 18, 2003, cinematographic works are exceptionally protected for 70 years, instead of 50 years, after the publication, or 70 years after the creation if the film is not published within 70 years of the creation (Article 54).

For audio recordings, the term is 50 years after publication. See {{PD-Japan-audio}} for details.

However, all movies produced in Japan prior to 1953 and directed by a person who died more than 38 years ago are in the public domain. See template {{PD-Japan-film}} for details.

Works corresponding to the following are not eligible for copyright (Article 13).

1. the Constitution and other laws and regulations;
2. public notices, instructions, circular notices and the like issued by organs of the State or local public entities, incorporated administrative agencies ... or local incorporated administrative agencies ...;
3. judgments, decisions, orders and decrees of courts, as well as rulings and judgments made by government agencies in proceedings of a quasi-judicial nature;
4. translations and compilations prepared by organs of the State or local public entities, incorporated administrative agencies or local incorporated administrative agencies of [any of] the materials listed in the preceding three items.

Copyright protection for photographs published on or before December 31, 1956 has been ended, whether the author is alive or not.

It should be noted that the term of protection for works from 1970 or before is the longer of the term under the old Copyright Act and that under the current Copyright Act. This provision especially affects the copyright status of cinematographic works.

Jordan

Jordanian Law states that Photos and Applied Arts are protected for a period 25 years starting January 1st of the creation year, after which they are in public domain.

Kenya

Copyright protection exists during the life of the author and 50 years after his or her death for works other than photographs or 50 years after the first publication for photographs. The Copyright Act, 2001, Part III, Section 23 - 2014 revision (WIPO source)

Kosovo

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. As at 18 November 2010, the declaration had been recognized by 72 countries. Not surprisingly, Serbia is not one of these countries, and continues to assert sovereignty and law-making power over Kosovo. Despite Kosovo having its own Assembly, ultimate responsibility for the administration of the territory lies with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo, who leads the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). UNMIK was established on 10 June 1999 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.

• UNMIK documents. According to the "Addendum on Copyright in United Nations Publications: General Principles, Practice and Procedure" (UN Administrative Instruction ST/AI/189/Add.9/Rev.2), para. 2, the following UN documents are in the public domain:

(a) Official Records: a series of printed publications relating to the proceedings of organs or conferences of the United Nations. They include verbatim or summary records, documents or check-lists of documents, issued in the form of annexes to those records, including periodic supplements, such as the quarterly ones of the Security Council; and reports to those organs of their subordinate or affiliated bodies, compilations of resolutions, certain reports of the Secretary-General and other selected publications, which are issued in the form of supplements;

(b) United Nations documents: written material officially issued under a United Nations document symbol, regardless of the form of production, although, in practice, the term is applied mainly to material offset from typescript and issued under a masthead. The term also applies to written material issued simultaneously or sequentially in the form of documents and publications;

(c) Public information material: publications, periodicals, brochures, pamphlets, press releases, flyers, catalogues and other materials designed primarily to inform about United Nations activities. The term does not include public information that is offered for sale, which may be subject to copyright registration.

UNMIK documents of the above nature are therefore in the public domain.

• Other works. According to the Law No. 2004/45 on Copyright and Related Rights adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo and issued by UNMIK:
  • Copyrightable works.
    • In general, copyright in a work expires 70 years from 1 January of the year following the year in which the author's death occurs: Law No. 2004/45, Articles 62.1 and 62.9. Where a work is produced by more than one author, the copyright expires 70 years from the death of the last surviving co-author: Article 62.4.
    • If a work is anonymous or pseudonymous, copyright expires 70 years from 1 January of the year following the year in which the work was lawfully disclosed: Law No. 2004/45, Articles 62.2 and 62.9. A work is not considered as pseudonymous if the pseudonym leaves no doubt as to the identity of the author, or the author's identity is disclosed within 70 years from 1 January of the year following the year of his or her death: Articles 62.3 and 62.9.
    • In the case of a collective work, copyright expires 70 years from 1 January of the year following the year in which the work is lawfully disclosed: Law No. 2004/45, Articles 62.5 and 62.9.
    • When a term of protection does not run from the author's death and the work was not lawfully disclosed, copyright expires 70 years from 1 January of the year following the year in which it was created: Law No. 2004/45, Article 62.6.
  • Non-protected creations. The following works do not have copyright protection and are thus in the public domain (Law No. 2004/45, Article 12):
    • Ideas, principles, instructions, procedures, discoveries and mathematical concepts per se.
    • Official laws, rules and other regulations.
    • Official material and publications of parliamentary, governmental and other organizations with powers of public office.
    • Official translations of regulations and other official materials, as well as international agreements and other instruments.
    • Applications and other acts in administrative and court procedures.
    • Official materials published for the information of the public.
    • Expressions of folklore.
    • News of the day and various information which have the character of usual press reports.
  • Freedom of panorama. Only a limited form of freedom of panorama exists in Kosovo. Works permanently placed in public streets, squares, parks or other generally accessible public places may be used freely. However, they may not be reproduced in a three-dimensional form, used for the same purpose as the original work, or used for direct or indirect economic gain: Law No. 2004/45, Article 54. Because of the restriction against the use of derivative works for economic gain, photographs relying on the limited freedom of panorama in Kosovo cannot be uploaded to the Commons.

Kuwait

Kuwaiti Law states that photos, films and two dimensional artistic works are protected for 50 years starting from the end of the publication year, after which they are in public domain.

Laos

According to the Lao People's Democratic Republic's Intellectual Property Laws No. 08/NA of December 24, 2007, in force on April 14, 2008:

• Copyrightable works.
  • Works by identified individuals. The copyright in a work by an identified individual author expires 50 years from the date of the author's death or, if the work is by joint authors, the date of the last surviving author's death: section 93(1).
  • Works by pseudonymous individuals. The copyright in a work by a pseudonymous author expires 50 years after the work was created. If the identity of the author of such a work becomes known, the preceding paragraph applies: section 93(2).
  • Works by organizations. The copyright in an unpublished work by an organization expires 50 years after the work was created. If the work is published, the copyright expires 50 years from the date of first publication: section 93(2). (Note: because the English translation of the law is unclear, it is uncertain whether the last sentence applies only to works by organizations or to all works. In line with the precautionary principle, this guideline has been drawn up to maximize rather than minimize authors' copyrights.)
• Artistic works and folklore. The term artistic works and folklore is defined as, among other things, compilations of creations based on the traditions of communities or groups of people reflecting the ways of life of such communities, and includes (1) folktales, rhymes, mottoes and proverbs; (2) folk songs, native vocals and native music; (3) native choreography, music, ceremonies and competitions; and (4) musical instruments, paintings, drawings, coloured pictures, engravings and architectural designs created with any native materials. Artistic works and folklore may be used so long as the source is stated and the original value of such works is preserved.
• Non-protected works. The following works are not eligible for copyright protection (section 76):
  • Information characterized as news.
  • Any juristic acts, administrative rules, judicial documents and official translations.
  • Procedures, systems, practicing methods, definitions, principles and statistics.
• Freedom of panorama. There is a limited form of freedom of panorama in Laos which may not be sufficiently free for purposes of the Wikimedia Commons. On the one hand, works of fine art, photographs, reports and adapted arts for presentation to the public may be photographed or video-recorded without authorization from copyright owners and without the payment of remuneration: sections 96(1) and 96(1.8). On the other hand, the reuse of the photographs and video-recordings is restricted in the following ways: (1) the reuse must not prejudice the rights or normal benefits of the owner of the works; and (2) the derivative works cannot be used in architectural works, works of fine art or computer programs: sections 96(2) and (3).

Latvia

According to the Latvian copyright law (as last amended in 2007), copyright protection generally lasts 70 years after the death of the author (section 36). A few types of works are exempt from copyright (section 6); see COM:CT section.

The term of neighbouring rights for recordings is 50 years according to section 55 (2) of the Latvian copyright law (also check the copyrights of the possibly recorded works).

See also #Russia and former Soviet Union.

Note that the Latvian law was 50 years pma until 6 April 2000, so that works made by people who died on or before December 31, 1945 were PD on the URAA date, January 1, 1996. .     Jim . . . . (Jameslwoodward) (talk to me) 10:53, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

Lebanon

Lebanese copyright law from 1999 states that works are protected for 50 years after the author's death (#49) and 50 years after publication for anonymous work (#52). Moral rights are perpetual. See {{PD-Lebanon}}.

The previous copyright law of Lebanon, Law No. 2385 of January 17, 1924, had the same rules, with one notable exception: photographs were copyrighted until 50 years after their initial publication (article 153). See {{PD-Lebanon-Photo}}. Use this tag only for photos first published before 1949.

Libya

This page requires updating because: This section is based on law No. (9) for 1968. According to this page, the current law is No. 7 of 1984. In doing so, you could add a timestamp to the page.

Please notify the uploader with {{subst:update-note|1=Commons:Copyright rules by territory|2=This section is based on law No. (9) for 1968. According to this page, the current law is No. 7 of 1984.}} ~~~~

According to the Copyright Protection Law of Libya (Libyan Law No. (9) for 1968), a work is copyrighted if:

• the author is a Libyan national, whether the work is published, acted or presented for the first time in Libya or in a foreign country;
• the author is a foreign national but the work is published, acted or presented for the first time in Libya; and
• the author is a foreign national and the work is published, acted or presented for the first time in a foreign country, if the law of that country provides protection for Libyan authors for their works published, acted or presented for the first time in Libya: Article 50.

Note: Libya is a party to the Berne Copyright law in 1976, which requires life + 50 years copyright length. The 1968 national law on copyright stated Life + 25, but not less than date of creation + 50 years.

• Copyrightable works
  • Works by identified individuals published in author's lifetime. The copyright in a work by an identified individual author published in the author's lifetime expires either 50 years from the date of first publication of the work, or 25 years after the death of the author if this is longer. If a work is created by more than one author, the period of protection is calculated from the date of death of the last surviving author: Article 20.
  • Works published after author's death. The copyright in a work first published after the author's death expires 50 years after the date of death: Article 22.
  • Works by anonymous or pseudonymous individuals. The copyright in a work by an anonymous or pseudonymous individual author expires 25 years from the date of first publication of the work. If the author's identity is revealed within this period, the first paragraph applies: Article 21.
  • Works by other legal entities. The copyright in a work by a public or private legal entity expires 30 years from the date of first publication of the work: Article 20.
  • Mere transmission of scenery in photographic and cinematic works. The copyrights in photographic and cinematic works amounting to the "mere mechanical transmission of scenery" expire five years from the date of first publication of the work: Article 20.
• Privacy rights (Article 36).
  • A photographer may not show, publish or distribute a photograph unless the people depicted in the photograph have consented, unless the photograph is of a public event or of officials or persons enjoying public renown, or the public authorities have given permission for its publication for the general welfare. Notwithstanding the preceding, no photograph may be shown or circulated if doing so would result in detriment to the honour, reputation or social standing of the person depicted in the photograph.
  • On the other hand, a person depicted in an engraving, painting, photograph, sculpture or other portrait has the right to authorize its publication in magazines, newspapers and similar publications even if the photographer does not consent, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
• Non-protected works. The following works are not subject to copyright, if they are not characterized by innovation, arrangement or any other personal effort worthy of protection (Article 4):
  • A collection made up of various works such as verse, prose and music anthologies and other collections. However, each individual work making up the collection is copyrighted.
  • A collection of work that has become public property.
  • A collection of official documents such as texts of laws, decrees, regulations, international agreements, legal judgements and various official documents.
• Freedom of panorama. Libyan law does not provide for freedom of panorama.

See {{PD-Libya}}.

Lithuania

• See also: Commons:Copyright tags#Lithuania
• REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA - LAW AMENDING THE Law on Copyright and Related Rights (Official translation)
• Wipo: Law on Copyright and Related Rights No VIII-1185 of May 18, 1999 (as amended on 19 January 2010 – by Law No XI-656)

Article 34 and 35 state that the copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the (last surviving, in case of co-authors) author. In case of anonymous and pseudonymous works the copyright lasts 70 years after publication (unless the author discloses his identity during this period). Article 36: If the work is first published after the expiration of copyrights the publisher enjoys 25 years protection after this publication.

A selection of not protected works (see Article 5): ideas; some administrative, legal or regulative texts (but apparently not all government works); state symbols (but may be otherwise protected); folklore works. See Article 4 for a list of protected works.

Since Lithuania is a post-Soviet state so also see section #Russia and former Soviet Union.

Macedonia, Republic of

Copyright in the Republic of Macedonia is governed by the Law on Copyright and Related Rights adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia on 8 September 2010.

• Copyright works. A work is a copyright work if it is, among other things, a written, spoken, musical, dramatic, photographic, audiovisual, fine art, architectural, applied art, or a cartographic work.
  • Identified author. The copyright in a work by an identified author expires 70 years from 1 January of the year after the year of the author's death: Article 55 read with Article 60. If the work is created by a number of co-authors, the copyright expires 70 years from 1 January of the year after the year in which the last surviving co-author dies: Articles 56 and 60.
  • Anonymous and pseudonymous works: The copyright in an anonymous work expires 70 years from 1 January of the year after the year in which the work is first disclosed to the public in a legal manner. The same rule applies to a pseudonymous work unless the true identity of the author is known, or the author discloses his or her identity within 70 years from 1 January of the year after the year in which the first legal disclosure of the work occurs, in which case the 70 p.m.a. rule applies: Articles 57 and 60. If an unpublished work is anonymous, or pseudonymous with the identity of the author unknown, the copyright in it expires 70 years from 1 January of the year after the year in which the work was created: Articles 58 and 60.

• Freedom of panorama. Copyrighted architectural or sculptural works permanently exposed in streets, squares, parks or other public places may be used freely.: Article 52.

• Official government texts. Official texts of political, legislative, administrative and judicial nature and their official translations are in the public domain: Article 16.

Malaysia

According to The Copyright Act 1987 (Act 332) under Section 17-22, copyright for most works subsists until 50 years after the death of the author. The following were published works, artistic works, sound recording, films and broadcasts.

According to the Section 23 works by the Government, Governmental Organizations and International organizations are subject to copyright until 50 years after publication. Text of laws, judicial opinions, and other government reports are free from copyright (Section 3 - the definition of "literary work").

Malawi

According to the Malawian Copyright Act of 1989, the copyright terms of Malawi are as follows:

• Photographic works: 25 years since the end of the year of first publication
• Computer programs: 10 years since the end of the year in which it was first sold, leased, or licensed
• Audio-visual work: 50 years since the end of the year in which it was first made available to the public
• Other types of work:
  • Works by individual authors: 50 years since the end of the year of the author's death
  • Works by anonymous, corporate, or government authors: 50 years from the date of publication

Written laws, court decisions, and official reports published by the government are not eligible for copyright protection. Also, published or broadcast news of the day is not eligible for copyright protection.

Any expressions of Malawian folklore (such as folk tales, folk poetry, folk songs, folk dances, traditional costumes, etc.) are copyrighted by the government of Malawi in perpetuity.

See {{PD-Malawi}} for further information.

Mali

Copyright law in Mali is governed by Fixant le régime de la propriété littéraire et artistique en République du Mali, enacted in 2008. Copyright is protected for 70 years after the death of the author. Copyright does not apply to "official texts of legislative, administrative or judicial, or their official translations".

Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands has not enacted any legislation concerning copyright and is not party to any convention or treaty regarding copyright (overview). The only legislation protecting intellectual property rights is the Unauthorized Copies of Recorded Materials Act, 1991, which prohibits the unauthorized sale, copying/transfer for sale/profit, or commercial use (eg. public performance for profit) of sound & audio-visual recordings only. The Act does not apply if (§204):

• the "person who owns the master [disc/film/record/etc] is not a citizen of [the Marshall Islands";
• the master sound recording or audio-visual work "was not created, originated, produced or otherwise recorded in the [Marshall Islands]";
• the copied work is "intended for or in connection with a radio or television broadcast transmission that is available to the public without charge, or for historic, cultural or archival preservation or related purposes"; or
• the work is copied solely for personal use "with no intent to capitalize commercially on such reproduction."

The four exemptions listed will not apply if they contradict the text of any international treaty (whether it specifically focuses on intellectual property or not) which is ratified by the Marshall Islands.

The Marshall Islands is party to several treaties which contain minor clauses relating to intellectual property, although it appears that most of these relate to specific and minor issues not related to the types of works that Wikimedia Commons hosts. For example, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture states that "[recipients of seeds from foreign countries party to the treaty] shall not claim any intellectual property or other rights that limit the facilitated access to the plant genetic resources for food and agriculture".

Mauritania

According to the 2012 copyright act Loi No 2012-038 relative à la propriété littéraire et artistique, protection last for 70 years after the death of the author. In the case of photographic works and works of applied art, protection last for 70 years after the date of creation (Article 58. La durée de protection des droits patrimoniaux sur l’œuvre photographique ou l’œuvre des arts appliqués est de soixante dix (70) ans à compter de la fin de l’année civile de la réalisation de l’œuvre.).

Mauritius

2014 copyright act: File:Mauritius Copyright act from 2014.pdf PART III - FEATURES OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS 15. Duration of copyright

• (1) The economic and moral rights shall be protected during the lifetime of the author and for 50 years after his death.
• (2) For a work of joint authorship, the economic and moral rights shall be protected during the life of the last surviving author and for 50 years after his death.
• (3) For an audiovisual work, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 50 years from the date on which the work was made or first made available to the public by publication, or by any other means, whichever date is the latest.
• (4) For a work published anonymously or under a pseudonym, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 50 years from the date on which the work was made or first made available to the public, by publication or by any other means, whichever date is the latest, where the author’s identity is revealed or is no longer in doubt before the expiration of the said period, the provisions of subsection (1) or (2) shall apply, as the case may be.
• (5) For a work of applied art, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 25 years from the making of the work.
• (6) Every period provided for under the preceding subsections shall run to the end of the calendar year in which it would otherwise expire.

Type of work	Copyright term	Additional Information
Single author	Life + 50 years after death.
Joint authorship	Life + 50 years after death of last surviving author.
Audiovisual works	50 years after first publication or creation.	Whichever is the latest date.
Anonymously published works	50 years after first publication or creation.	Whichever is the latest date. If the author's identity is revealed within the 50 years, use the single or joint authorship information
Applied art	25 years after creation

There is no exception for freedom of panorama for commercial purposes.

Mexico

Copyright rules: Mexico Shortcut: COM:MEXICO
Durations
Standard	Life + 100 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-Mexico}} {{PD-Mexico-1918}} {{PD-MX-exempt}} {{PD-Mexico-NIP}} {{FoP-Mexico}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	MEX
Treaties
Berne convention	11 June 1967
Univ. Copyright Convention	12 May 1957
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	6 March 2002
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Mexico relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Mexico must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Mexico and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from Mexico, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Mexico was conquered by Spain in 1521. It became independent in 1821.

Mexico has been a member of the Universal Copyright Convention since 12 May 1957, the Berne Convention since 11 June 1967, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 6 March 2002.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Federal Law on Copyright (consolidated text published in the Official Journal of the Federation on June 15, 2018) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Mexico. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. Eduardo de la Parra Trujillo wrote a critical commentary on the reforms to the copyright law in 2004, which may still be relevant.

General

Under the Federal Law on Copyright (1996, consolidated up to June 15, 2018),

• Copyright lasts for the life of the author and 100 years after their death.^{[1996-2018 Art. 29(I)]}
• For a work of joint authorship, copyright lasts for the life of the authors and 100 years after the death of the last survivor.^{[1996-2018 Art. 29(I)]}
• Copyright also lasts for 100 years after the work is disclosed.^{[1996-2018 Art. 29(II)]}
• Anonymous works are in public domain until the author or the owner of the rights are identified.^{[1996-2018 Art. 153]}
• Plastic or photographic works: author's life plus 100 years.^{[1996-2018 Art. 92 bis]}
• Unoriginal databases: 5 years from creation date.^{[1996-2018 Art. 108]}
• Music groups, choirs, orchestras, ballet and theater companies: 75 years from recording date of a sound work, or first broadcast (TV and radio), or first performance of a work that was not recorded.^{[1996-2018 Art. 122]}
• Book editors: 50 years from date of publication of the first edition.^{[1996-2018 Art. 127]}
• Phonogram producers: 75 years from recording date.^{[1996-2018 Art. 134]}
• Videogram producers: 50 years from date of filming.^{[1996-2018 Art. 138]}
• Broadcasting organisations: 50 years from first broadcast (TV and radio).^{[1996-2018 Art. 146]}

The above does not apply to works that were already in the public domain before 23 July 2003. Generally speaking, that means works created by someone who had died before 1952 are in the public domain, since they died 30 years before the non-retroactive extension to life plus 50 years was implemented on 12 January 1982.

Term extensions

Copyright terms have been repeatedly extended, but not retroactively. Works remained in the public domain if they were in the public domain before each new law took effect. Relevant laws include the Federal Civil Code of 1928, Federal Copyright Act of 1948, Federal Copyright Act of 1956, Federal Copyright Act of 1963, General Copyright Regime of 1982 and Federal Copyright Act of 1996 and later reforms up to 2014.

• 1928:
  • 50 years for scientific works.^{[1928 Art.1181]}
  • 30 years for artistic or literary works.^{[1928 Art.1183]}
  • Registration was required within 3 years of publication.^{[1928 Art.1189]}
• 1948: All terms became life plus 20 years.^{[1948 Art.8]} Registration no longer required for works first published Jan 14, 1948 or later; six-month grace period to register old works to regain copyright.^{[1948 Trans.Art.Tercero]}
• 1963: All terms became life plus 30 years.^{[1963 Art.23(I)]}
• 1982: The Diario Oficial of 11 January 1982 reported a revision to Article 23 under which copyright lasted for life plus 50 years, for 50 years from publication for posthumous works, and for 50 years from publication for anonymous works.
• 1994: The term was extended to life plus 75 years in 1993, effective 1 January 1994, only applicable to works still in copyright at the time.
• 2003: The term was extended to life plus 100 years.

On the URAA date (1996-01-01), the Copyright Act of 1982 was still applicable.

Government works

Works created by the Mexican government are protected by copyright for 100 years after publication.^{[1996-2018 Art.29(II)]} This applies to the federal, state and municipal governments. As with known authors, the term was extended repeatedly in the past.

• Under the 1928 Federal Civil Code, the government could hold not copyright.^{[1928 Art.1235]}
• The extension to 30 years from publication appears to have happened in 1963.
• The extension to 50 years from publication is documented in the Diario Oficial of 11 January 1982.

Protected

Under the 1996 copyright law as of 2018, the following are protected,^{[1996-2018 Art.13]}

• I. Literary works;
• II. Musical works with or without words;
• III. Dramatic works;
• IV. Dances;
• V. Pictorial works or works of drawing;
• VI. Sculptures and works of three-dimensional art;
• VII. Caricatures and cartoons;
• VIII. Architectural works;
• IX. Cinematographic and other audiovisual works;
• X. Radio and television programs;
• XI. Computer programs;
• XII. Photographs;
• XIII. Works of applied art, including works of graphic or textile design;
• XIV. Works of compilation, consisting of collections of works such as encyclopedias, anthologies, and databases, provided that the said collections constitute intellectual creations by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents.

Not protected

Under the 1996 copyright law as of 2018, the following are not protected,^{[1996-2018 Art.14]}

• I. Ideas, formulas, solutions, concepts, methods, systems, principles, discoveries, processes and inventions of any kind;
• II. Industrial or commercial use of the ideas contained in the works;
• III. Schemes, plans or rules to perform mental acts, games or business;
• IV. Letters, digits or isolated colors, unless their stylization is such that they become original drawings;
• V. Names and titles or isolated phrases;

• VI. Simple formats or blank forms to be filled with any type of information, as well as their instructions;
• VII. Reproductions or imitations, without authorization, of shields, flags or emblems of any country, state, municipality or equivalent political division, or denominations, acronyms, symbols or emblems of international governmental, non-governmental organizations, or of any other officially recognized organization as well as the verbal designation of the same;
• VIII. Legislative, regulatory, judicial administrative texts, as well as their official translations. If they are published, they must adhere to the official text and will not confer exclusive editing rights; however, the concordances, interpretations, comparative studies, annotations, commentaries and other similar works that entail, on the part of their author, the creation of an original work will be object of protection;
• IX. The informative content of the news, but its form of expression, and
• X. Information of common use such as proverbs, sayings, legends, facts, calendars and metric scales.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Mexico}} – author died before 1952 or government works over 100 years old.
• {{PD-Coa-Mexico}} – coats of arms.
• {{PD-MX-exempt}} – shields, flags or emblems of the Mexican government, or any other organization officially recognized.
• {{PD-Mexico-NIP}} – all information published at http://fuente.presidencia.gob.mx/ before April 2006.
• {{LGACDMX}} – all open information published at "cdmx.gob.mx" websites.

Currency

 Not OK Mexican currency is copyrighted and the reproduction of designs is only permitted by seeking authorisation from the Ministry of Finance (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público). Coins and banknotes produced before 23 July 1928 entered the public domain before the law changed on 23 July 2003, and remain in the public domain.

Freedom of panorama

OK {{FoP-Mexico}}

Mexico's federal copyright law, Article 148, allows reproduction without compensation in certain circumstances:

• Literary and artistic works that have already been disclosed may only be used in the following cases without the consent of the owner of the economic rights and without remuneration, provided that the normal exploitation of the work is not adversely affected thereby and provided also that the source is invariably mentioned and that no alteration is made to the work:"^{[1996-2018 Art.148]}
• Reproduction, communication and distribution by means of drawings, paintings, photographs and audiovisual processes of works that are visible from public places (lugares publicos).^{[1996-2018 Art.148(VII)]}

The term lugares publicos has been interpreted to include both interior and exterior public places. Government-owned places such as libraries, markets, parks and public gardens have no restrictions against freedom of panorama. However, due to the ambiguity of the article, on some occasions, some establishments like the Mexico City Metro (a government-owned system) have required users to request permission to film or photograph inside the facilities. The Federal Law of Telecom and Broadcasting also uses the term "public places". It defines public places as: "...those that are in the charge of dependencies of federal, state or municipal entities, or under public programs of any one of the three orders of government..." Public places under this law (page 7) would include:

• Schools, Universities, and every kind of building used for education;
• Clinics, Hospitals, and every kind of building used for health care;
• Government offices of all types;
• Community Centers;
• Free admission and open places such as parks, green areas and sports centers
• Places that collaborate in public federal programs.

Threshold of originality

As indicated above, the following are examples of what is and what is not protected under the 1996 copyright law:

These images are OK to upload to Commons

• 
  Letters, digits or isolated colors
• 
  Names and titles or isolated phrases
• 
  Simple formats or blank forms to be filled with any type of information, as well as their instructions (example picture)
• 
  Reproductions or imitations, without authorization, of shields, flags or emblems of any country, state, municipality or equivalent political division
• 
  Reproductions or imitations, without authorization, of international governmental, non-governmental organizations, or of any other officially recognized organization

These are  Not OK to upload to Commons (unless published under a free license by the copyright holder), because they are above the threshold of originality required for copyright protection and are not covered by the law itself.

See also

• México
• Category:License tags of Mexico
• Category:Mexican FOP cases
• Commons:Deletion requests/Template:FoP-Mexico

External links

• Federal Copyright Law of Mexico (in English)
• Guide to open data from the Mexican federal government

Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer

Monaco

The duration is fifty years, p.m.a. The Monaco Copyright law.

Mongolia

Under the Law of Mongolia on Copyright, protection of works first published in Mongolia expires:

• 50 years after the death of the creator(s)
• 75 years after publication for anonymous and pseudonymous works
• 75 years after creation when created by a legal person (organisation, business, authority)
• 25 years after creation for photographic works and works of applied art

Moral rights (e.g. the right to be named as an author) cannot be transferred and don't expire.

Morocco

The copyright law of 2000 states at art. 25 to 29 that protection last for 70 years after the death of the author. There is no special provision for photographic work.

Mozambique

Mozambique's copyright law is defined by the Law No. 4/2001 of February 27, 2001. (Previous to this, Copyright was defined by the Code of Copyright Law No. 46,980 of April 27, 1966.)

Article 22(1) provides copyright protection for 70 years after the death of the author or last surviving author. Article 24(1) provides copyright protection for anonymous or pseudonymous works "for 70 years from the date on which the work is legally published for the first time." Article 5a exempts the following from copyright protection: "official texts of a legislative, administrative or judicial nature, or to official translations thereof".

Myanmar

See Burma, above.

Namibia

• Photographs are protected 50 years from the end of the publication year, or from the end of the year it was made, if unpublished: copyright act 1994, §6 b
• Literary or musical work, or an artistic work, other than a photograph are copyrighted "for a period of 50 years from the end of the year in which the author dies", if published: copyright act 1994, §6 a
• Works made by or under the direction or control of the State are copyrighted: copyright act 1994, §5

Netherlands

Copyright rules: the Netherlands Shortcut: COM:Netherlands
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-EU-no author disclosure}} {{FoP-Netherlands}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NLD
Treaties
Berne convention	1 November 1912
Univ. Copyright Convention	22 June 1967
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	14 March 2010
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of the Netherlands relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the Netherlands must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the Netherlands and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from the Netherlands, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

The Netherlands has been a member of the Berne Convention since 1 November 1912, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 14 March 2010.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Act of September 23, 1912, containing New Regulation for Copyright (Copyright Act 1912, as amended up to September 1, 2017) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of the Netherlands. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. Wikisource holds a version of the 1912 law as valid on 1 January 2005.

Official Dutch sources also provide the text of the Copyright Act and Related Rights Act in Dutch and English.

Standard terms

Under the Act of September 23, 1912 as amended up to September 1, 2017),

• Works of individual authors enjoy copyright protection until 70 years after the 1st January following the author's death.^{[1912-2017 Art. 37(1)]}
• Posthumously published works before 1995 have a copyright until 50 years after publication (pre-1995 law's term), or 70 years after the death of the author (post-1995 law's term), whatever duration is the longest.^{[1912-2017 Art. 37, 51]} This clause was used to restore the copyright on until 1984 unpublished portions of Anne Frank's diary.
• The duration of the copyright belonging jointly to two or more persons in their capacity as co-authors of a work shall be calculated from 1 January of the year following the year of the death of the last surviving co-author.^{[1912-2017 Art. 37(2)]}
• The copyright in a work of which the author has not been indicated or has not been indicated in such a way that his identity is beyond doubt expires 70 years after 1 January of the year following that in which the work was first lawfully communicated to the public.^{[1912-2017 Art. 38(1)]}
• This also applies to the works of a public institution, association, foundation or corporation that is regarded as the creator, unless the natural person who created the work is indicated as such on or in copies of the work which are made public.^{[1912-2017 Art. 38(2)]}
• For works whose term of copyright is not calculated according to the provisions of Article 37, copyright expires within 70 years after creation if not lawfully disclosed in this period.^{[1912-2017 Art. 39]}
• Copyright in a cinematographic work expires 70 years from 1 January of the year following the year of death of the last of the following persons: the principal director, the screenplay, the author of the dialogue and the author of music made for the film.^{[1912-2017 Art. 40]}
• If in a musical composition with words the copyrights on the music and on the words are held by different individuals, copyright expires 70 years from 1 January of the year of death of the last survivor.^{[1912-2017 Art. 40a]}

Outside Europe

Before World War II the Netherlands colonies in the Caribbean were administered as the Netherlands Antilles, which included Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba. Copyright laws were defined by the auteursverordening 1913. In 1948 the Netherlands Antilles was given considerable autonomy, and on 15 December 1954 it became an equal partner to the Netherlands in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 1 January 1986 Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles and became a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In 2010 the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became special municipalities of the Netherlands, while Curaçao and Sint Maarten became countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. According to Article 39 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, "civil and commercial law, the law of civil procedure, criminal law, the law of criminal procedure, copyright, industrial property, the office of notary, and provisions concerning weights and measures shall be regulated as far as possible in a similar manner in the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten".

• The relevant law in Aruba is the 2003 Auteursverordening (Aruba).
• For Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, the operative law is the Auteurswet BES, with a copyright duration of 50 years after the death of the author. This law is based on the corresponding law of the Netherlands Antilles.
• In Curaçao the law is similar.
• The law in Sint Maarten is Auteursverordening.

Not protected

Dutch laws and legal judgments are completely free of copyright (Article 11 of Dutch copyright law of 1912).

In principle all works communicated to the public by or on behalf of the public authorities (government) may be freely distributed (this includes modifications and derivatives) in the Netherlands unless the copyright has been reserved explicitly, either in a general manner by law, decree or ordinance, or in a specific case by a notice on the work itself or at the communication to the public. This is regulated in (Article 15b of Dutch copyright law of 1912). Entities like the Silicose Oud-mijnwerkers foundation can also be regarded as public authorities (AbRS 30 November 1995, JB 1995/337). This might imply that their publications are not automatically copyright protected. This arrest does not contain references to the copyright of such organizations and is in addition in general critized by prof. mr. SE Zijlstra in a note to the arrest.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-NL-gemeentewapen}} – for coats of arms of (no longer existing) municipalities, provinces and the country itself
• {{PD-NL-gemeentevlag}} – for flags of (no longer existing) municipalities, provinces and the country itself
• {{PD-NL-Gov}} (deprecated) – for all works communicated to the public by or on behalf of the public authorities (government), unless the copyright has been reserved explicitly, either in a general manner by law, decree or ordinance, or in a specific case by a notice on the work itself or at the communication to the public

Currency

 Not OK: Guilder banknotes are subject to copyright 70 years after the first publication. De Nederlandsche Bank has been contacted and they state that the introduction of the Euro does not change this.

 Question Guilder coins may be OK to reproduce, since they are subject to Article 15b of the Auteurswet. Works published by or on behalf of the government can be reproduced, unless copyright has been reserved explicitly by the government at the time of publication. However, even if no reservation was made, only the author has the right to have those works published in a collection.

 Not OK National sides of the Euro coins are subject to copyright as well. Although they are subject to Article 15b, an express reservation of rights has been made by the Dutch government.

De minimis

The law of the Netherlands includes an article devoted to a situation where the copyright is not or barely relevant. This is called de minimus or bagatel. Based on this article, it is allowed to include work of other persons in an own work, but only if it is incidental or of minor significance. "Incidental" means that the presence of the copyrighted work is more or less by chance. Of minor significance means the copyrighted work is a small part of the work.

Translated text from Art.18 of the Auteurswet of the Netherlands:

The incidental processing of a copyrighted work as a part of minor significance in another work is not considered an infringement of the copyright of the first mentioned work.

Sources

• Auteurswet art. 18a
• Lexology.com
• Understanding intellectual property (In Dutch)

Freedom of panorama

OK for buildings and most 2D and 3D artwork {{FoP-Nederland}}
 Not OK for photographs, maps, applied art, industrial design, and models

Article 18 of the Dutch copyright act states that:

• it is not an infringement of copyright to reproduce and publish pictures of a work, as meant in article 10, first paragraph, under 6°[1] or of an architectural work as meant in article 10, first paragraph, under 8°[2], which are made to be permanently located in public places, as long as the work is depicted as it is located in the public space. Where incorporation of a work in a compilation is concerned, not more than a few of the works of the same author may be included
• [1] drawings, paintings, works of architecture and sculpture, lithographs, engravings and the like
• [2] drafts, sketches and three-dimensional works relating to architecture, geography, topography or other sciences.

Article 18 limits this explicitly to "works relating to architecture", i.e., geography, topography, and other sciences are not included in article 18. Photographs are not included in Item 6. They are separately listed in Item 9 and therefore are not included in FOP. Also separately listed and therefore not included are maps, applied art and industrial design, and models.

Public place in article 18 of the Dutch copyright law not only includes open-air spaces such as public roads and squares, but also the interior of public buildings. What exactly is a public building is not defined in the Dutch law, but there are some guidelines that can be taken from the published literature and from the parliamentary debates about this article when it was introduced in this version in 2004. Among the criteria to decide whether the interior of a building is a "public place" in the sense of article 18, parliament said that the building must be freely accessible by the general public and then mentioned two negative criteria: whether an entrance fee was charged, and whether access may be denied on private law grounds. (Other criteria may exist; these two were just mentioned as examples.)

Parliament and the literature explicitly mention that schools, opera buildings, entrance halls of businesses, and museums are not public places for the purpose of article 18, but that railway stations are. Case law in the Netherlands on "freedom of panorama" issues is scarce. In one case, the interior of the Johan Cruijff ArenA was deemed to not be a public place. In a second case, a photo of a building in a private holiday resort was considered covered by article 18 because the building was visible from public ground.

Taking these guidelines and the few court cases into consideration, we interpret "public place" (openbare plaats) in article 18 to cover works on open-air roads and squares as well as works visible from there, as long as they are outside. It also includes works in the interiors of only those buildings that primarily serve a transit purpose for the general public: railway stations are explicitly mentioned by the lawmakers, but arguably this would also apply to airports, underpasses, (covered) parking lots. Article 18 also seems to apply in shopping malls. It probably does not apply within the shops in such a mall. In all likelihood it does not apply to other indoors non-private places, such as hotels, cafés, or shops. It certainly does not apply in the locations specifically excluded by the lawmakers: schools, operas, entrance halls of businesses, and museums.

Article 18 is limited to works that were originally made for being placed permanently in public places. The literature mentions that this would also apply to graffiti, even if these normally are removed rather quickly. This is consistent with the interpretation of "permanent" e.g. in Germany as explained here; the "natural lifetime" of a graffito is considered to end with its removal. Furthermore, the picture must show the work as it appears in the public place. A photograph showing a sculpture in its surroundings is OK. Cutting out the sculpture and using only the image of the sculpture is not covered by article 18. Dutch legislature seems to favor a strict interpretation of the Berne three-step test. Parliament mentioned that creating and selling a postcard from a close-up photo of a copyrighted sculpture (i.e., without the surroundings, not showing the sculpture in context) was not allowed.

Lacking evidence of original authorship/ creative input of any kind

Images without evidence of original authorship can be used with a public domain license.

The most common example are photo's intended for use in a passport or ID-card. These have been made in a prescribed manner by a photographer or even in automatic photo machine. From 1 October 2006 the Regeling eisen pasfoto’s and the Paspoortuitvoeringsregeling Nederland 2001 exactly prescribes the requirements for these photos. The main requirements are:

• Complete view of the face, centered on the image
• Front view of the face
• Head and shoulders straight
• Neutral expression, mouth closed
• Both eyes visible; also in case of glasses
• No shadows or reflections in face or background
• Plain background
• Colour image

Previous to these regulations, other requirements were valid for ID photo's. Especially the photo should be made in a 3/4 view, while one of the ears should be visible and the photo should be black and white. This is described here.

These images are according to legal interpretations, such as 1 or 2 not elegible for copyright.

Threshold of originality

Simple logos are okay in the Netherlands but not all logos are. Whether something is above the threshold of originality in the Netherlands is defined in the Supreme Court judgment "'Van Dale/Romme'". In this judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that:

• In assessing the ground of cassation it should be noted that, for a product to be considered a work of literature, science or art as meant in article 1 in conjunction with article 10 of the Copyright law (Auteurswet), it is required that it has an own, original character and bears the personal mark of the maker.

This was further specified in the Supreme Court judgment ''Endstra-tapes':

• The product has to bear an own, original character. In short, this means the shape may not be based on that of another work. (cf. article 13 Aw.) The demand that the product has to bear the personal mark of the maker means that there has to be a shape that is the result of creative human labor and thus creative choices, which therefore is a product of the human mind. In any case, excluded from this is everything that has a shape that is so trivial or banal, that one cannot show any creative labor behind it of any kind whatsoever.

Later the Supreme Court determined in judgment on Stokke v. Fikszo that:

• For a work to be eligible for copyright, it is necessary that the work has an own original character and bears the personal mark of the maker ... The Court of Justice of the European Union has has formulated the benchmark in such a way that it must concern "an intellectual creation of the author of the work".

Stamps

See nl:Wikipedia:Beleid voor gebruik van media/Postzegels (In Dutch).

Prior to 1 January 1989, the government-owned corporation PTT considered Dutch stamps as being created by the PTT company and as such was considered their author. In The Netherlands copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author. With stamps issued prior to 1989, copyright expires 70 years after publication.

From 1 January 1989 onwards, the PTT became the private company TNT Post. The rules are sometimes different compared to the period before 01-01-1989; for example, when there is more than one author of a stamp.

As of 2025 Dutch stamps created in the period 1852–1954 are considered to be Public Domain.

See also

• Nederland
• Category:Dutch FOP cases
• Category:License tags of the Netherlands
• Category:PD-Netherlands
• Category:Stamps of the Netherlands
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Aruba
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Curaçao
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Dutch Caribbean
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Sint Maarten
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/European Union#Currency
• Archived discussion on Freedom of panorama from August 2014

Citations

Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer

New Zealand

Literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works are protected for life plus 50 years under the Copyright Act of 1994. Sound recordings and films, broadcasts and cable programmes are protected for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which they were made or broadcast to the public, whichever is later. Works of artistic craftsmanship industrially applied are protected for 25 years after being industrially applied. (Source: New Zealand Ministry for Economic Development)

Nicaragua

Copyright in Nicaragua is governed by the Ley de Derechos de Autors y Derechos Conexos (No. 312), enacted in 2001. Copyright is protected for 70 years after the death of the author (Art. 27) or last surviving co-author (Art. 29). Copyright of anonymous or pseudonymous works expires 70 years after first publication (Art. 28).

An amending law enacted in 2006 (Law No. 577), has eliminated (Art. 5) what amounted to FOP in the law of 2001.

Nigeria

"# Literary, musical or artistic works other than photographs: Seventy years after the end of the year in which the author dies; in the case of government or a body corporate, seventy years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.

1. Cinematograph films and photographs. Fifty years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.
2. Sound recordings. Fifty years after the end of the year in which the recording was first made.
3. Broadcasts. Fifty years after the end of the year in which the broadcasting first took place."

There is no exception for government works -- quite the opposite, they are very broadly covered: " Copyright shall be conferred by this section on every work, which is eligible for copyright and is made by or under the direction or control of the Government, a State authority or prescribed international body."

see http://www.nigeria-law.org/CopyrightAct.htm

North Korea

Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea:

• Article 12: Documents for state management, current news or information data shall not be the object of copyright unless commercial purpose is pursued.
• Article 23: The property rights to a copyrighted work shall be protected from the moment of its publication to the 50th year after the death of its author. The property rights to a joint copyrighted work shall be protected from the moment of its publication to the 50th year after the death of the last survivor of the co-authors.
• Article 24: The property rights to a copyrighted work or a copyrighted visual art work whose author is an institution, enterprise or organization shall be protected for up to 50 years from the moment of its publication.

Norway

Works are protected 70 years after author's death, or 70 years after publication if the author is unknown/anonymous. There is one exception: Photos that are not considered artistic works are protected until no less than 15 years after the photographer's death and no less than 50 years after publication. The distiction between work of art ("fotografiske verk") and other photos ("fotografiske bilder") is not clearly described, but it is believed that the photographer should add something to the mere depiction to make it a work of art. Under the former photo law, protection ended 25 years after creation, provided that more than 15 years had passed since the photographer's death or the photographer is unknown. The image is in the public domain if this older term already had expired as of 29 June 1995.

Photos of works of art exhibited in public spaces can only be used for non-commercial purposes, unless it is clear that the work is not the main subject in the photo (freedom of panorama). There are no restrictions on photos of buildings.

Photos of people may not be published without their consent unless either a) the image illustrates a current event of interest the general public, or b) the person is clearly not the main subject of the image (i.e. passers-by may be included unless they fill an unreasonable amount of the image) or c) the image depicts a gathering, an outdoor parade or something which is of interest to the general public. This is part of the Copyright Act, and thus might affect the right to publish an image under a free license, as the person depicted retains the right to refuse use of the image.

There are no such thing as public domain, yet there are a similar notion of works that fall in the free. Exclusive rights will then cease to apply, but a form of moral rights (such as the right to attribution and integrity) still apply.

Texts of laws and decisions, proposals, reports and statements made and published by state or local authorities are not protected by copyright, but images used in such publications may be protected unless they were made specifically for the publication.

Recordings of performances are copy-protected for 50 years, after which time they may be used freely (the material of the performance may still be bound by copyright, however).

Norwegian currency is protected by copyright (see Commons:Currency#Norway).

• Lov om opphavsrett til åndsverk m.v. (åndsverkloven). (in Norwegian)
• Copyright in Literary, Scientific and Artistic Works Act (1961) (Word document with unofficial English translation, University of Oslo Website)

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was dissolved in 1923, therefore all works published there are currently in the public domain in the United States. The Ottoman Empire refused to recognize international copyright, so works published there are not protected by copyright internationally. Ottoman official documents are also not protected since the diwans (which comprised a large variety of legal documents) were in the public domain in the Empire.

A precise date of publication must be provided, especially if the image was published circa 1920. Photographs claiming PD status on the basis of Ottoman origin must have been published in the Ottoman Empire, not merely taken there. For works published in the Republic of Turkey, see Turkey.

Pakistan

According to Pakistani copyright laws, all photographs enter the public domain fifty years after they were created, and all non-photographic works enter the public domain fifty years after the death of the creator.

"Copyright in a Government work shall, where Government is the first owner of the copyright therein, subsist until fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published." Chapter 5.

Paraguay

Paraguay passed a new copyright law in 1998. This law instituted longer terms of copyright and applied them retroactively, even for works that were in the public domain due to the expiry of their original copyright (see article 181). Works are copyrighted in Paraguay until 70 years after the death of the last surviving author (70 years p.m.a.; article 47), or for 70 years since the disclosure of an anonymous work. If the author of an anonymous work becomes known during these 70 years, 70 years p.m.a. applies (article 48). Copyright on collections, computer programs, audiovisual works, and broadcasts last for 70 years since the publication or completion of the work, but individual contributions are copyrighted to 70 years p.m.a. (article 49). Moral rights (attribution, integrity of the work) do not expire, and Paraguay has a domaine publique payant (i.e., for uses of public domain works, a fee must be paid top the state; see article 55).

Paraguay makes a distinction between photographic works and simple photographs. Any photograph that is not a "work" is copyrighted until 50 years after its creation (article 135). Simple photographs are those which fail to meet the general definition of a "work" in Art. 2.16 of the 1998 law: "“work”, any original intellectual creation in the literary or artistic field".

Paraguay does have the "freedom of panorama", i.e., works permanently placed at public places (open-air only) may be freely reproduced by two-dimensional means such as photography, or filming (articles 39(4) and 41(4)).

The term for the neighbouring rights on performances, phonograms, and broadcasts is 50 years since the first performance, publication of the recording, or first broadcast.

Peru

Copyright rules: Peru Shortcut: COM:PERU
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Photograph	Create + 70 years (disclosure since 1976)
Anonymous	Disclosure + 70 years (disclosure since 1981)
Audiovisual	Create/Publish + 70 years (publish since 1971)
Collective	Create/Publish + 70 years (publish since 1971)
Government	Pre-1971 works, official or TUPA documents: Public domain Works from Datos Abiertos platform: Free licenses Other works: Copyrighted
Applied art	Industrial and ornamental designs without originality are PD
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-PE-exempt}} {{FoP-Peru}} {{TOO-Peru}} {{PD-Peru-1961law}} {{PD-Peru-photo}} {{PD-Peru-organization}} {{PD-Peru-anonymous}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	PER
Treaties
Berne convention	20 August 1988
Univ. Copyright Convention	16 October 1963
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	6 March 2002
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Peru relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Peru must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Peru and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from Peru, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

The Spanish conquered the region in the 16th century. Peru secured independence in 1824. The first copyright law was launched on 1849 was signed under Ramón Castilla government. On October 31 1961, Manuel Prado administration updated the second copyright law which was effective until 1996.

Peru has been a member of the Universal Copyright Convention since 16 October 1963, the Berne Convention since 20 August 1988, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 6 March 2002. In 2006, Peru established relations with the United States years after the expiration of the original agreement with the Andean Community (Resolución Legislativa Nº 28766). In 16th Chapter of this agreement provides subsisting copyright with minimum protection period of 70 years after the death of the author as natural person or 70 years after the publication of the work as organization (or at least 70 years after its creation if it remained unpublished for 50 years).

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Law (Legislative Decree No. 822) of 1996 as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Peru. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. It has been amended by, among others,

• Law No. 30276 on Amendments to the Copyright Law (Legislative Decree No. 822)
• Legislative Decree No. 1076 of June 27, 2008, on the Law Amending Legislative Decree No. 822
• Law No. 28571 on Amendments to Articles 188 and 189 of the Copyright Law (Legislative Decree No. 822 of April 23, 1996)

These do not appear to affect the definitions of protected works or the durations of protection.

Durations

For practical purposes, all unpublished or currently created works are subject to the 1996 law. However, the law excludes works that have not been renewed due to old publication or the author's death. Original Peruvian copyright law in 1849 was signed under Ramón Castilla government and protected the author's rights during their lifetime and 20 years after their death. Years later, a second copyright law signed under the Manuel Prado administration extended the copyright to 50 years after the author's death. The repealed law applied to works of those who have Peruvian nationality or, in the case of non-Peruvian nationals, those who reside in the country.^{[24518/1986 Art. 6]} Posthumous works were protected for a period of at least 30 years from publication.^{[13714/1961 Art. 28]} In 1986 Alan Garcia's government announced that the rights of exploitation of literary or intellectual works were extended to the lives of the author's children, spouse and parents through law 24518 (lacking retroactivity for deceased prior to the date according to article 189 of the 1979 constitution).^{[24518/1986 Art. 1]}

Durations from 1961 law for non-renewed works

Based on the old law starting on 1 November 1962, works that expired before 1996 are non-renewed (and by which time a new 70 year protection was imposed by the Alberto Fujimori administration). For old works protection the use of notices or regulations with the copyright office is not necessary, except in some works. ^{[13714/1961 Art. 9]} Also, in 1994 Peru adopted Decision 351 of the Andean Community, forces that the databases are not excluded as literary works.^{[Decision 351 Art. 58 and DS No 03-94-ITINC]} Unpublished works of an author who died after 1946 or any unpublished draft since 1996 are not subject to the 1961 law. Retrieved from law of October 1961 regulated in 1962 by Supreme Decree No. 061-62-ED for creation of National Copyright Register (Registro Nacional de Derecho de Autor, RNDA, restructured in 1992 as National Institute of Jurisdiction and Protection of Intellectual Property or Indecopi):

• Personal or collaborative works: 50 years after of death of last surviving author prior to January 1, 1946.^{[13714/1961 Art. 25]} Posthumous works published before 1966 were protected for a period of at least 30 years.^{[13714/1961 Art. 28]} Moral rights are inalienable and prevail in spouses, children and heirs.^{[13714/1961 Art. 17, 33 and 34]}
• Government and public entities works: 25 years from first publication before 1971.^{[13714/1961 Art. 24]} For a collective work, the named publisher is considered the copyright owner.^{[13714/1961 Art. 8c and 11]}
• Anonymous works: 15 years from first publication before 1981 (if the author is never disclosed).^{[13714/1961 Art. 12 and 30]}

Some works apply rule of the shorter term.^{[13714/1961 Art. 21]} There are special terms of protection for certain creations:

• Photographs: 20 years from first publication without single dependence in a literary or scientific material before 1976,^{[13714/1961 Art. 27]} whether the author is alive or no. Non-accumulative exclusive rights of circulation for press editorials is for 5 years.^{[13714/196 Art. 44]} If the photographer's name is unknown and no organization is credited, it is considered anonymous work.
• Cinematographic works: 25 years after publication before 1971.^{[13714/1961 Art. 26]} To be protected, the work must contain the name of the natural or legal person, the artistic direction, the authors of the dialogues, the music, the performers and the date of the first public screening.^{[13714/1961 Art. 25]} The producer retains the rights to the work and the term excludes the screenplay, as literary creation, and soundtrack for uses outside the work.^{[13714/1961 Art. 45 and 48]}
• Phonographic neighboring rights: 50 years after of death of the last surviving author prior to January 1, 1946. To be protected, the work must contain the name of the work, the author, the performers, the association, the date, the location of the recording and the company name.^{[13714/1961 Art. 54]}
• Slogans and phrases: "During the time it subsidizes the publication as artwork" with or without music, except that they are common expressions.^{[13714/1961 Art. 31 and 61]} In 1996 law, this type is not protected except if it possess literary or artistic originality qualities,^{[822/1996 Art. 5(j)]} and so they are applied as "trademarks".
• The publication right lasts for 5 years from first publication of unpublished public domain works before 1996.^{[13714/1961 Art. 16]}

Durations from 1996 law

Based on the 1996 law,

• The standard copyright term based on authors' deaths is life + 70 years.^{[822/1996 Art.52]} The first standard works under this law expired in 2017.
• Collective works, computer programs and audiovisual works are protected for 70 years from publication or 70 years from creation if unpublished.^{[822/1996 Art.54]} The first collective works published under this law will expire in 2041, unless part of the work is attributed to person(s).
• Anonymous works are protected for 70 years after publication (if the author is never disclosed).^{[822/1996 Art.53]} The first anonymous works under this law will expire in 2051.

The periods provided for in this Chapter shall be calculated from the first of January of the year following that of the author’s death, or where appropriate that of the disclosure, publication or completion of the work.^{[822/1996 Art.56]}

• Performers' neighboring rights also last until 70 years after the death of the author.^{[822/1996 Art.135]}
• For phonograms and broadcasts, the term is 70 years since publication or the initial broadcast or transmission.^{[822/1996 Art.139.142]}
• Any video, whether it qualifies as an "audiovisual work" or not, is protected until 70 years after the publication (or its creation, if not published in that time).^{[822/1996 Art.143]}
• Simple photographs are protected for 70 years from realization (creation).^{[822/1996 Art.144]} Simple photographs are those which fail to meet the general definition of a "work" in Art. 2.17 of the 1996 law: work: any personal and original intellectual creation.
• The publication right lasts for 10 years from first publication of unpublished public domain works.^{[822/1996 Art.145]}

About public domain

Resolution N° 097-1999/TPI-INDECOPI indicates that even if a work is in the public domain, the moral rights of a work prevail. This file mentions a case in which Indecopi fined an advertising company for using excerpts from Van Gogh self-portrait. This painting was mutilated without attribution for a commercial for a mass circulation newspaper.

About extinction of domain of criminal works

Legally since 2007, the Peruvian State can apply extinction of domain of assets obtained by criminal organizations as a result of terrorism.^{[DL 1373, previously DL 25475 and DL 992, see Art 102 of Peruvian Penal Code as 2021)]} Under civil law, a patrimonial right of the owner constitutes an "furniture" (asset).^{[Article 886 clause 6 of Peruvian Civil Code as 2018; see also Article 819.5 of Peruvian Civil Code of 1936]} The Ministry of Justice states that those furniture considered as "criminal patrimonials" are not subject to the right of ownership, and the application of the extinguishment of assets of questionable origin has a lower threshold in accordance with Sentencia Plenaria Casatoria 1-2017/CIJ-433 which cites Article 10 of this legislative decree as "criminal activity that produces money, goods, effects or profits" and "do not [require] that the illicit activities that produced the money, goods, effects or proceeds are under investigation, prosecuted or have been the subject of a conviction". This is relevant for the Shining Path, since this terrorist organization becoming similar as a legal entity is prohibited from obtaining patrimonial assets, including work for hire, and meets the requirements of article 30 (and consequently article 9a) of DL 822 because this assets cannot be exploited commercially within national legal system, as well as outside the country due to its legal effect.

About applied works

The copyright protection is independent and compatible with industrial works protection that may exist for useful articles.^{[822/1996 Art.4a]} In general, the "originality" threshold of recent designs (adding handicrafts, gastronomy and clothing) is low for industrial protection and high for copyright (see COM:TOO Peru). Resolution N° 063-2001/TPI-INDECOPI indicates that fashion design in industrially useful objects are "applied works" and would receive double protection except the if its trend of applied art is already accessible to the public and lacks novelty to be protected as industrial property. In this case, copyright corresponds exclusively to the signs as original artistic or literary work in text, images, logotypes, 3D forms and colors but not to useful articles per se.^{[823/1996 Art. 128 and 136]}

For those that do not constitute an artistic work, they are industrially protected ("propiedad industrial"). If the work is ornamental, the non-copyright protection will be for 10 years post-registration (if never published before the registration);^{[823/1996 Art. 109]} if the work is patented as industrial, 20 years post-registration. Because the industrial objects are often similar to others, they don't usually receive fashion design protection because their are below the distinctive umbral: "[the sign] is not endowed with the necessary attributes to be the means by which to identify and differentiate the products it is intended to distinguish from others offered for mass-market". See Resolution N° 16543-2010/DSD-INDECOPI. Otherwise, if any sign is above the artistic originality threshold, the principle of "which best privilege for their author" in copyrighted artistic works prevails.

Terms

Individual works

Date of author's death	Date of publication	Copyright tag
before 1 November 1931 date QS:P,+1931-11-01T00:00:00Z/7,P1326,+1931-11-01T00:00:00Z/11	Anytime	{{PD-Peru-1961law}}  {{PD-old-auto-unpublished|deathyear=death year}}
from 1 November 1931 until 31 December 1939	before 2 January 1929	{{PD-US-expired|country=PE|hide_us_warning|deathyear=death year}} or, for 19th-century works without a definite date:  {{PD-old-assumed}}
	from 2 January 1929 until 31 December 1939	{{PD-Peru-1961law}}  {{PD-old-auto-expired|deathyear=death year}}
	from 1 January 1940 until 31 December 1965	The work was in domain public in Peru on the date of URAA restoration (January 1, 1996) because copyright of the posthumous work was valid for 30 years from its publication before December 31, 1965.[13714/1961 Art. 28] The situation in the United States should be marked next to this label.  {{PD-Peru-1961law}}  {{PD-US-not renewed}}
	after 1 January 1966	{{PD-old-auto-1996|country=Peru|deathyear=death year}}  {{PD-old-auto-unpublished|deathyear=death year}}
from 1 January 1940 until 31 December 1945	before 1 January 1946 after 1 January 1966	{{PD-Peru-1961law}}  {{PD-old-auto-1996|country=Peru|deathyear=death year}}
	from 1 January 1946 until 31 December 1965	The work was in domain public in Peru on the date of URAA restoration (January 1, 1996) because copyright of the posthumous work was valid for 30 years from its publication before 1966.[13714/1961 Art. 28] The situation in the United States should be marked next to this label.  {{PD-Peru-1961law}}  {{PD-US-not renewed}}
from 1 January 1946 until 31 December 1954	before 31 December 1929 date QS:P,+1929-12-31T00:00:00Z/7,P1326,+1929-12-31T00:00:00Z/11	{{PD-US-expired|country=PE|hide_us_warning|deathyear=death year}}
	after 1 January 1930	The work expired because its author died more than 70 years ago. Unpublished works are kept for a maximum of 70 years after his/her death. But, some type of work maybe still be copyright in USA on the date of URAA restoration (January 1, 1996).[822/1996 Art. 23 and 52]  {{PD-old-auto|country=Peru|deathyear=death year}}  {{Not-PD-US-URAA|country=PE}}
Others		The work is still protected under 1996 law.

Anonymous or Pseudonymous works

If the author of the work is unveiled during its copyright term (nonexistent in 1849 law, 15 years in 1961 law, extended to 70 years in 1996), it is protected as an individual work. e.g. Rafael de la Fuente Benavides (died in 1985) and his pen name "Martin Adán" are well-known among people, so his works will be protected in Peru until 2055. Applies to any media, including photography.

Date of publication	Copyright tag
before 1 January 1930	{{PD-Peru-anonymous}}  {{PD-anon-expired}} or for 19th-century works:  {{PD-old-assumed}}
from 1 January 1930 until 31 December 1980	{{PD-Peru-anonymous}}  {{PD-old-auto-1996}}
from 1 January 1981	The work is still protected under 1996 law.

Government and legal entities works

In general, only applies to works prior to 1971 from employee(s) of "personas jurídicas" (legal persons), like Government (Gobierno), municipalities (municipalidades) and organizations. Works must be attributed only from official legal entities, unless they are produced by the archives of the National Library or transfered to public institutions and juridical entities.^{[13714/1961 Art. 15]} The deadline is counted from the time of full broadcasting to the public or in any means of communication.^{[13714/1961 Art. 38 and 39]} If the work is claim by natural person ("persona natural") via external participation and was not transferred to legal person, the shortest rule will not apply.

Date of publication	Copyright tag
before 1 January 1930	{{PD-Peru-organization}}  {{PD-US-expired}}
from 1 January 1930 until 31 December 1970	{{PD-Peru-organization}}  {{PD-1996}}
from 1 January 1971	The work is still protected according 1996 law (under "collective work" or "anonymous work" term, with works by the Peruvian Government exceptions).

Non-individual photographs

Applicable only to old and simple photographs that were exhibited or performed in any medium:

• The owner of the negative film cannot be distinguished from other photographs from third parties to be considered as individual or personal firm: for 1961 is if the photo is created only on their literary or scientific works, for 1996 law extends to any photograph that expresses their individuality excluding everyday situations or things. This justifies some photographs with less protection than those that are integral and dependent on the mentioned individuality works.
• The photo does not have a copyrighted subject (for example, drawings or paintings) with the exception of outdoor exposure (freedom of panorama). Nor should it be an unpublished work of others persons up to 70 years post-mortem.^{[13714/196 Art. 40]}
• It is not an frame of a documentary work (except for photojournalism, mentioned only in the 1961 law).

Date of disclosure	Date of creation	Copyright tag
before 1 January 1930	until 31 December 1975 date QS:P,+1975-12-31T00:00:00Z/7,P582,+1975-12-31T00:00:00Z/11	{{PD-Peru-photo}}  {{PD-US-expired}}
from 1 January 1930 until 31 December 1975		In case the photo was not published in the United States or was not renewed in the United States (for example, it does not have the © icon):  {{PD-Peru-photo}}  {{PD-1996}}
from 1 January 1976	before 31 December 1954 date QS:P,+1954-12-31T00:00:00Z/7,P1326,+1954-12-31T00:00:00Z/11	The photograph expired in Peru because the photographs without artistic purpose was created 70 years ago. However, the image could be protected in the United States.  {{PD-Peru-photo}}  {{Not-PD-US-URAA|country=PE}}
	from 1 January 1955	Judged under 1996 Copyright law (except of anonymous photograph under 1961 law).

Not protected

Previously, under the 1961 law, works passed into the public domain for: (a) folk songs by unknown authors (use {{PD-Peru-anonymous}} for anonymous text and media works published before 1981); (b) works that expired on the current term; (c) works by authors without heirs; (d) works by authors who have waived their copyright; (63) works by authors who died five years ago and real utilities were expropriated by the Ministry of Public Education without opposition from their heirs and editorials (use {{PD-Peru-organization}} for orphaned works of an author who died before 1988 and who was never claimed); (64) legal texts, decrees and publications of public authorities of State as Executive, Executive and Judicial Branches (use {{PD-Peru-organization}} for text and documents published before 1996); (65) informative news content.^{[13714/1961 Art. 62-65]} (1) Ideological or technical content or that scientific work without industrial use.^{[13714/1961 Art. 1]}

Under actual 1996 law, the following are not eligible for copyright protection: (a) the ideas contained in literary or artistic works, processes, operating methods or mathematical concepts in themselves, systems or the ideological or technical content of scientific works, or the industrial or commercial exploitation thereof; (b) official texts of legislative, administrative or judicial character, or official translations thereof, without prejudice to the obligation to respect the texts and mention the source (see Works by the Peruvian Government); (c) news of the day, provided that, in the case of word-for-word reproduction, the source from which it has been taken shall be mentioned; (d) simple facts or data.^{[822/1996 Art.9]} Use {{PD-PE-exempt}}.

Works by the Peruvian Government

Theoretically, all government work of an official nature is usually open access due to their divulgation, requiring respect for their integrity and source attribution. Firstly, article 7b of DL 822 establishes that "official texts" are not protected. Regardless of their originality, specialists Antequera and Ferreyros say that administrative acts on behalf of the State are not protected by copyright as well as other "official works", including judicial texts, resolutions, discussions and others (Bienes de dominio público, the content is not limited to text only). To reduce ambiguities Resolution No. 0730-2006-TPI-INDECOPI the court established in SUNAT v. Instituto de Investigación El Pacífico E.I.R.L for "official texts":

“

For works to be considered an official texts: They must be issued by an administrative or judicial authority or with legislative powers. They contain mandatory mandates or that without being mandatory may affect third parties. They are of general interest to know the content of the texts (regardless of their originality).

”

Exception of this works is from other creations carried out without State powers (Bienes de dominio privado estatal) or third-party collaboration like notes of law firms for private use or unofficial translations which are usually "public" without being "official". Regarding documents without a normative concept, in Resolution No. 056-2004/ODA-INDECOPI (also cited Resolution No. 0927-2004/TPI-INDECOPI) the Intellectual Property Court justified works not exempted from copyright:

“

[The] fact that a given work [of internal nature] was prepared by the employees of a public entity in the performance of their duties or by third parties commissioned by a State entity does not give this the status of an "official text", since the State, like any other natural or legal person, may in turn hold the ownership derived from copyright of a patrimonial right or exercise copyright of a moral right on behalf of the authors. [If the work] does not have the status of a rule, regulation or administrative or judicial decision, in compliance with being published or disclosed to be mandatory or to be in effect to the collective [and] this has been shared by the holder of the rights by any means such as the Internet, since the publication of a protected work whose ownership corresponds to the State or to any public body does not acquire the character of an official text by the mere fact of its availability in any means.

”

State property and public domain

In the context of the Lima principles, the Sistema Nacional de Bienes Estatales (SNBE) establishes which tangible and non-tangible assets from State are in the public or private domain. This applies to freedom of panorama (regardless of their status, they are imprescriptible, i.e. they cannot be appropriated by others) and implicitly to copyright (the 1996 copyright law does not mention which works are not subject to patrimonial rights, so this principle is taken). Points 10 to 12 of Casación 1673-2015 exemplify the differences between the two terms.

• Bienes de dominio público: "A public property is that state property destined for use or that serves as a support for the provision of any public service". Also Casación 1673-2015 justifies that "special form of property, intended for the use of all, for a service to the community or to the national interest, in other words, intended for the satisfaction of public interests and purposes". This first point is taken by confusion with "cultural heritage" and non-ownership of elements.
• Bienes de dominio privado estatal: "A private property is a state property that is owned by the State or by any entity, is not destined to be used or used for any public service. And in respect of which its owners exercise the right of ownership with all its attributes". The State could exercise copyrights for the case. For example, the works of TV Perú are owned by the Instituto Nacional de Radio y Televisión del Perú or El Peruano by Editora Perú.

Reuse from administrative and open data platforms

Beyond of DL 822, in practice, since 2003 the diffusion of official works follow Articles 1 and 4 of the Lima Principles in 2000, in which "everyone has the right to freedom to search, obtain, access and share [official nature] information without interference by public authorities" and "all [official nature] information held by the State does not belong to their owner but is in fact the property of the citizens". Under "principio de publicidad" term of 1993 Constitution, citizens and the mass media have the right to publicize official activities set in text and multimedia without authorization from the authorities; for other documents not yet disclosed, they can request to extract information ("sin expresión de causa") but should not interfere with the laws of the country like documents of "internal nature". The Peruvian Ombudsman's Office (one of the institutions that signed these principles and authorized the media to freely broadcast official information) considers for this type of document as public interest and dissemination and has no royalties for download or copy (see also DS No 072-2003-PCM Art. 13 for free reproduction).

The standard for documents of administrative nature is Texto Único de Procesos Administrativos (TUPA), under Right to Information law (No. 27806) and related. This covers to "the set of acts and formalities carried out by the entities, leading to the issuance of an administrative act that produces individual or individualizable legal effects on the interests, obligations or rights of the parties involved",^{[27444/2001 Art. 1.1]} are official texts^{[27444/2001 Art. 42]} and "principio de publicidad" apply.^{[27806/2002 Art.3]} In DS No 004-2008-PCM, chapter III explicitly states that the formal documents published in the Peruvian State Portal have "official" nature and are within the TUPA standard. The Ministry of Justice has detailed regulations on the uses of administrative documents.

Data outside public documents: In complementation with TUPA, platform of open data is explicitly stated in Right to Information Law for same entities with the TUPA standard (see No. 27444).^{[27806/2002 Art. 2]} Specific government acts (as press releases, official activities, budgets, government procedures and TUPA documents,^{[27806/2002 Art. 5]} whose works are contained in written documents, photographs, recordings, magnetic or digital media)^{[27806/2002 Art. 10]} is usually shared on now the open data portal. Per example, after signing with the Open Government Partnership works from Executive Branch are published in Portal de Datos Abiertos offered by PCM (quoted on R.M. No 195-2012-PCM, now interoperated with Portal Nacional de Datos Abiertos and available via web). While the "official texts" are in the public domain, contents in other formats are under D.S. No 016-2017-PCM, quoting to its definition, "an open data is the information produced by public entities, in its basic form is accessible to anyone from Internet, without restrictions of any kind [...], without cost to obtain it, without limitations for reuse and redistribute by third parties and allows the creation of its derivatives", "open data from public entities is considered to be of an official nature" (Art. 5) and Art. 9 of this decree establishes as open data if they are stored in databases from:

• Portal del Estado Peruano (gob.pe, see Commons:Proposal for standardize a free license for Peruvian government press),
• Portal de Transparencia,
• Portal de Servicios al Ciudadano y Empresa (PSCE, colloquially known as "Trámites"),
• Portal de la Infraestructura de Datos Especiales del Perú (IDEP),
• And other databases managed by the National Office of Government Electronic and Informatic (ONGEI). For example, in Resolución de acaldía No. 186-2014-MML data stored as documents in open data records.

These are some cases in that they consider as official document or open data and their concept usually varies:

• The first reference about administrative documents was indicated in years prior to the Lima Principles.^{[757/1991 Art. 22]} In 1992 a expired law explains that an administrative act consists of resolutions between two public entities, oficios (informative reports), governmental property proceedings and the right of petition with public purpose from public entities (therefore, this law excludes internal events).^{[26111/1992 Art. 2(1), updated in 27806/2003 Cap. I]} For recent documents is required to add the source of the entity, since this entity publishes its updated TUPA page for know what documents are considered administrative.^{[27444/2001 Art. 43]}
• In opinion 59-2019-JUS/DGTAIPD any public process contained in State institutional mailings are considered official texts.
• In 2016, the living records from political candidates (hojas de vida) submitted by JNE are published as "open data" and allow "free and open reproduction".
• In 2017, the TUPA forms are considered free reproduction and distribution.^{[Nº 006-2017-JUS Art.163]} This application is mentioned in a municipal resolution for affidavits.
• In opinion 27-2020-JUS/DGTAIPD any public information generated in database from public authorities is open data, even if it was unpulished to the Plataforma de Datos Abiertos unless modified by a third party or containing sensitive information.
• Other original works in TUPA-standard documents would are not in the public domain accourding to the opinion 06-2020-JUS/DGTAIPD, the Ministry of Justice determined for example that the questions contained in the non-free psychological tests used by another State entity may be disseminated if the Administrative decides for copyright reasons. This exception is also referred to as "trade secret".^{[27806/2002 Art. 15]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-old-70}} - For works by authors who died more than 70 years ago if them were died since 1946.
• {{PD-anon-expired}} - For anonymous works made public more than 95 years ago if this one was renewed on the URAA date.
• {{PD-PE-exempt}} - For works exempt from copyright under Peruvian law. Including documents under the TUPA standard.
  • {{PD-PE-signs}} - For reproductions from Manual de Dispositivos de Control de Tránsito Automotor en Calles y Carreteras of road signals, a official document also exempt from copyright under Peruvian law.
  • {{PD-PE-insignia}} - For reproductions from official texts of official insignias (flags, coat of arms and logos), exempt from copyright under Peruvian law.
• {{PD-PCP-SL}} - For works carried out by the Communist Party of Peru-Shining Path. Since it does not have rights to exploit its works outside the territorial legal framework as VRAEM and under an organization that is exempt from obtaining ownership of its works in Peruvian territory, according to the Law of Extinction of Property, the constitution and Art. 30 of DL 822: Indecopi is not legally permitted to protect their "copyright patrimonial rights" them under these criteria. It should be noted that the extinguishment of ownership applies to all "furniture", which in Article 886, paragraph 6 of the Civil Code (as 2018) includes as "furniture" "copyright patrimonial rights".
• {{TOO-Peru}} - For non-original works like simple designs and logotypes.

Peruvian Government

Some Peruvian government or administrative entities works are published under free licenses:

• According to this guide, except as otherwise indicated, works from Portal Nacional de Datos Abiertos (National Open Data Platform) or another interoperable open data platform are subject to templates: {{ODbL}} or {{PD-because|Per COM:Peru, the file from peruvian administrative acts on their Open Data platform is free of rights.}}.
• Photographic works from Flickr account of the municipality of Miraflores are under CC-BY 2.5 PE. Tagged as {{CC-PE-MunicipalidadMirafloresFlickr}}.

Old works under 1961 law

For old works whose protection lasted until 1 January 1996 under Manuel Prado Copyright law of 1961 are PD in U.S. and Peru (before the repeal of the law in 23 May 1996 and URAA date):

• {{PD-Peru-1961law}} - For peruvian authors died prior to 1946 (or that the rights were not inherited for those who died before 31 December 1965).
• {{PD-Peru-organization}} - For peruvian government and juridical organizations works released prior to 31 December 1970.
• {{PD-Peru-photo}} - For all non-individual photographs disclosed in Peru prior to 31 December 1975 (or created more than 70 years ago in 1996 law).
• {{PD-Peru-anonymous}} for anonymous works prior to 31 December 1980 and no register the name of the author in Registro Nacional de Derecho de Autor 15 years following publication.

Threshold of originality

Indecopi established parameters to qualify the originality of graphic and photographic compositions. Because of the higher originality threshold (independent of its endeavour, novelty, inspiration and technique, the requirement is to leave some space for the development of its author's personality, not a copy or imitation, referred as "originalidad subjetiva"), simple designs, non-production videographic creations and old photographs without demonstrating their individuality can be uploaded to Commons. See also Andean Community: Threshold of originality.

Simple photographs

Old published photographs have a copyright term of 20 years counted from the first of January of the year following that of the disclosing of the photograph before 1976. The notes shown are based on the rescinded 1961 law:

• For old pictures taken prior to 31 December 1975 and which were not published within an author's own work  fail to meet the general definition of a "work" under 1961 law (and Article 3.4 of Universal Copyright Convention: "The provisions […] not apply to photographic works […] shall not be less than ten years"). The duration of the photograph was for 20 years after performed its first copy, without the author presenting this in a literary, scientific or documentary work, from January 1 of the following year.^{[13714/1961 Art. 27]} They were not renewed during the URAA date.^{[13714/1961 Art. 27 and 57]} Use {{PD-Peru-photo}}.
• The duration is reduced if the following occurs: when the author did not place the name of the label with the message "Reproduction prohibited" or that the author published in a work without a full name or under an unknown pseudonym.^{[13714/1961 Art. 58]} The duration of anonymous works prior to 31 December 1980 was 15 years after publication and expired on 1 January 1996. They were not renewed during the URAA date. Use {{PD-Peru-anonymous}}.
• If they were used in literary or scientific works, they were documentary works or are reproductions of artistic material "of private domain", and the author died before 1946 (of before 1966 if someone had no family heirs), the law considers the photographs as the author's work (life + 30/50 years). In the case of collective works, the date is considered to be the last survivor. If they died after 1947, they are protected by the current law. Use {{PD-Peru-1961law}}.

Recent published photographs below threshold have a copyright term of 70 years counted from the first of January of the year following that of the taking of the photograph. Fortunately, this term usually flexible in the cases and facts shown below:

• The general definition of a "work" in the 1996 law is "any personal and original intellectual creation capable of being disclosed or reproduced in any form that is or may yet become known".^{[822/1996 Art.2(17)]} Simple photographs taken or disclosed since 1976 are those which  fail to meet the general definition of a "work" and only receive neighbouring rights,^{[822/1996 Art.144]} but works above this threshold will receive standard protection (life + 70 years, see below).
• The Court of Indecopi believes that originality in a photograph should be limited to the originality of any work, requirements to protect against plagiarism. According to article 3.c of the Regulation of Inscriptions in the Registry National Copyright Act, provides that "no may be subject to registration the photographs that are limited to simple reproductions of people, of things, or of objects already existing or showing a mere documentary character [...] photography to be a work can not constitute only a simple reproduction of already existing objects".
• Derecho PUCP journal explains examples of highly distinguishable events that surpass the threshold of originality: creative use of lights, unique moment, transmission of a message in their work and the photographer's personality. Below these and other criteria, simple photographs are legislated under Legislative Decree 1044 on unfair competition.

Examples for photographs under 1961 law:

• 
  Photography within an advertisement not considered "literary work". Image protection expired in 1988. It also can't be protected in the 1996 law. See UR.
• 
  Photography taken in 1973 for a sports magazine. Because this is a journalistic assignment for an organization, the photograph remained protected for 20 years until its expiration in 1993. It also can't be protected in the 1996 law. See DR.

Examples for photographs under 1996 law:

• In 2002 the Court considered two images of household appliances as below of threshold of originality due to the lack of creative evidence, despite they are in a catalog with individuality. See Resolution No 354-2002/TPI-INDECOPI.
• Also, in 2002 the Court ruled that a magazine photograph of Skándalo boy band in ordinary dress and solid-colored background receives related rights-only because it lacks individuality. See Resolution No 378-2002/TPI-INDECOPI, Alomi Producciones S.A.C. v Karinto S.A p.13.
• In 2007 the Court justified a photograph of gift box for a web catalog as original work because of its shade selection and during the editing process it carried meticulous details, specifically the colored shade artificially created. See Resolution No 1263-2007/TPI-INDECOPI, Enrique Capella v Grupo Americano de Comercio S.A.C. and Citybank del Perú S.A p.4.
• In 2008 the court determined that press snapshots of sporting, political or weather events lack originality for lack of prior preparation in their production. See Resolution No 2521-2008/TPI-Indecopi, Agencia Efe S.A. v Las Rosas Editorial S.A.C.
• In 2012 the Court concluded that non-artistic techniques of photographs are not protectable (for example, scanning). See Resolution No 059-2012/TPI-Indecopi and Indecopi (2015), p.75.
• In 2013 Indecopi deduced that a promotional photograph of a model wearing clothes of a textile company does bear originality due to the framing, focus and composition to highlight her outfit. See Resolution No 0384-2013/CDA-INDECOPI, Peruvian Connection Ltd. v SENATI p. 9 and 10.
• In 2021 the criteria for originality of photographs were simplified to three points: transmittable, framed and lighting that shows their personality. Between pages 77 and 82 of this resolution the court evident that press photographs from Hildebrandt en sus trece magazine do carry originality because they focus on the gestures of the photographed and the depth of the camera. See Resolution No 0096-2021/TPI-INDECOPI, Plutón Editores S.A.C. v DP Comunicaciones S.A.C..

Videographic process

There is threshold of originality for audiovisual creations but their protection is similar for both works and recordings (publish/create + 70 years). While cinematographic works ("obra audiovisual") are protected in their entirety, the related rights can only be granted to the producer of non-artistic filming ("grabación audiovisual"),^{[822/1996 Art. 140]} which also include performance and broadcasting.^{[822/1996 Art. 143]} Resolution 000111-1999-ODA-INDECOPI establishes differences between the two terms, in particular, and in a similar way to simple photographs, the fixation of the succession of images. But, Resolution 371-2001/TPI-INDECOPI establishes that the main requirement to receive related rights from the producer of non-artistic filming consists of: "present in their creation process a certain degree of creativity, technical or organizational skill sufficient to justify the recognition of a similar right in their favor" (p.e. Pay-per-View events).

Theoretically, a security camera captures in a public place could  lack of their producer (as a public asset is mainly assumed to Peruvian State) to be in the public domain. Security camera footage from Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Ciudadana is provided anonymously to the Peruvian National Police or Public Prosecutor's Office like state cameras in public areas, there is no knowed evidence from the original producer of the material.^{[N° 007-2020-IN Art. 18]} Opinión Consultiva 60-2019-JUS/DGTAIPD indicates that footage records are disclosure if these are for public interest and share in open data process (see also Works by the Peruvian Government ),^{[N° 007-2020-IN Art.22]} the places filmed correspond to "places of public domain",^{[N° 007-2020-IN Art. 7]} human monitoring exists but does not interfere with the surveillance camera's technical or creative ability for recording.^{[N° 007-2020-IN Art. 2]} Also it isn't artistic work since its custody cannot be altered from the original,^{[N° 007-2020-IN Art. 19]} as a result, the footage is below the threshold of originality and don't comply with related rights of article 143 of the 1996 law. Moral rights prevail of the person involved in this media. For these footage in official works, use {{PD-PE-exempt}}.

Logos, designs and other works

Simple or ordinary logos and designs are OK to upload to Commons, because they are below the threshold of originality required for copyright protection. In words of Indecopi and Ministry of Justice and quoting Resolutions No. 1349-2001/TPI-INDECOPI (first paragraph) and 0286-1998/TPI-INDECOPI (second paragraph):

“	According to Article 3 of Decision 351 [of the Andean Decision], in accordance with Article 2 of Legislative Decree No. 822, a work is understood to be any original intellectual creation of an artistic, scientific or literary nature, susceptible of being disclosed or reproduced in any form.[...] Whatever already part of the cultural heritage -artistic, scientific or literary- will not be considered [original creation], nor will [original] the form of expression that derives from the nature of things or from mechanical-only application of the provisions of certain legal norms, nor will [original] the form of expression that is reduced to a simple technique or simple instructions that only require manual skill for this execution.	”
—Indecopi, La originalidad como requisito de protección por derechos de autor ("requisito de la originalidad"), Precedentes y normativa del Indecopi en Propiedad Intelectual (2015)

In 18th paragraph in Casación Número: 1686-2011 explains the use of originality with architectural works satisfying utilitarian functions:

“

The originality of the architectural work [...] must be sought essentially in the creative features that are most distinguishable from the purposes of the model, its nature, its geographic and landscape context, and the functional requirements of the costumer, as well as the technical and urban planning standards applicable to the case; and respond rather, in a particular way or as totality, to the individuality or artistic personality of the author. [An] architectural model [...] must be subjected to analysis for the purpose of identifying whether they respond only to elements of functionality or natural characteristics of the species to which they belong or, on the contrary, contain features that correspond to the whim or personality that the author has wanted to attribute to them, beyond their functionality or technical rigor, resulting in giving individuality to the work, in relation to the rest of the constructions of its species.

”

• 
  Telefónica v Deutsche Telekom (Resolución N° 1127-1998/TPI-INDECOPI): "It's not possible to grant a monopoly on this letter in favour of a single holder".
• 
  Agrotrade S.R.LTDA. v Infutecsa E.I.R.L. (Resolución Nº 0286-1998/TPI-INDECOPI): "When it is certain that a creation lacks individuality and has been copied verbatim, it does not make it a work".
• 
  Resolución Nº 1370-2011/TPI-INDECOPI: "Although it is not a common typeface and may eventually show some differences with respect to the classic graph, this is not sufficient to consider that the work is protected by copyright".
• 
  Resolución Nº 0366-2011-TPI-INDECOPI: "The title of the poster consists of a sentence without creativity and directly informs and announces the content of the event".
• 
  Corporación Oro Verde S.A.C. v Industrias Alimenticias Cusco S.A. (Resolución Nº 008-2008/CDA-INDECOPI): "The borders with Inca motifs and the typeface used to represent the word "CUSCO" do not meet the requirement of originality sufficient to be considered an artistic work".
• 
  Carga Máxima v Del Barrio and Compañía Peruana de Radiodifusión (Resolución Nº 0209-2019/CDA-INDECOPI): the court determined that the "squeaky font style" from Chicha posters for this logo is not original due to its common usage.
• 
  Resolución N° 0546-2005/TPI-INDECOPI: In the "drawing", they bear the texts and the crown of the Statue of Liberty, which lack individuality.
• 
  Resolución N° 0698-2014/TPI-INDECOPI: "The fact that [...] the exclamation mark is written in an irregular form and that each letter or sign has a different color, [does not] determine that such characteristics endow the design applied for registration with the features of originality required by the norm to provide it with protection as a work".
• 
  Resolución Nº 1194-2017/TPI-INDECOPI: "The Court notes that there are no original elements, since they are figures that do not present any particularity, which have been reproduced in the usual manner, without any element having been included".
• 
  Resolución Nº 1192-2017/TPI-INDECOPI (see Resolución Nº 1194-2017/TPI-INDECOPI).
• 
  Resolución N° 4301-2015/TPI-INDECOPI: "These are ornamental elements that lack originality, since the same or similar ones are being used by different people and companies to identify".
• 
  Empresas Luc-Chetti S.A. v Molinoitalia S.A. y Pragma DePublicidad S.A. (Resolución Nº 074-2000/TPI-INDECOPI): "[...] although musical works comprise melody, harmony and rhythm; exclusive rights to the melody can only be acquired".
• 
  Resolución Nº 211-94-DA-INDECOPI: "la protección [...] no abarca la ordenación alfabética de usuarios que contiene [la guía telefónica]"
• 
  Far from fiction, Duff is an element that individually lacks the protection of a work of art. Subsequently, Fox managed to obtain identification characteristics to be registered as beer trademark (Resolución Nº 1508-2009/TPI-INDECOPI).
• 
  Resolución N° 2418-2009/TPI-INDECOPI: While the angle of the handle to the horizontal line or the depth of the concave part of the teaspoon [is slightly different] from the standard shape [...] the object is not an original work, due to the common form of others teaspoons.
• 
  Resolución N° 0184-2008/TPI-INDECOPI: The miniature representation of Machu Picchu in plastic material cannot be granted as an original work, because its registration would prohibit people create other miniature versions of the citadel.
• 
  Resolución Nº 1645-2007/TPI-INDECOPI: "The elaboration of a [portable stage] (similar to this image) may have meant an intellectual effort on the part of its creator, but it does not have enough characteristics to be considered a work of [3D] art, since it consists of a simple arrangement of removable panels in the form of a screen".
• 
  Resolución Nº 0148-2008/TPI-INDECOPI: "However, the Court considers that allowing protection to a design composed exclusively of figures or designs in the public domain, such as the Inca chakana, would mean for no other person to be able to use such designs belonging to the common cultural heritage".
• 
  Resolución Nº 0083-2011/DDA-INDECOPI does not consider protection to use of Tumi with common text.
• 
  A newsline that is not subject to copyright protection but the image, also not considered a work of authorship, is subject to related protection for 70 years post-creation.
• 
  Resolución N° 0082-2023/TPI-INDECOPI: "The additional elements that appear on the images (e.g. rectangles containing phrases or expressions) also do not present particular features that denote a minimum of originality, so they cannot be protected by copyright"

Note: Some creations are above the threshold of originality and  are not valid for upload to Commons:

• Logo of Tres Olivas: a leaf with three olives with tonalities, use of brightness and sensation of movement. See Resolution No 1774-2012/TPI-INDECOPI, Olivos del Sur S.A.C. vs Antonio Moncayo Cortés.
• Emblema La Primera. See Resolution No 2361-2016/TPI-INDECOPI.
• A fictional character in Superman: Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite. See Resolution No 1164-2014/TPI-INDECOPI.
• A logo with a people with torch to the letter E, above the letter T. Triunfo Empresarial. See Resolution No 0319-2018/TPI-INDECOPI.

Miscellaneous

Currency

Before 1971

Anverse of sol coin (1892 in this picture, during the mandate of President Miguel de San Román) is PD in Peru.

OK The old peruvian sol is out of circulation, most of designs were created before 1971. The reverse side with the coat of arms was created in 1825.^{[D. L. 11323/1950]} Use {{Peruvian currency}}.

Between 1971 and 1991

 Unclear There is not enough information regarding the copyright status of this. If the design was published anonymously before 1981, use {{Peruvian currency}}.

After 1991

 Not OK Peruvian currency sol is not exempted from copyright.^{[822/1996 Art.9]} In fact, the BCRP considers it to be a work of art but not a government "official work". Therefore, its design and art of the bill is subject to copyright in Peru and prohibits any free reproduction. Law 26714, Article 256, prohibits reproducing bills and coins and distributing them for advertising or similar purposes in such a way as to create confusion or cause the reproductions to be used by third parties as if they were genuine currency.

Please note that not all coins are copyrighted, because they contain previous designs and patterns released to be in the public domain or are below the originality threshold. See discussion.

Cheque

OK in some cases Cheques are also not exempt from copyright law. However, pre-1971 designs are public domain and recent cheques often lack originality by bearing simple data, signatures or common identification codes. So templates must be taken: {{PD-Peru-organization}} or {{PD-simple}}.

De minimis

There is subtle mention of "de minimis" in determinate cases:

• Media for private use, non-profit educative events or extracts of musical works in official events.^{[822/1996 Art.41(a, b and c)]} In other words, the sentence is equivalent to Fair use and is unacceptable to upload in Commons.
• Broadcasting of well-known quotations and current events in any media. "The exception provided [...] shall be interpreted restrictively, and may not be applied to cases that are contrary to proper practice".^{[822/1996 Art. 44-45, 50 and Decision 351 Art. 22]}
• Don't be an object of intelligent plagiarism ("plagio inteligente", also referred in Article 217c of the Penal Code, 2007):
  • Parodies: Allowed within the legal basis.^{[822/1996 Art. 49]} Resolution No. 0864-2007/TPI-INDECOPI (also No. 4372-2013/TPI-INDECOPI) pointed out that the work is a infringement if the design adopts similarities or derivations from another without the parody intention (ordinary or substantial plagiarism). Best example is the 2008 TV series Magnolia Merino, which complies with the concept of parody when deals with a subject of public interest from other artistic point of view with excerpts based on the scenario, impersonation and musicalization of Magaly TeVe (see Resolution No. 3251–2010/SC1-INDECOPI).
  • Incidental: In APSAV v. Arkinka S.A. (Anuario Andino 19 August 2004, based on Resolution No. 243-2001/ODA-INDECOPI) the limitation of the use of third parties works has been applied when "the appearance within the work should be incidental". Freedom of panorama is also mentioned and justified in both Decision 351 and DL 822 with the term "public places" such as "public museums".

Freedom of panorama

OK {{FoP-Peru}} Based on the 1996 law,

• The following shall be permitted without the author’s consent: ... the reproduction of a work of art on permanent display in a street, square or other public place, or that of the outer façade of a building, where it is done in an art form different from that used for the making of the original, provided that the name of the author, if known, the title of the work, if any, and the place in which it is located are specified.^{[822/1996 Art.43(e)]}
• In all the cases specified in this Article, any use of works that competes with the author's exclusive right to exploit their work shall be equivalent to unlawful use.^{[822/1996 Art.43 (endnote)]} Outside the copyright law, is illegal use to take economic advantage for others or not to attribute the author of the work.^{[29263/2003 Art.1(218)]}

Notes:

• Resolutions No 0372-2006-TPI-INDECOPI and 0760-2010-TPI-INDECOPI (El Comercio v APSAV) specifies the situations in which the work may be legitimately reproduced for acts of exhibition. A "public place" (like MVCS: "bien de dominio público", with exceptions for "dominio privado estatal", see Works by the Peruvian Government)^{[29151/1991, updated in D.S. 008-2021-VIVIENDA Art. 3.3.2]} is an internal or external location that is permanently available to the public including museums. The freedom of panorama applies even to artistic works: the "permanent" status is not lost to works that have been relocated from one public place to another public place or that are in the process of temporary closure for maintenance. The places declared as cultural heritage, even if they were abandoned or never discovered, are property of the Peruvian State and match the definitions previously mentioned.^{[28296/2008 Title I, Art. 2, 5 and 11]}
• Previously, the 1961 law allowed the freedom of panorama for artistic and architectural works, regardless of their legal validity, in public places. There is no mention if the work must be "permanently accessible".^{[13714/1961 Art. 72 and 74]} During the government of Alberto Fujimori, the concept of "public spaces" expands in heavy attended interiors from public institutions, free areas in private institutions and mass transport.^{[25357/1991 Art.2]} In the case of museums, the audiovisual reproduction in newspapers, television channels and movies of works acquired inside the place is also allowed. But, should be noted that these reproductions are "copies of a work" with name of its author, for the copyrighted work itself cannot be used for trade.^{[13714/1961 Art. 73]}
• Copyright protection of architectural works expire 70 p.m.a of their original designer. However, for clarification, if the architectural work was inaugurated before 1960 and never attributed by any author, this lacks coverage by recent copyright laws to protect it because limitations from 1849 law that buildings are not designate as works of art.^{[13714/1961 Art. 7(ll) and 153]} The freedom of panorama is applied in Art. 37 and 38 of the Intellectual Property Code of the Peruvian Association of Architects with condition that "the works are open to the public", even indoors unless strictly reserved by their author.

Stamps

Stamps created prior to 1971

Some stamps were created by Casa de Correos y Telégrafos, today Ministry of Transport and Communications-owned Servicios Postales del Perú (Serpost). In Law No. 13714 of 1961, works by the government had a duration of 25 years and its copyright expired before 1996.

For stamps created by the Government and published before 1971 use {{PD-Peru-organization}}, for other works use {{PD-old-auto}} where applicable.

Stamps created since 1971

The basic law on copyright in Peru is contained in Legislative Decree No. 822 of April 23, 1996.

There is no special mention of stamps in this law as "official work".^{[822/1996 Art.9]} Copyright lasts for 70 years from death, calculated from the 1 January following the year of death, or for 70 years from the year of disclosure for anonymous and pseudonymous works.^{[822/1996 Art.52–53]}

Signatures

OK for a typical signature. Because calligraphies consist of trivial mechanical processes that do not involve artistic and literary efforts, they do not pass the threshold of originality due to the lack of reasonable creative and individual transmission during their process ("mera naturaleza de las cosas"). On Resolution No. 0286-1998/TPI-INDECOPI explains the differences between a creative work and a trivial work, therefore not all creations are authentic and not are subject for their protection. Also, Resolution No. 0148-2008/TPI-INDECOPI sets to the drawings of common use cannot pass the attributes of individuality, making the signatures look the same as the concept of uncopyrighted drawings.

Commissioned works

Law No. 13714 established the State or organizations as the owner of the works created under commission or employment contract. DL 822 completely loses the transfer of the patrimonial owner, but article 16 of 1996 copyright law establish certain rights to the commissioner (whether natural or juridical person) such as the exclusivity of disclosure of the work or the moral rights of the authors (see Resolución Nº 0127-2008/CDA-INDECOPI pages 11-12).

Retroactivity of expired works under 1961 law

The Peruvian copyright law of 23 April 1996, which entered in force on 24 May 1996 and repeals the previous regulation, indicates in its transitional provisions that "[works] protected under the previous legislation shall benefit from the longer terms of protection provided for in this law".^{[822/1996 Transitional Provision 1]} This occurred days after of URAA renewal date, January 1, 1996 (see discussion explaining the expiration about which works apply to protection and how it affects to Commons). But, some registration guidelines maintained the validity of the 1961 law, until its definitive repeal in 2003.^{[822/1996 Transitional Provision 6]} There is no retroactive effect on works that have already expired before 23 May 1996 according to the regulations indicated and applied to the present time:

• Article 21 of Decision 351 [of the Andean Community] (1993): "The limitations and exceptions to copyright established in the [legislation of Peru] will be circumscribed to cases which do not conflict with the normal exploitation of the works nor resulting unjustified prejudice to legitimate interests of the owner or owners of the rights".
  • This rule is a regional adaptation of Article 18 of Berne Convention (works that were published before 1988 under Universal Copyright Convention and whose copyright expired before 1996 do not enjoy this benefit either)
  • Works that expired under the article 62 of the previous Peruvian law no longer enjoy the rights of collective recognition of the Andean Community. See also Retroactivity of AC countries.
  • Also, if the work of a Peruvian organization was published between 1968 and 1970, it went safely into the public domain in other countries because the expiration of extended protection of 50 years after publication for Andean Community members (Art. 19 and 59), The United States is not part of this community. Similar case for the authors died between 1963 and 1965 and left only assignments. Because they are part of the international community, the members could extend the duration of copyright in their country to pass the URAA date, so this should be taken into consideration in works when employing co-productions with those countries.
  • See also Resolution 489 (19 March 2001), Fábrica de Tejidos Santa Catalina S.A. requested protection of its design to Ecuador because it's published in 1969 and public domain since 1994 in its original country Peru, as a result, the design maintained its protection in Ecuador because in that country it had previously standardized its laws to be compatible with AC laws (in 1994, the 1976 law remained in force, with a protection period of up to 50 years).
• Article 7 of Law 29477 (2009)
  • This refers to the Article 103 of the Political Constitution of 1993: "No law has force or retroactive effect, except in criminal terms, when it favors the defendant". (see Law 27454, and section "Aplicación de la ley en el tiempo" from article "SIBARITA S.A. vs AJINOMOTO DEL PERÚ S.A. (1998)" in Indecopi (2015), p. 63). While criminal violations are usually "retroactive" (such as applying criminal penalties in favor of the copyright author), the protection does not have a "retroactive" effect for works expired by the old law, so the "public domain" status will remain in new laws.
  • The number of the old copyright law is mentioned in Article 1.
• Article III of Preliminary Title of Civil Code of Peru (established in 1984 under D.L. 195, updated in 2020)
  • Aplicación de la ley en el tiempo: "The law applies to the consequences of existing juridic connections and situations. Has no retroactive force or effect, except for those set forth in the Political Constitution of Peru".
  • According to Coca Guzmán, 2020, some cases ("casaciones") were cited in which the principle of irretroactivity is applied. In order for the previous law to maintain the public domain status, the "theory of the accomplished facts" ("teoría de los hechos cumplidos") that will prevent the new law revoking their expiration before its day of coming into force is applied.

Real examples occurred with Resolutions No. 584-2002/TPI-INDECOPI of June 21, 2002 (Fragil v. Discos Hispanos, Tecnología Digital Victoria and Kroton) and No. 1207-2010/TPI-INDECOPI of May 31, 2010 (Mega Entertainment E.I.R.L. v. Novolexis S.A.C) for unauthorized reproductions prior to 1990 of phonographic productions published before this year. According to the 2010 resolution, the old works apply the theory of the accomplished facts, where the immediate application of the rules of 1996 is preferred to the ultraactivity of the repealed rules of 1961 (if the work not was expired explicity before 1996). But the Court did not grant the injured parties whose work was reproduced without authorization by another party under the old law because of a loophole. In the words of Indecopi: "Admit any conclusion [that favours or disfavours to the author] would retroactively apply the existing rule or ultraactively the repealed rule, contravening the ordering juridic-national".

See also

• Peru
• Category:Peruvian FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of Peru
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Andean Community

External links

Resolutions search engine from Indecopi website

Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer

The Philippines

• Literary and artistic works. Protected for fifty (50) years after the death of the author. (sec 213)
• Works of joint authorship. Protected for fifty (50) years after the death of the last surviving author. (sec 213.2)
• Anonymous or Pseudonymous works. Protected for fifty (50) years from the date on which the work was first lawfully published (sec. 213.3) except if the identity of the author(s) are revealed before expiration of protection, in which case sec 213 and 213.2 applies.
• Applied art. Protected for twenty-five (25) years from date of making. (sec 213.4)
• Photographs and audio-visual works. Protected for fifty (50) years from publication. In case of unpublished works, protected for fifty (50) years from date of making. (sec 213.5, 213.6)
• Sound or Image and Sound recordings. Protected for fifty (50) years from the end of the year in which the recording took place. (sec 215)
• Broadcasts. Protected for twenty (20) years from the date the broadcast took place. (sec 215.2)
• Works by the government of the Philippines are not protected by copyright. However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein the work was created is necessary for exploitation of such works for profit. (sec 171.11 and 176)

"SEC. 176. Works of the Government. – 176.1. No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties. No prior approval or conditions shall be required for the use for any purpose of statutes, rules and regulations, and speeches, lectures, sermons, addresses, and dissertations, pronounced, read or rendered in courts of justice, before administrative agencies, in deliberative assemblies and in meetings of public character."

However, the clause for prior approval is determined to be a non-copyright restriction and can be safely ignored for the purposes of Wikimedia Commons by policy. Therefore works of the Philippine Government is considered to be under the Public Domain. See discussion for {{PD-PhilippineGov}}.

(Republic Act 8293)

Poland

See also: User:Piotrus/PolishCopyright

Public domain

According to the Article 3 of copyright law of March 29, 1926 (valid until 1952) and Article 2 of copyright law of July 10, 1952 of the People's Republic of Poland, all photographs by Polish photographers (or published for the first time in Poland or simultaneously in Poland and abroad) printed without a clear copyright notice before the law was changed on May 23, 1994 are public domain. Status of those photographs did not change after Polish Copyright Law of February 4, 1994 was enacted. (See: {{PD-Polish}})

According to the Article 21 of copyright law of March 29, 1926 (valid until 1952) photographs lose copyright protection ten years after picture was taken. Series of scientific or artistic pictures lose copyright protection after 50 years. According to Article 27 of copyright law of July 10, 1952 (valid until May 23, 1994) photographs and series of photographs lose copyright protection ten years after publication date. However, retroactive Polish Copyright Law of February 4, 1994 Article 124, put all those images back under copyright protection, for 50 years since the death of the author. An amendment passed in late 2002, effective January 1, 2003, retroactively extended terms to 70 years after the death of an author, and a further amendment was made in April 2004.

Anonymous and pseudonymous works lose copyright protection seventy years "from the date of the first dissemination of the work, unless the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his identity or the author has disclosed his identity" (Article 36).

Works by the Government and Public administration

According to Article 4, case 2 of the Polish Copyright Law Act of February 4, 1994 (Dz. U. z 2017 r. poz. 880 "normative acts and drafts thereof as well as official documents, materials, signs and symbols are not subject to copyrights". However in some instances the use of this image in Poland might be regulated by other laws. It is being debated if postage stamps and banknotes fall into this category. (See: {{PD-Polishsymbol}})

In the judgment of 27 February 2009 (V CSK 337/2008), the Supreme Court of Poland stated: "Under the official materials referred to in Article 4 § 2 of the [Polish] Copyright Law Act it should be understood as materials coming from an office or other institution performing public tasks."

Additionally selected government websites publish content on Creative Commons license unless stated otherwise. As of 10 August 2015 ministerial websites had a following copyright status, free licenses are marked green:

List of ministries

* Ministry of Digital Affairs - CC BY 3.0 PL Ministry of Interior and Administration - no clear license Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - © Ministerstwo Rolnictwa i Rozwoju Wsi - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Culture and National Heritage - © Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Economy - CC BY SA 3.0 Ministry of Environment - © 1997-2012 Ministerstwo Środowisk - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Finance - © Copyrights Ministerstwo Finansów 2011-2012 - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Foreign Affairs - © 2012 Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Health - © 2013 Ministerstwo Zdrowia - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Infrastructure and Development 2015 Ministerstwo Infrastruktury i Rozwoju - no copyright sign, no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Interior - ©1998-2014 Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Justice - © 2000-2015 Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Labour and Social Policy - no clear license Ministry of National Defence - © Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 2015 Ministry of National Education - no clear license Ministry of Science and Higher Education - © 2015 Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of Sport and Tourism - © Ministerstwo Sportu i Turystyki 2015 - no dedicated copyright page Ministry of State Treasury - © Ministerstwo Skarbu Państwa. Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone.

Freedom of Panorama

The copyright act from February 4, 1994 in article 33 point 1 allows to propagate works that are permanently exhibited on the publicly accessible roads, streets, squares or gardens provided that the propagation is not for the same use. The name of the creator and source should be provided if it is possible by article 34. This use is royalty free, provided that it does not harm the legitimate interests of the creator by article 34. See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama#Poland

See also

• Selected and short review of Polish copyright case-law (blog entry, in English)
• The 1994 law in English

Portugal

Works are protected 70 years after the death of the author or last surviving author, or 70 years after publication if the author is anonymous.

• Código do Direito de Autor e dos Direitos Conexos (Portuguese). Main IP laws enacted September 17, 1985, including all amendments up to August 23, 2017.
• Overview of "Code of Copyright and Related Rights (as last amended by Law No. 16/2008 of April 1, 2008)"

under the Portuguese law, the author's moral rights, including and in particular the right to attribution, are perpetual, even after the copyright expires (§9.3).

Photographs

All photographs taken until 30 June 1970 are in the public domain in Portugal, as Decreto-Lei n.° 334/97 de 27 de Novembro, which established the current 70 year protection on photographic works, as well as the 25 year protection on non-published public domain works, specifically applies retroactively only to works that were under protection in EU countries as of 1 July 1995 (§5). In the previous Law No. 114/91 of September 3, 1991, copyright for all photographic works expired after 25 years after the work had been carried out. Copyright of non-published works was specifically voided 25 years after creation of the work. (§34).

In order to have copyright, photographic works are required to be published displaying a) the name of the photographer, b) in the case of photographs of works of plastic art, the name of the author of the work photographed. (§167 of the current 2017 copyright law). Failure to comply this voids the copyright of the work, unless bad faith on the reproduction can be proved. Jurisprudence (2011).

In Portugal photographs have been consistently specifically required to have a significant degree of creativity in order to be copyrighted. §164 of the current 2017 copyright law states that "the choice of a photograph's subject and the conditions of its creation must be deemed to be a personal artistic creation by the author before a photograph may qualify for protection". In 2009, (2nd instance court) Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa ruled as void of copyright for lack of artistic creativity a landscap photograph the author was claiming copyright on due to his choice of the setting, light and other conditions. It was considered by the court "a vulgar photograph resultant from the mere choice of an object, such as a city council building and part of a group of trees, without a minimum of creativity". See also this article at the Instituto Portugues de Fotografia.

URAA

See {{PD-Portugal-URAA}} for compatibility between URAA and works in the public domain in Portugal.

Romania

The current Romanian copyright law goes back to 1996, when Law no. 8 of March 14, 1996 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights entered in force on June 25, 1996. The law is very close to the Spanish copyright law; it has a general copyright term of 70 years p.m.a.. This new Romanian copyright law has been amended several times since 1996.

The previous law on authors' rights in Romania was decree no. 321 from June 18, 1956, published on June 27, 1956. It had much shorter copyright terms (see articles 6 and 7). The earlier copyright law was the law on authors' rights from June 28, 1923, itself modified by the law no. 596 from July 24, 1946, the decree no. 19 from February 16, 1951, the decree no. 428 from November 13, 1952, and the decree no. 591 of December 17, 1955.

The 1923 law had a copyright term of 30 years p.m.a. if heirs existed, the 1956 law had a general term of 50 years p.m.a. (50 years since publication for works created by a legal entity). Shorter terms in the 1956 law existed for authors of entries in encyclopedias and dictionaries (20 years since publication), and for photographers (5 years since publication for individual artistic photos, 10 years for a series of such). These terms were not extended by the new law for works that were already in the public domain, putting the work of any author who died before January 1st, 1946 in the public domain.

See also:

• {{PD-Romania}} - Romanian version of {{Anonymous-EU}} and {{PD-old-70}} but also covers photographs published more than 70 years ago.
• {{PD-RO-1956}} - covers dictionaries or encyclopedias published before 1976 (20 years from publication)
• {{PD-RO-photo}} - covers artistic photographs published before 1991
• {{PD-RO-exempt}}

Russia and former Soviet Union

Copyrights of works created in Russia was based on the Russian copyright law of 1993 and its amendments of 1995 and 2004 (Федеральный закон от 9.07.1993 № 5351-1). Since January 1, 2008, intellectual property rights are regulated by Russian law 230-FL of 2006: Part IV of the Civil Code, together with the Russian law 231-FL of 2006: Implementation act for Part IV of the Civil Code. This new law replaced all previous IP laws in Russia.

The same law applies to the works from the former Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union, since Russia is recognized as one of the twelve (12) legal successors of the USSR (as a federation of republics). Copyrights of works originating from other former Soviet republics may be claimed by the corresponding post-Soviet states too. Works of authors who worked during the Great Patriotic War (Eastern Front of World War II) or participated in it are extended for 4 years (so they become public domain 74 years after their death). In case the author was subjected to repression and rehabilitated posthumously, countdown of copyright protection began not from the death date, but from the rehabilitation date. If the work was first published posthumously, the copyright term is counted from the date of that first publication, unless the author was later rehabilitated, in which case it runs again from that later rehabilitation date.

See Commons:Copyright tags#Russia and former Soviet Union for specific copyright tags.

See also: {{PD-Ukraine}}, as one of specific post-Soviet tags.

See also: {{PD-RusEmpire}} for works published before 1917.

Note: There was a discussion whether pre-1973 works from the Soviet Union are copyright-free, originating in the period of uncertainty after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was concluded that this theory is incorrect; see discussions in Template talk:PD-Soviet.

San Marino

Law exists per [27], and states that the period of protection is 50 years after the death of the author (Legge n. 8 del 25 gennaio 1991 - Tutela del diritto d'autore - Capo III: Durata della protezione).

• For anonymous or pseudo-anonymous works, the duration is 60 years after the date of the first publication (Art.38).
• For audio-visual works (films, sound), the duration is 50 years after the end of the year of first publication date (or 50 years after the production date for unpublished works) (Art.40).
• For photographs, San Marino states that the "protection period for photographs shall be 30 years of the date of production." (Art.84).

See also {{PD-SanMarino}} for the reproduction of the acts of State or government or judicial acts.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian Law.

The general copyright rule is 50 years pma. Exceptions:

• Applied art (handcrafted or manufactured) and photographs are under copyright for 25 years from publication.
• Films, sound and artistic works are protected for 50 years from publication.

Protected works are:

1. Written materials like books, booklets and others.

2. Works which are verbally delivered like lectures, speeches,poetry, songs and the like.

3. Dramatic works, plays, shows and similar presentations which involve motion, sound or both.

4. Works which are especially prepared for broadcasting or are presented through broadcasting.

5. Drawings, works of plastic arts, architecture, decorative art and artistic embroidery and the like.

6. Sound and audio-visual works.

7. Applied art works, whether handcrafted or manufactured.

8. Photographic works and the like.

9. Illustrations, geographical maps, designs, plans, sketches and sculptured works related to geography, topography, architecture and science.

10. Three Dimensional works of geography, topography, architecture or science.

11. Computer programs.

12. Protection shall include the title of a work, if it is of creative nature, and not a common expression indicating the subject matter of the work.

Serbia

Serbia is 70 years pma. Works by unknown author are 70 years after publication. FOP is very broad:

"Article 51 Any work that is permanently displayed in a street, a square or some other open public place may be reproduced in two dimensions and its copies thus made may be put on the market as will as communicated to the public in some other way, without the author's permission and without paying remuneration."

Law on Copyright and Related Rights (2009)

Singapore

Singapore Copyright Act

See Commons:Copyright tags#Singapore for specific copyright tags.

Freedom of panorama

• The copyright in sculptures and other works of artistic craftsmanship "situated, otherwise than temporarily, in a public place, or in premises open to the public, is not infringed by the making of a painting, drawing, engraving or photograph of the work or by the inclusion of the work in a cinematograph film or in a television broadcast". However, the definition of "artistic work" for this purpose explicitly excludes paintings, drawings, engravings and photographs, and therefore freedom of panorama does not apply to, among other things, two-dimensional works such as posters or other flat artworks even if they are permanently displayed in a public place.

• The copyright in a building or a model of a building is not infringed by the making of a painting, drawing, engraving or photograph of the building or model or by the inclusion of the building or model in a cinematograph film or in a television broadcast.

Literary, dramatic and musical works published in author's lifetime; and artistic works other than photographs

The following works are in the public domain upon the expiry of 70 years after the end of the calendar year in which the authors of the works died:

• Published literary, dramatic and musical works.

• Published and unpublished artistic works other than photographs.

Posthumously published literary, dramatic and musical works, and engravings

If, before the death of the author of a literary, dramatic or musical work —

• the work had not been published;
• the work had not been performed in public;
• the work had not been broadcast;
• the work had not been included in a cable programme; and
• records of the work had not been offered or exposed for sale to the public;

the work is in the public domain upon the expiry of 70 years after the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published, performed in public, or broadcast, or included in a cable programme, or records of the work are first offered or exposed for sale to the public, whichever is the earliest of those events to happen (that is, the work was made available to the public before or in 1954).

If, before the death of the author of an engraving the work had not been published, the work is in the public domain upon the expiry of 70 years after the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published (that is, it was first published before or in 1954).

Anonymous and pseudonymous literary, dramatic and musical works

An anonymous or pseudonymous literary, dramatic and musical work is in the public domain if 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published (that is, it was first published before or in 1954). (The work ceases to be in the public domain if at any time before the 70-year period expires the identity of the author of the work is generally known or can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry.)

Photographs

A photograph is in the public domain in the following situations:

• If it was taken before 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which it was taken (that is, it was taken before or in 1954).
• If it was taken on or after 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which it was first published.

Published editions of work or works

A published edition of a work or works is in the public domain in the following situations:

• If it was first published before 10 April 1987.
• If it was published on or after 10 April 1987, 25 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which it was first published.

The copyright in a published edition protects the typographical format of the edition, which is separate from any copyrights in the work recorded. Therefore, even if the copyright in the typographical format has expired, the distinct copyright in the text (which is a literary work) and in illustrations or photographs (which are artistic works) may still be subsisting. Do not upload files containing such works unless another licence such as {{PD-SG-lifetimepub}} or {{PD-SG-photo}} is applicable.

Cinematograph films

A cinematograph film is in the public domain in the following situations:

• If it was made before 10 April 1987.
• If it was made on or after 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.

Sound recordings

A sound recording is in the public domain in the following situations:

• If it was made before 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the recording was made (that is, it was made before or in 1954).
• If it was made on or after 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the recording was first published.

Television broadcasts, sound broadcasts and cable programmes

A television broadcast, sound broadcast or cable programme is in the public domain in the following situations:

• If the broadcast was made or the cable programme included in a cable programme service before 10 April 1987.
• If the broadcast was made or the cable programme included in a cable programme service on or after 10 April 1987 —
  • The television or sound broadcast is a repetition of a broadcast made before that date.
  • 50 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was first made or the cable programme was first included in a cable programme service.

Government works

• A literary, dramatic or musical work made by or under the direction or control of the Government is in the public domain if 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published by or under the direction or control of the Government.

• An artistic work made made by or under the direction or control of the Government is in the public domain in the following situations:
  • If it is a photograph —
    • made before 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.
    • made on or after 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.
  • If it is an engraving, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.
  • If it is an artistic work other than an engraving or a photograph, if 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.

• A cinematograph film made by or under the direction or control of the Government is in the public domain in the following situations:
  • If it was made before 10 April 1987, it is an original dramatic work that is in the public domain, and photographs forming part of the film are also in the public domain (see the preceding paragraphs).
  • If it was made on or after 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.

• A sound recording made by or under the direction or control of the Government is in the public domain in the following situations:
  • If it was made before 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the expiration of the calendar year in which the recording was made.
  • If it was made on or after 10 April 1987, 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the recording was first published.

Slovakia

• English translation of the Slovak copyright law as of 2004 Wayback Machine archive page.
• Slovak copyright law in Slovak language.
• In general, Slovak law provides for pma 70 years.
• Freedom of panorama:

According to section 27 of the Slovak copyright law, Slovakia has freedom of panorama. Works permanently located at public places may be freely reproduced by drawing, painting, graphics, relief picture or relief model, or by photography or film, and such reproductions may be freely published and sold without the consent of the original author.

• Publicator's right, 25 years.

Slovenia

• Works of authors who died in 1944 or earlier are public domain in Slovenia. Works of authors who died in 1945 or later are copyrighted.
• An exception applies to the photographic and similarly-made works, and the works of applied art, which are considered free if published before 1 January 1970. This also includes still images of videos if these images were published before 1970.
• The publication right applies for all works, published for the first time on 29 April 1995 or later, even if the copyright has already expired. It lasts for 25 years starting 1 January of the year following the year of the publication.
• There is no Commons-suitable freedom of panorama in Slovenia.

Free works

• Copyright protection shall not be afforded to:

• ideas, principles, discoveries;
• official legislative, administrative and judicial texts;

• This also encompasses the national coat of arms, the municipal coats of arms, the anthem, urban planning maps, drawings of traffic signs, sketches and plans from the patent file after the official publication of the patent, and other similar material published due to a state jurisdiction as part of the official text, its annex or independently.
• Translations of texts mentioned hereby should enjoy copyright protection, unless they are published as official texts.

• folk literary and artistic creations;
• certain photographs that are not an "individual intellectual creation of the photographer". Trampuž specifically cites the following types of images:

• automated routine photographs (avtomatizirani rutinski posnetki); specifically listed: photographic automates (pri fotografskih avtomatih), traffic safety images (v prometni varnosti), images taken as part of the technical protection of objects (pri tehnični zaščiti objektov), meteorological and satellite photographs (meteorološki in satelitski posnetki)
• routine photographs for documents (rutinski posnetki za dokumente)
• average amateur photographs (povprečne amaterske fotografije - družinski, počitniški posnetki ipd.)
• routine press photographs (rutinski fotoreporterski posnetki: tiskovna poročila, člen 48/I tč. 4)

These, however, can often become an author's work, which is judged from case to case. In numerous actual cases, they have also been recognised as copyrighted.

Freedom of panorama

• No Commons-suitable FOP. According to the Article 55 of the Slovenian Copyright and Related Rights Act, there is only limited freedom of panorama in Slovenia:

Works permanently placed in parks, streets, squares, or other generally accessible premises may not be reproduced in a 3D-form, used for the same purpose as the original work, or used for economic gain. The source and authorship of the work must be indicated, if the latter is indicated on the work used.

Copyright duration

• The copyright starts to run on 1 January of the year following the year of the initial event (e.g. if the creator of the work died in 1975, his works will become public domain in 2046). [Note: The word author below refers to the creator (author, artist, architect, designer) of any creative work.]

• for the life of the author and for 70 years after his death, unless otherwise provided by the aforementioned Act
• in the case of coauthors, for 70 years from the death of the last coauthor;
• in the case of anonymous and pseudonymous works, for 70 years after the lawful disclosure, except of the author reveals his identity or there's no doubt about who is the author (in this case, for 70 years after his death)
• in the case of collective works, for 70 years after the lawful disclosure (for the work to be a collective work, it must not be an inseparable whole, there must be a special contract about its creation signed, and the number of individual authors must be large);
• in the case the copyright can't run from the death of the author and the work was not lawfully disclosed, for 70 years after the creation of the work;

Related rights duration

• The related rights start run from the day of the event:

• in the case of performances, for 50 years after the performance or in the case of its lawful disclosure, 50 years after its first publication;

• the performers' rights have expired for performances from before 29 April 1990;

• in the case of sound recordings, for 50 years after the day of the production of the recording or in the case of its lawful disclosure, 50 years after its first publication;

• the sound recording producers' rights have expired for recordings from before 1 January 1975;

• in the case of unpublished free works, for 25 years after the day of the lawful publication (the publication right);

• this applies only for works, published for the first time on 29 April 1995 or later.

• in the case of critical or scientific publications of free works, for 30 years after the day of the first lawful publication;
• in the case of continued works, the term is separately calculated for each of the composing parts);
• in the case of collections, insignificant changes do not lengthen the duration of the copyright on the collection.

Threshold of originality

The threshold of originality in Slovenia depends on the field of creativity. If the maneuvering space of the possible creativity is narrower, it requires more creativity for a work to be copyrighted. In this regard, the following court cases are relevant:

Applied arts

• VSL0069492 - the design of a couch set has been found to be below the threshold.
• VS0011606 - the design of a selling stand has been found to be above the threshold.

Architecture

• VSL00432 - only the works that constitute an original artwork are copyrighted; the renovation plan of Ljubljana Castle as well as the newly built and (at least some of) the renovated parts of the castle count as such.

Titles

• VS07924 - the title "Brez zavor" (meaning "Without inhibitions") has been found to be below the threshold.

Other restrictions

• In Slovenia there are restrictions on;

• photography of public monuments and cultural heritage, see COM:FOP#Slovenia and {{SpomenikSVN}}.
• publication of reproductions of public archives. An authorisation of the archival institution is needed for any publication. See the Archives and Archival Institutions Act.
• the usage of the national flag, the coat of arms, and the anthem; see the Act Regulating the Coat-of-Arms, Flag and Anthem of the Republic of Slovenia and the Flag of the Slovene Nation.

Related acts

• Copyright and Related Rights Act (valid since 2007) (English translation).
• Zakon o avtorskih in sorodnih pravicah (the copyright act in Slovene)
• Protection of Documents and Archives and Archival Institutions Act (PDAAIA)
• 1978 Yugoslav Copyright Act (Zakon o autorskom pravu)

Somalia

According to the 1977 Copyright Law - Law No. 66 of 7 September 1977, Somali law includes copyright protection lenth of Life + 30 years for registered works. However, under this law, registration of the copyrighted work was required to obtain protection, and there is no longer anywhere to register copyrights (if there ever was).

Somalia has recently passed a new law relating to copyright (see Article 38), but it does not specify a duration and is unclear. See also a media article.

Somalia is not a party to any International Copyright laws (Berne, UCC, TRIPS/WTO)

There are records of a copyright office existing prior to being destroyed in the civil war in 1991. The United States Copyright Office declares the state of copyright relations with Somalia to be "unknown"[28], as opposed to "none".

South Africa

Admissible as it was photographed 50+ years after the death of the author

According to the Copyright Act 1978 (No. 98 of 1978) of South Africa (as at 25 June 2002):

• Photographs and cinematograph films. The copyright in photographs and cinematograph films expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the work (1) is made available to the public with the copyright owner's consent; or (2) is first published, whichever is longer. If a work is neither made available to the public or published within 50 years of the making of the work, its copyright expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the work was made: section 3(2)(b).
• Literary, musical and artistic works (except photographs).
  • Identified author.
    • Unpublished works. The copyright in an unpublished literary, musical or artistic work (except a photograph) by an author whose identity is known expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the author dies (section 3(2)(a)) or, if the work is jointly authored by more than one author, in which the last surviving author dies (section 3(4)).
    • Published works. If a literary, musical or artistic work, or an adaptation of it, has been published, performed in public, offered for public sale, or broadcast, its copyright expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the first of these acts is done: section 3(2)(a). In general, a work is "published" if copies of it have been issued to the public with the copyright owner's consent in sufficient quantities to reasonably meet the public's needs, having regard to the nature of the work: section 1(5)(a). A cinematograph film or sound recording is published if copies of it have been sold, let, hired, or offered for sale or hire: section 1(5)(b). However, publication does not include performing a cinematograph film, musical work, or sound recording; broadcasting a work; exhibiting a work of art; or constructing a work of architecture: section 1(5)(d).
  • Anonymous or pseudonymous works. Copyright in an anonymous or pseudonymous work expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the work is made available to the public with the copyright owner's consent, or in which it is reasonable to presume that the author died, whichever is shorter. If the author's identity becomes known before this period expires, then the work is treated as a work by an identified author for the purpose of determining when its copyright expires: section 3(3).
  • Government works. The copyright in a literary, musical or artistic work (except for photographs) created by the Government of South Africa expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the work was first published: section 5(3).
• Broadcasts, programme-carrying signals, published editions and sound recordings. Copyright in the following works expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the specified act occurs:
  • Broadcasts – when the broadcast first takes place: section 3(2)(d).
  • Programme-carrying signals – when the signals are emitted to a satellite: section 3(2)(d).
  • Published editions – when the edition is first published: section 3(2)(f). (A "published edition" is the first print by whatever process of a particular typographical arrangement of a literary or musical work: section 1(1).)
  • Sound recordings – when the recording is first published: section 3(2)(c).
• Works in which no copyright subsists. No copyright subsists in the following works (section 12(8)):
  • Official texts of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or in official translations of such texts.
  • Political speeches or speeches delivered in the course of legal proceedings. (However, the author of speeches has the exclusive right to create a collection of such speeches.)
  • News of the day that are mere items of press information.
• Limited freedom of panorama. There is only a limited form of freedom of panorama in South Africa which is not sufficient for Commons purposes. Section 15(3) of the Act states: "The copyright in an artistic work shall not be infringed by its reproduction or inclusion in a cinematograph film or a television broadcast or transmission in a diffusion service, if such work is permanently situated in a street, square or a similar public place." Since there is no mention of photographs, there is no freedom of panorama exemption that would permit photographs of artistic works to be taken without infringing the copyright in the works.

South Korea

For photographs and most other works, copyright persists until 70 years after the death of the last surviving creator. See Articles 39–44 of the Copyright Act^(outdated) for exact details.

For audio files and broadcasts, the term of protection ends 70 years after creation. According to Article 86 of the Copyright Act^(outdated):

The protection period of neighboring rights shall come into effect from the following date and continue to subsist for a period of 70 years from the next year of such date:

1. For stage performances when the stage performance takes place;

2. For phonograms when the first fixation of sounds is made; and

3. For broadcastings when the broadcasting is made.

Note that, for musical recordings, the underlying musical work will also need to be out of copyright.

For deciding if the work is out of copyright in the U.S., it's necessary to figure out whether the work was in copyright in 1996. If a work went out of copyright before the 1986 act extended copyright terms from 30 years to 50 years, it does not regain copyright. The act came into force in 1987, hence, works where all authors died before 1957 are out of copyright in both South Korea and the U.S. (See Yunjeong Choi, Development of Copyright Protection in Korea: its History, Inherent Limits, and Suggested Solutions, Brook. J. Int'l L. 28 (2003), pp. 643-673.)

South Sudan

Article 198 of the Constitution of the South Sudan declares that "All laws of South Sudan shall remain in force [...] unless new action are taken [...]." As there is no new South Sudanese copyright law at this time, the Sudanese one is still in force there.

Section 35 of the Investment Promotion Act (2009) states: "The Government shall protect the intellectual property rights of all persons and investors in Southern Sudan and shall enforce rights to trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights in accordance with any related international conventions to which the Republic of the Sudan is a signatory."

For Sudan's copyright laws, see the Sudan section below.

Spain

In Spain the "copyright" is known as "intellectual property". Generally, according to Spanish law, Royal Act 1/1996, on April 12, about Intellectual Property (Spanish PDF), the copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author (art. 27), as from the first of January of the year following his/her death (art. 30). If the "intellectual property" of the work is not owned by anybody, or it is a collective work where individual authors are not identifiable, this work would be on public domain after 70 years since the publication (art. 27.1), as from the first of January of the year following publication. However, works of authors who died before December 7, 1987 (or were published before said date, in case of anonymous works) are dealt with by the 1879 law, which sets a protection time of 80 years post mortem auctoris (art. 6 1879 law).

Exceptions to this (that may be useful in commons) are:

• The pieces of work situated permanently in parks, streets, squares and other public ways can be reproduced, distributed and communicated freely by using paintings, drawings, photographies and audiovisual procedures.
• Legal or ruling dispositions and their correspondent projects, resolutions of jurisdictional organs and acts, agreements, deliberations and reports of public organizations, and so official translations of all these texts are not subjected to "intellectual property".

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka copyright is 70 years pma. There is a strong Fair Use provision and no FOP.

"Copyright covers original literary and artistic works: writings such as books, computer programs, articles, oral works such as speeches and lectures, dramas, musical works, films, drawings, paintings and photographs. The works such as databases and translations are also protected."

The exception for government and other works is very limited:

"Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 6 and 7, no protection shall be extended under this Part —

(a) to any idea, procedure, system, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data, even if expressed, described, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work ;

(b) to any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof ;

(c) to news of the day published, broadcast, or publicly communicated by any other means."

Sudan

Sudan's first copyright law—The Copyright and Neighboring Rights Protection Act 1996—entered into force on 19 December 1996 and does not protect works already in the public domain. Sudan became a party to the Berne Convention on 28 December 2000.

Copyright protection lasts 25 years from the date of first publication for "photographic pictures and cinematographic films and other audiovisual works", works first published after the author's death, and works anonymously or with an unknown pseudonym (see {{PD-Sudan-photo}}). For all other protected works, the copyright is the author's life plus 50 years. For joint works where the contribution of each author is indistinguishable, the length of copyright is calculated from the death of the last surviving author.

Government works

Copyright does not extend to state emblems and symbols or official documents. "'Official documents' means the official documents issued by the State or its institution, corporation or unit and which, by virtue of their specialization, are issued for publication to the public, including laws, Presidential or administrative orders, international agreements and judicial judgments, but not including military documents, secret agreements and deliberations of secret sessions in courts or legislative bodies."

Sweden

Photographs published after 1994 are protected for 70 years after the author's death if they have an artistic or scientific value. Photos that lack artistic value are only protected for 50 years after creation. If the photograph was published before 1994, transitional regulations apply—see {{PD-Sweden-photo}}.

Works of art permanently exhibited in public spaces can be used without consideration to the creator of the work of art, e.g. freedom of panorama, and there are no restrictions on photos of buildings. (Upphovsrättslagen 24 §)

Governmental laws and ordinances, decisions and statements published by Swedish authorities, and official translations thereof, are not copyright protected. (Upphovsrättslagen 9 §)

An English translation of the Copyright Act is available at sweden.gov.se.

Catalogs and charts containing compilations of a great amount of information, or being the result of a considerable investment, are under copyright for 15 years after the year of their creation, or, if they have been published within 15 years from production, for 15 years after the year of publication. (Upphovsrättslagen 49 §).

Switzerland

In Switzerland, copyright is covered in the Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz, URG, SR 231.1. See also w:Swiss copyright law). Generally, copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the (last) author. If authorship is unknown, copyright lasts for 70 years after the first publication. The increase of the protection term from 50 to 70 years occurred in 1993 and was not retroactive, but since the change was more than 20 years ago, no works are in the public domain under the life+50 term that would not also be in the public domain under the current life+70 rule.

Works not covered by copyright include:

• laws, ordinances, international treaties and other official acts;
• currency;
• decisions, protocols and reports by public authorities;
• patents and patent applications.

(See also template {{PD-Switzerland-official}} and {{Swiss Government Portrait}})

To be eligible for copyright in the first place, a work must be of individual character, i.e. be an individual expression of thought (Art. 2 par. 1 URG). Many photographs are therefore not protected (see {{PD-Switzerland-photo}} for details).

Syria

[29] states that photos and two dimensional artistic works are protected for 10 years starting from the production date, after which they are in public domain. Although architectural drawings can be copyrighted, architecture cannot, so buildings may be freely photographed.

Taiwan

See #China, Republic of (Taiwan) above.

Tajikistan

See: here, copied from [30].

Copyright generally lasts for 50 years after the death of the author. Works not covered by copyright are covered in Article 7.

1. official documents (laws, court decisions, other texts of legislative, administrative or judicial character) and official translations thereof;
2. state emblems and official signs (flags, armorial bearings, decorations, monetary signs and other State symbols and official signs);
3. communications concerning events and facts that have informational character;
4. works of folklore.

Anything that falls under this description can use {{PD-TJ-exempt}}.

Tanzania/Tanganyika

The general copyright term, both before and after independence, is 50 years after the death of the last surviving author. See: see page 2 of this WIPO document: so prior to 1966 {{PD-UKGov}} applies.

In 1999 a new copyright law was passed Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, 1999 and the law became operational from December, 31, 1999 (see page 9 of this case study). Also see [31], where the same 50-year pma term applies, except for anonymously or pseudonym works where the term is 50 years after creation, publication or being made available to the public, whichever is the latest. Audio-visual works are copyright for 50-years from creation and works of applied art are copyright for 25 years.

For all post 1999 cases {{PD-Tanzania}} would apply.

Thailand

Copyright law in Thailand governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the Copyright Act BE 2537 (1994). Copyright is automatically protected and does not need registration; however, works can be filed with the Department of Intellectual property (DIP). Disputes are first heard in the Intellectual Property and International Trade Court.

The copyright term is as follows:

• For works except those described below, the copyright term is the life of the author plus 50 years. When the author is a legal entity or an anonymous person, the copyright term is 50 years from the date of authorship, or 50 years from the date of first publication if it was published within that period.
• For photographic works, audiovisual recordings, motion pictures, sound recordings, or broadcast works, the copyright term is 50 years from authorship, or 50 years from first publication if it was published within that period.
• For Works of applied art (defined as a work which takes a composition of works such as drawings, paintings, sculpture, prints, architecture, photography, drafts, or models for utility or functional use), the copyright term is 25 years from authorship, or 25 years from first publication if it was published within that period.
• For works created under employment or contract with the government, the copyright term is 50 years from authorship, or 50 years from first publication if it was published within that period.

Public domain Republication of works after the expiration of the copyright term does not reset the copyright term. Thai state documents are public domain, though creative works produced by or commissioned by government offices are protected by copyright.

There is a FOP exception for all artistic works (including works of painting or drawing, sculpture, lithography, architecture, photographic works, works of illustration, and works of applied art). The exception covers architecture wherever it is located, but other works are covered by the exception if they are permanently located in a public place.

Tunisia

According to the Copyright Protection Law of Tunisia (Law No. 94-36 of February 24, 1994, on Literary and Artistic Property), enacted 1994, amended 2009, a work is out of copyright if:

• It is a photographic work, and 50 years have passed since the date of its creation
• It is an anonymous, pseudonymous, or posthumous work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication
• It is another kind of work, and 50 years have passed since the year of death of the author (or last surviving author)
• It is one of the "official texts of legislative, administrative or legal nature and their official translations"

Before July 5, 2009, a photographic work was protected for 25 years from creation. Pictures taken before July 5, 1984 have already been placed into the public domain.

See {{PD-Tunisia}}.

Turkey

See {{PD-TR}} and Turkish copyright law. The current copyright law of Turkey provides that copyright owned by a legal entity lasts for 70 years from first publication, and that copyright owned by an individual lasts for 70 years from death. See Law No. 5846 (12 May, 1951, as amended), Art. 27. That law provides that the creator of a work owns the copyright, except where the creator is employed by someone else, including an entity, in which case the employer or entity owns the copyright. Id., Art. 8.

Turkish copyright law states that laws, rules, regulations, notifications, circular letters and juridical decisions which are officially promulgated or announced are not protected by copyright.

Uganda

According to the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2006 (Act 19 of 2006) of Uganda:

• Copyrighted works.
  • Photographs. The copyright in a photographic work expires 50 years after the date of the making of the work: section 13(7).
  • Audiovisual works, sound recordings and broadcasts. The copyright in an audiovisual work, a sound recording or a broadcast expires 50 years after the date of the making of the work or the date the work is made available to the public with the author's consent: section 13(5).
  • Other works. The copyright in some other type of work expires after the periods stated below:
    • Identified authors. If the work is by an identified author, 50 years after the author's death, or, where the work is of joint authorship, after the death of the last surviving author: sections 13(1) and (2).
    • Anonymous and pseudonymous authors. If the work is published anonymously or under a pseudonym, 50 years after the date of first publication. However, if before this time the identity of the author becomes known or is no longer in doubt, the preceding paragraph applies: section 13(4).
    • Corporations and other bodies. If the copyright is owned by a corporation or other body, 50 years from the date when the work is first published: section 13(3).
• No copyright in public benefit works. There is no copyright in the following works (section 7):
  • enactments, including Acts, statutes, decrees, statutory instruments and other laws made by the Legislature or other authorised bodies;
  • decrees, orders and other decisions by courts of law for the administration of justice and any official translations from them;
  • reports made by committees or commissions of inquiry appointed by the Government or any agency of the Government;
  • news of the day, namely, reports of fresh events or current information by the media whether published in a written form, broadcast, internet or communicated to the public by any other means.
• Freedom of panorama. A work of art or architecture may be used in a photograph, an audiovisual work or a television broadcast without infringing the author's copyright and without the author's consent where the work (section 15(1)(g)):
  • is permanently located in a public place; or
  • is included in the background or is otherwise incidental to the main object in the photograph, audiovisual work or television broadcast.

United Kingdom

Copyright rules: the United Kingdom Shortcut: COM:UK
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/Publish + 70 years
Government	Crown copyright
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works and "works of artistic craftsmanship"
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-UKGov}} {{PD-UK-unknown}} {{PD-UK-posthumous-non-photo-1996}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	GBR
Treaties
Berne convention	5 December 1887
Univ. Copyright Convention	27 September 1957
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	14 March 2010
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of the United Kingdom relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the United Kingdom must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the United Kingdom and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from the United Kingdom, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

United Kingdom has been a member of the Berne Convention since 5 December 1887, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 14 March 2010.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (Chapter 48, incorporating amendments up to the Digital Economy Act 2017) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of United Kingdom. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. An up-to-date version of the Act is also available in structured form on legislation.gov.uk.

Prior to 1988, copyright was governed by the Copyright Act 1956.

A November 2023 Appeal Court judgement (THJ v Sheridan, 2023) clarified that no new copyright is created in making a photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional public domain artwork, and that this has been the case since 2009.

Summary

• Standard copyright term: Life + 70 years
• Crown copyright:
  • 50 years from first commercial publication, but
  • works except engravings created prior to 30 June 1957: 50 years from creation
• Anonymous works
  • Photographs created before 30 June 1957: 70 years after creation if unpublished, 70 years after publication if published within 70 years of creation

General

As with the European Union, the basic copyright term in the United Kingdom is life of the author plus 70 years. The author must be a natural person and cannot be a corporation. There are a number of details which must be taken into account, however. Works in the United Kingdom fall into two categories for the purposes of copyright duration: government works and non-government works. The former are covered by Crown copyright and Parliamentary copyright and their special duration rules, and the latter by ordinary copyright duration rules.

Crown copyright

Chart for determining expiry of Crown copyright

Crown copyright works have a basic term of protection of 50 years from date of commercial publication. For Crown works created before the entry into force of the Copyright Act 1956 on 30 June 1957 other rules apply. Crown copyright photographs created prior to 30 June 1957 have a copyright term of 50 years from creation. Published Crown copyright engravings created prior to 30 June 1957 have a copyright term of 50 years from commercial publication. Unpublished Crown copyright engravings of the period come out of copyright at the end of 2039. Crown artistic works other than engravings and photographs created prior to 30 June 1957 have a copyright term of 50 years from creation.

Further special rules apply to Crown artistic works created between 30 June 1957 and the entry into force of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 on 1 August 1989. Published engravings created in this period are still out of copyright 50 years after commercial publication. Unpublished engravings created in this period come out of copyright at the end of 2039 as before. Published photographs are out of copyright 50 years after publication. Unpublished photographs come out of copyright at the end of 2039. Other artistic works come out of copyright 50 years after creation.

Tim Padfield has prepared a flowchart that summarizes these durations.

Crown copyright sound recordings follow the same rules as other sound recordings below.

Ordnance Survey OpenData licence

The Ordnance Survey OpenData licence has been designed to be compatible with Creative Commons BY 3.0 and appears to be okay.

Open Government Licence

Some works published from 2010 are available under the UK Open Government Licence (OGL). The first version was meant to be compatible with the CC BY 3.0 licence, the latest version 3 with the CC-BY-4.0 licence. Three versions of the OGL exist. The following templates are available:

• {{OGL}} for OGL version 1
• {{OGL2}} for OGL version 2
• {{OGL3}} for OGL version 3.

The OGL3 licence does NOT cover personal data, logos, military insignia, patents etc. A list is found on the template.

Non-Commercial Government Licence

The government also publishes a licence called Non-Commercial Government Licence. This is unacceptable by the Wikimedia Commons as it disallows the commercial reproductions. This licence was intended for use in a small handful of extremely limited circumstances and has not been widely adopted in government. See also Commons:Deletion requests/File:Canoe Slalom - Kynan Maley.jpg.

Parliamentary copyright

Parliamentary copyright was created by the Copyright Designs & Patents Act 1988 and its duration rules are the same as for Crown copyright materials created after 30 August 1989. Some Parliamentary material is covered by the Open Parliament Licence (with exceptions). The OPL serves the same function in the system of Parliamentary copyright as the Open Government Licence (OGL) does for Crown Copyright.

Copyright on sound recordings

If the source material is out of copyright, sound recordings leave copyright after 70 years from first publication.

Sound recordings created before 1 June 1957 had a copyright duration of 50 years from creation (section 19, Copyright Act 1911), so they are all now in the public domain. Sound recordings first published between 1 June 1957 and 31 October 1963 had a copyright duration of 50 years from publication (section 12, Copyright Act 1956), so those are also in the public domain. Copyright was extended to 70 years from publication in 2013, so the next recordings to enter the public domain will do so in 2034.

Ordinary copyright

Chart for determining expiry of UK copyright

For ordinary copyright works the largest distinction is between those with a known author and those with a pseudonymous or anonymous author. There are also distinctions in copyright term between artistic works and sound recordings. The commencement dates for the Copyright Act 1957 and the Copyright Designs & Patents Act 1988 are also crucial. For a summary of these rules see the flowchart. This means that some works whose copyright expired before the 1988 act came into force were brought back into copyright.

Known author

If the work was created after 30 August 1989 and has a known author copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author. If the work is a photograph with a known author taken before 30 June 1957 then copyright also expires 70 years after the death of the author. If the work is a non-photograph artistic work with a known author which was created prior to 30 August 1989 then several scenarios can apply:

1. If the work was published during the author's lifetime then copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author.
2. If the work was published before 30 August 1989 and the author died more than 20 years before publication then copyright expires 50 years after publication.
3. If the work was published before 30 August 1989 and the author died less than 20 years before publication then copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author.
4. If the work was not published before 30 August 1989 and the author died after 1968 then copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author.
5. If the work was not published before 30 August 1989 and the author died before 1969 then copyright expires at the end of 2039.

Unknown author

Commons:Anonymous works:United_Kingdom If the author is unknown then the basic time period to bear in mind is 70 years. If the work has an unknown author and was created after 30 August 1989, copyright expires either 70 years after creation or, if during that period the work is made available to the public by being published, 70 years after publication. If the work is a photograph with an unknown author taken before 1 June 1957 then copyright expires 70 years after creation or, if during that period the work is made available to the public, 70 years after that. If the work was created before 1969 with an unknown author, then several scenarios may apply:

1. If the work was published before 30 August 1989 then copyright expires 70 years after that first publication.
2. If the work is unpublished and was first made available to the public after 1968 then copyright expires 70 years after the work was first made available to the public.
3. If the work is unpublished and has never been made available to the public then copyright expires at the end of 2039.
4. If the work is unpublished and was first made available to the public before 1969 then copyright expires at the end of 2039.

Typographical copyright

If scanning a copyright-expired work from a British publication, typographical copyright must be borne in mind. This subsists for 25 years from creation of the publication and covers the typographical arrangement of the publication. It does not exist in the United States.

Publication right

One related right to copyright that must be borne in mind in the United Kingdom is publication right. This applies to ordinary copyright works but does not apply to Crown copyright works. If the copyright of an unpublished work has expired (virtually impossible before 2040) then the first publisher of that work is entitled to publication right over that work. Publication right has the same rules as copyright but only lasts for 25 years. It does not exist in the United States.

Database right

If scanning material from a publication from 1982 or later database right must also be borne in mind. This right normally lasts 15 years from creation or substantial amendment of the database. Many books count as databases due to their systematic arrangement of information. Under transitional provisions works created from 1982-1997 are also covered by database right until the end of 2012, ie 15 years after the passage of the original legislation. It does not exist in the United States.

Commissioned works

The rule on commissioned works in the United Kingdom is provided by the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) website.

Accordingly, the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act of 1988 empowers the exclusive rights of the authors. This means, unless there is a signed agreement or deed assigning the copyright to someone else, the copyright in a commissioned work since August 1, 1989 is retained by the author or the person who created or designed the work. There may be some exceptions to this rule, however. For example, the commissioner holds the copyright if they may have "an implied licence to use the work", at least for the purposes of commission, and if the artist made the work while employed.^{[clarification needed]}

The copyrights in the commissioned works made prior to 1 August 1989 are generally held by the commissioners.

• For commissioned works created from 1 June 1957 to 31 July 1989, copyright stays with the commissioner, per the Copyright Act 1956. "Commissioning" is defined here as "the payment or agreement to pay for a work with money or something of equivalent value." This means, the copyright in a work made by an artist while employed remains with the employer (the commissioner). Works made by artists under employment by a newspaper, magazine, or periodical owner, but solely for the purpose of publishing in the said publications, are likewise covered. In cases of other uses of commissioned works, the artists retain the ownership of copyright.
• The Copyright Act 1911 applies to commissioned works made from 1 July 1912 to 31 May 1957. It had provisions identical to those at the Copyright Act 1956.
• For commissioned works made prior to 1 July 1912, the 1862 Fine Arts Copyright Act governs, stating that copyright of a painting, drawing, or photograph done for or on behalf of another person "for good and valuable consideration" belongs to the commissioner.

Copyright tags

The following are copyright tags/ templates for UK works. If you are uploading a UK-based work to Commons, please find the corresponding tag and add it to the licensing information for the item you are uploading (copy and paste, if you like). When you then save the file, these tags will expand to produce and appropriate text for that kind of license.

• {{PD-UK-unknown}} – old UK images of unknown authorship where copyright has expired
  • {{PD-Britannica}} – images from the 12th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica or earlier.
• {{PD-UKGov}} – UK Crown copyright images where copyright has expired (typically works created prior to 1975)
  • {{OldOS}} – Ordnance Survey maps published in the UK over 50 years ago.
  • {{OS OpenData}} – Ordnance Survey maps published in the UK.

The UK's Open Government Licence (OGL) is a simple set of terms and conditions that facilitates the re-use of a wide range of public sector information free of charge. Since 2010, almost all information owned by the UK Crown is offered for use and re-use under the Open Government Licence. The licence is also used by other bodies, including local government.

• {{OGL}}
• {{OGL2}}
• {{OGL3}} – The latest version

The Open Parliament License (OPL) facilitates the free use of material made available by the House of Commons or the House of Lords in which copyright or database right subsists. Almost all material produced by Parliament and its committees is governed by the Open Parliament License.

• {{OPL}}

Cheque

OK in some cases. The design of standard UK cheques is below threshold of originality. However, many cheques include logos, watermarks, and other features that are sufficiently original to be protected by copyright; these cheques can not be uploaded to Commons.

Currency

 Not OK. UK banknotes are fully protected by copyright. The Bank of England owns the copyright on its banknotes, and all banknotes carry a © notice. No images of these banknotes may be uploaded to Commons. Those that are will be deleted.

Coin designs are copyrighted by the Royal Mint.

Publishing images of coins is not prohibited by the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. Its Section 19 refers only to "imitation British coins", defined as "any thing which resembles a British coin in shape, size and the substance of which it is made". The implication here is that images cannot resemble the substance of the real coins. However, since such images may only be published with the official consent of the Royal Mint, none of these images is allowed on Commons.

The Royal Mint's copyright on coin designs is an instance of Crown Copyright. Sculptures subject to Crown Copyright which were created more than 50 years ago are now in the public domain: use {{PD-UKGov}}. Images of British coins with designs created more than 50 years ago are permissible provided that the author of the work containing the coins is willing to release his / her copyright to the reuse of the image, which is a separate copyright concern and must also be addressed.

The Bank of England is not a government department, so its banknotes follow the usual rules of copyright: usually 70 years from the death of the author ({{PD-old-70}}) or 70 years from publication where the author is unknown ({{PD-UK-unknown}}).

Scottish and Northern Irish banks will retain their own copyright on banknotes independent of the Bank of England; however, in the United Kingdom, it is a criminal offence under s18(1) of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 "to reproduce on any substance whatsoever, and whether or not on the correct scale, any British currency note or any part of a British currency note." The term "British currency note" is defined as something which "has been lawfully issued in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland", "is or has been customarily used as money in the country where it was issued", and is payable on demand" - this includes Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes, as well as those issued by the Bank of England.

De minimis

Section 31 of the UK Copyright, Designs and patents Act 1988, as subsequently amended in 2003, states that:

• Copyright in a work is not infringed by its incidental inclusion in an artistic work, sound recording, film, or broadcast.

"Artistic work", as defined within the act, includes photographs.

Freedom of panorama

OK for 3D works

OK for 2D "works of artistic craftsmanship"

 Not OK for 2D "graphic works" {{FoP-UK}}

Section 62 of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is broader than the corresponding provisions in many other countries, and allows photographers to take pictures of

• buildings, and
• sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship (if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public).

without breaching copyright. Such photographs may be published in any way.

Note that under UK law, "works of artistic craftsmanship" are defined separately from "graphic works". Graphic works are defined in Section 4 as any painting, drawing, diagram, map, chart or plan, any engraving, etching, lithograph, woodcut or similar work. The freedom provided by Section 62 does not apply to graphic works - such as a mural or poster - even if they are permanently located in a public place. These cannot be uploaded to Commons without a licence from the copyright holder.

The courts have not established a consistent test for what is meant by a "work of artistic craftsmanship", but one of the standard reference works on copyright, Copinger and Skone James, suggests that for a work to be considered as such the creator must be both a craftsman and an artist. Evidence of the intentions of the maker are relevant, and according to the House of Lords case of Hensher v Restawile [1976] AC 64, it is "relevant and important, although not a paramount or leading consideration" if the creator had the conscious purpose of creating a work of art. It is not necessary for the work to be describable as 'fine art'.

In Hensher v Restawile, some examples were given of typical articles that might be considered works of artistic craftsmanship, including hand-painted tiles, stained glass, wrought iron gates, and the products of high-class printing, bookbinding, cutlery, needlework and cabinet-making.

Other works that have been held (by courts in common law jurisdictions outside the UK) to fall under this definition include hand-knitted woollen sweaters, fabric with a highly textured surface including 3D elements, a range of pottery and items of dinnerware. The cases are, respectively, Bonz v Cooke [1994] 3 NZLR 216 (New Zealand), Coogi Australia v Hydrosport (1988) 157 ALR 247 (Australia), Walter Enterprises v Kearns (Zimbabwe) noted at [1990] 4 EntLR E-61, and Commissioner of Taxation v Murray (1990) 92 ALR 671 (Australia).

The word "building" is quite broadly defined by section 4(2), and includes "any fixed structure, and a part of a building or fixed structure".

The practical effect of the broad Freedom of Panorama provisions in the UK and in other countries with similar laws is that it is acceptable to upload to Commons not only photographs of public buildings and sculptures but also works of artistic craftsmanship which are on permanent public display in museums, galleries and exhibitions which are open to the public. According to Copinger and Skone James, the expression "open to the public" presumably extends the section to premises to which the public are admitted only on licence or on payment. Again, this is broader than 'public place', which is the wording in many countries.

The Design and Artists Copyright Society and Artquest provide further information on freedom of panorama in the United Kingdom.

Stamps

. British stamp designs published before 1st October 1969 were "Crown Copyright", which expired after 50 years and put the stamps in the public domain. (See Crown copyright.) This also applies to the stamps of the various territories of the British Empire prior to their independence.

In 1969, the Post Office was established as a non-Crown body. Since then, the copyright of new British stamps has been held by the Post Office or Royal Mail in its own right, so in general no stamp may be uploaded.

Threshold of originality

OK for Lego bricks (see w:Interlego v Tyco Industries).

 Not OK for most logos. The level of originality required for copyright protection in the United Kingdom is very low.

In determining whether a work is protected, typographical copyright, publication rights and database rights need to be considered.

These images are eligible for copyright protection:

• en:File:EDGE magazine (logo).svg (uploaded as free in the US only on en.wikipedia.org): British courts have ruled it eligible for copyright protection, with the judge finding:

[The defendants] submitted that the claimant can have no copyright in its EDGE logo because it is not original over the Franklin Gothic typeface. I do not accept this submission. The stretching of the font was combined with the distinctive slash and projection on the middle bar of the "E". What is required for artistic originality is the expenditure of more than negligible or trivial effort or relevant skill in the creation of the work: see Copinger and Skone James on Copyright 16th Ed at 3-130 and Ladbroke v. William Hill [1964] 1 WLR 273 at 287. The claimant's logo is original within this test.

— Mrs Justice Proudman, in: Future Publishing Ltd v The Edge Interactive Media Inc & Ors [2011] EWHC 1489 (Ch) at [10]

Digital copies of images

In 2014 (updated 2015) the UK's Intellectual Property Office issued an advice notice, which said, in part:

... according to established case law, the courts have said that copyright can only subsist in subject matter that is original in the sense that it is the author's own 'intellectual creation'. Given this criterion, it seems unlikely that what is merely a retouched, digitised image of an older work can be considered as 'original'. This is because there will generally be minimal scope for a creator to exercise free and creative choices if their aim is simply to make a faithful reproduction of an existing work.

Under section 6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, this decision remains generally binding on UK courts.

This was restated in a November 2023 Appeal Court judgement (THJ v Sheridan, 2023) which confirmed that no new copyright is created in making a photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional public domain artwork, and that this has been the case since 2009. According to the judgement, the previously used "skill and labour" test had been replaced by the "author’s own intellectual creation" test.

Signatures

 Not OK for a typical signature. The level of originality required for copyright protection in the United Kingdom is very low, and it is easily arguable that personal signatures are entitled to copyright protection. Under United Kingdom law, a signature may be protectable as a graphic work (a type of artistic work). Artistic works are protected regardless of artistic merit. There are various sources that point in that direction, including the following:

• The practitioners' text Copinger and Skone James on Copyright mentions, at para. 2-23, an unreported decision that a signature combined with an (apparently copyrighted) shield device can be accorded artistic copyright.
• Professor Charles Oppenheim of de Montfort University: "graphic works, photographs, sculptures and collages are protected regardless of artistic merit. Your signature is an artistic work, as you always suspected" See presentation of Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
• Sallie Spilsbury, Media Law, 2000, p. 439: An individual's signature may be protected under law as an artistic work. If so, the unauthorised reproduction of the signature will infringe copyright. The name itself will not be protected by copyright; it is the appearance of the signature which is protected.
• Alan Story LLM, in "Owning Diana: From People's Princess to Private Property" accepts it is that possible ("though debatable") that there may be copyright in Diana's signature as an original artistic work. This is of interest, in that Story accepts this even though he is writing from an anti-protectionist angle.
• The E. Chambré Hardman Archive Copyright Clinic page states that "Somebody’s signature is also thought of as an artistic work, rather than a literary work."

Unless further legal commentary or caselaw to the contrary becomes available, the UK position is that typical personal signatures are arguably entitled to protection under local law, and generally UK signatures should be deleted under the precautionary principle. However, if the signature is extremely simple (eg a scribbled line or two), it will not be copyright even in the UK.

Computer-generated works

Unlike most countries, the United Kingdom provides a special limited term of copyright protection for computer-generated works of 50 years from creation, with the author being "the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken".

See also

• United Kingdom
• Category:License tags of the United Kingdom
• Category:Stamps of the United Kingdom
• Category:United Kingdom FOP cases

Citations

Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer

United States

US copyrights for works first published in US, excluding audio works

Anything published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain. Anything published before January 1, 1964 and whose copyright was not renewed is in the public domain (search the Copyright Renewal Database, Stanford University for books, or renewal records for books and maps). Anything published before January 1, 1978 with no copyright notice ("©", "Copyright" or "Copr.") plus the year of publication (may be omitted in some cases) plus the copyright owner (or pseudonym) is also in the public domain. Anything published in or after 1978 but before March 1, 1989 with no copyright notice is in the public domain unless the work's copyright was registered within 5 years of the work's initial publication.

Works which were first published outside the US (and not subsequently republished in the US within 30 days) on or after January 1, 1923 may be copyrighted in the US by virtue of the URAA (Uruguay Round Agreements Act) even if the work's US copyright previously expired due to a failure to comply with US copyright formalities (copyright renewal and inclusion of a copyright notice.) In general, such works had their US copyright restored if the work was out of copyright in the US due to noncompliance with US formalities but still under copyright in its country of origin on the URAA date. (For most countries, the URAA date is January 1, 1996.) Works first published in the US are not affected by the URAA.

The US copyright situation for sound recordings (including those published before 1923) is a complicated special case. Recordings fixed on or after February 15, 1972 are covered by federal copyright and therefore are subject to the same copyright rules as other works. Recordings fixed prior to February 15, 1972 may be copyrighted under common law and/or state laws which do not always have the same formalities and limitations as US federal copyright. (Works other than sound recordings are subject only to federal copyright.) More details are available in this Wikilegal report. Under current federal copyright law, all state copyrights on sound recordings will be annulled on February 15, 2067, and on that date recordings subject to state statutory and/or common law copyright will enter the public domain.

Works created after January 1, 1978 are protected for 70 years after the death of the creator. Works created before 1978 and first published after or in 1978 are protected for the earlier of 95 years from publication or registration for copyright or 120 years from creation (for anonymous or corporate works) or 70 years after death of the creator for known authors; if it was published in 1978-2001, that copyright is extended to December 31, 2047 if it's shorter. (Thus no works first published with permission of the copyright holder between 1978 and 2001 in the US are out of copyright.)

U.S. copyright law applies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, but does not apply in American Samoa.

Copyright Law of the United States

Works by the US Government

A work by the U.S. federal Government is in the public domain. This applies certainly within the United States; it may, however, not apply in other jurisdictions. See the CENDI Copyright FAQ list, 3.1.7, the U.S. Government's own statement to that effect, but also this discussion.

Example of public domain work created by NASA, a U.S. federal government agency

• Images on government or government agency websites are not necessarily public domain; always look for copyright notices or similar. Especially the images on the favorite website "Astronomy Picture of the Day" are in most cases not within the public domain but copyrighted by their individual authors (so please do not upload images from there to Wikimedia Commons). Images on certain military websites (e.g. AKO) frequently are creations of military members in their individual capacities (e.g. soldiers on patrol using their personal cameras). These images may not be in the public domain, but they are very hard to distinguish from works of military photographers, and they rarely contain copyright information.
• This does not include governments of the individual states. The work of most state and local governments are subject to copyright, but there are some exceptions.
• This does not include government-funded corporations like Amtrak or the USPS. In particular, the USPS holds exclusive copyright to all US postage stamp designs since 1978 [32] (older US stamps are all considered public domain).
• This also does not include works commissioned by the US Government, but produced by contractors; in this case, the copyright may have been assigned to the US Government (for instance, the copyright of the official Ada programming language manual was assigned to the US Department of Defense).
• Some US government agencies may work in cooperation with other agencies or corporations; this is in particular the case of NASA, which operates the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in cooperation with Caltech, and operates a number of space projects in cooperation with foreign agencies such as ESA and CNES. Only materials solely produced by NASA are in the public domain. The other agencies may hold copyright on some material, including material published on NASA sites (in these cases there will be copyright notices— please look for them to determine copyright status).
• The government sometimes publishes images with statements about non-copyright restrictions (like the White House photostream). This does not affect copyright.
• Commercial use of some federal images, such as identifying insignia or identification, is prohibited however. Fraudulent use (such as wearing military decorations without authorization) is also banned. However, restrictions of this nature are not within the scope of Commons policy.
• The United States Army Institute of Heraldry— the official custodian of such images has addressed this issue with its Copyright statement, which informs the reader as to how to meet any commercial needs under this statute.

Edicts of Government

• Edicts of Government are always public domain in whole or in part and applies to such works whether they are Federal, State, or local as well as to those of foreign governments. This includes judicial opinions, administrative rulings, legislative enactments, public ordinances, and similar official legal documents. Precedence is that citizen are expected to understand the law and that there can be no copyright assertion of laws or court decisions. Edicts of government may or may not overlap with works by the U.S. Government.

Uruguay

According to the uruguayan laws 9.739, 17.616 and its amendments, the literary, scientific or artistic works are protected for 50 years after the death of the author. If the work is anonymous or pseudonymous the protection lasts for 50 years after the lawful disclosure. {{PD-Uruguay}} and {{PD-Uruguay-anon}} are available.

Vanuatu

Vanuatu's basic copyright law covers all of the usual works and lasts for 50 years pma for most works and for 25 years pma for works of applied art. Copyright for collective works (other than a work of applied art) and an audiovisual work lasts for the longest of 50 years after creation, first made available to the public, or first published. There is no FOP provision. see http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=10729

The Vatican state

The current copyright law of the Vatican State was enacted 19 March 2011. The Italian text can be found here.Vatican law supplements the Italian Copyright Act (l. 633, 6 April 1941), which applies in the territory of the Holy See (generally, 70 years after the author's death).

The main points of the Papal copyright:

• Exclusive right on the use of the Pope’s image and voice for purposes other than religious, cultural and educational (art. 3)
• Exclusive right on “purely documentary” reproductions of cultural heritage for 70 years from the fixation (art. 4)
• The Holy See owns all copyrights in the works published under its name or created on its commission (art. 5).

Venezuela

From Venezuelan "Law on Copyright" (1993-08-14), works first published in Venezuela fall into the public domain when:

• It is the text of laws, decrees, official regulations, public treaties, judicial decisions and other official acts. (Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 1, Article 4)
• It is an audiovisual work, a photograph, a broadcast work or a computer program and 60 years have passed since its publication. (Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 2, Article 26)
• It is an anonymous or pseudonymous work and 60 years have passed since publication (unless the pseudonym leaves no doubt as to identity). (Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 2, Article 27)
• It is another type of work and 60 years have passed since the last surviving author's death. (Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 2, Article 25)

Vietnam

• "Cinematographic works, photographic works, works of applied art and anonymous works have a term of protection of seventy five years from the date of first publication. For cinematographic works, photographic works and works of applied art which remain unpublished within twenty five years from the date of fixation, the term of protection is one hundred years from the date of fixation."
• All other works are protected for 50 years after the death of the last surviving author.
• Cinematographic works, photographic works, dramatic works, works of applied art and anonymous works that were published 50 years or more prior to January 1, 2010 are still in the public domain.
• The Vietnamese Copyright Law (en)
• 2009 amendment

Yemen

Yemen WIPO treaty signing provides the following:

- TV or Film rights 25 years from creation - Photographs 10 years from creation - Literary works are life + 30 years

However, Yemen signed the Berne agreement on 14 July, 2008. It will come into force (minimum life + 50 years) on 10 October 2024.

See also

• Commons:Wikilivres – a companion site not operated by the Wikimedia Foundation which follows Canadian copyright rules
• Commons:Stamps/Public domain

External links

• UNESCO Collection of National Copyright Laws
• http://copyrightexceptions.eu/