Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Consolidated list C

Copyright rules by territory

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
P Q R Sa-Sl So-Sy T U V W X Y Z

This page gives overviews of copyright rules in different countries or territories. It is "transcluded" from individual pages giving the rules for each territory.

Text transcluded from
COM:Cambodia

Cambodia

Copyright rules: Cambodia Shortcut: COM:CAMBODIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Anonymous	Publish + 75 years
Audiovisual	Publish + 75 years
Collective	Publish + 75 years
Posthumous	Publish + 75 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Common licence tags	{{PD-Cambodia}} {{PD-CambodiaGov}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	KHM
Treaties
Berne convention	9 March 2022
WTO member	13 October 2004
URAA restoration date‌*	13 October 2004
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Cambodia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Cambodia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Cambodia 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 Cambodia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Cambodia became a protectorate of France in 1863, and regained independence on 9 November 1953.

Cambodia has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 13 October 2004, and became a member of the Berne Convention since 9 March 2022.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the 2003 Law on Copyright and Related Rights as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Cambodia. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

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

• The protection of economic right starts from the date of the creation of a work and covers the life of the author, and the whole 50 years following his/her decease. In the case of a work of collaboration, the economic rights shall be protected during the life of the last surviving author and for 50 years after his/her death.^{[2003 Article 30]}
• 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.^{[2003 Article 31]}
• 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.^{[2003 Article 31]}

Not protected

The following works shall not have under any protection by this law: a- Constitution, Law, Royal Decree, Sub-Decree, and other Regulations; b- Proclamation (Prakas), decision, certificate, other instructed circulars issued by state organizations; Court decision or other court warrants; d- translation of the materials mentioned in the preceding paragraphs; e- Idea, formality, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data, even if expressed, described, explained or embodied in any work.^{[2003 Article 10]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Cambodia}} - Works where the (last surviving) author has been dead for over 50 years. Collective, anonymous, pseudonymous or collective audio-visual works 75 years after creation or publication.^{[2003 Article 30–31]}
• {{PD-CambodiaGov}} - ineligible for copyright because it is one of: "Constitution, Law, Royal Decree, Sub-Decree, ... other Regulation, ... Proclamation (Prakas), decision, certificate, other instructed circulars issued by state organizations" and "Court decision or other court warrants" including translations thereof or "Idea, formality, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data, even if expressed, described, explained or embodied in any work."^{[2003 Article 10]}

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK, only incidental ("not the main subject") inclusion is allowed. {{NoFoP-Cambodia}}

Cambodian copyright law does provide some form of freedom of panorama, but does not allow if the artistic works become the main subject of the subsequent reproduction (that is, further depictions). The "principle" on the English version is likely a typographical error, as "principle" is not used as an adjective in the English language. More likely, it should have been "principal".

• "If there is a clear indication of the author's name and the source of work, the following acts are not subjected to any prohibitions by the author: ... The reproduction of graphic or plastic work which is situated in the public place, when this reproduction doesn't constitute the principle [sic] subject for subsequent reproduction."^{[2003 Article 25]}

Note: "Copyright protection expires 50 years after the death of the original author (who may be the architect, sculptor, or muralist) of a public artistic work of Cambodia.^{[2003 Article 30]} On January 1st of the following year (ie. January 1 of the 51st Year), freely-licensed images of the author's sculptures, buildings, murals, or monuments are now free and can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. The lack of Freedom of Panorama is no longer relevant here for sovereign states with no formal FOP legal rights since the author's works are now copyright free."

Stamps

 Not OK - Stamps are not among the government documents exempt from copyright.^{[2003 Article 10]} They may count as anonymous or collective works, in which case copyright expires 75 years after publication. If the author is known, presumably they are protected for life + 50 years.^{[2003 Articles 31]}

See also

• ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា
• Category:Cambodian FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of Cambodia

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Cameroon

Cameroon

Copyright rules: Cameroon Shortcut: COM:CAMEROON
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish + 50 years
Collective	Create/publish + 50 years
Applied art	Create/publish + 50 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	CMR
Treaties
Berne convention	31 December 1959
Bangui Agreement	8 February 1982
WTO member	13 December 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Cameroon relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Cameroon must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Cameroon 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 Cameroon, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the United Kingdom. In 1960, the French-administered part became independent as the Republic of Cameroun. The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

Cameroon has been a member of the Berne Convention since 31 December 1959, the Bangui Agreement since 8 February 1982 and the World Trade Organization since 13 December 1995. As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 2000/011 of December 19, 2000, on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Cameroon. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

According to Cameroon's Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights of 2000,

• For individual or joint works, copyright lasts for 50 years after the death of the author or last surviving author.^{[2000/011 Section 37(1)]}
• For collective, audiovisual and applied art works, copyright lasts for 50 years after creation or publication, whichever is latest.^{[2000/011 Section 37(2)]}
• For anonymous and pseudonymous works, copyright lasts for 50 years after creation or publication, whichever is latest.^{[2000/011 Section 37(3)]}
• For posthumous works, copyright lasts 50 years from publication.^{[2000/011 Section 37(4)]}

All durations last to the end of the last calendar year when they are in force.

==Not protected==Laws, court judgments and other official instruments, as well as their official translations, coats of arms, decorations, currency marks and other official insignia are not protected by copyright.^{[2000/011 Section 3(4)]}

==Public domain and folklore: not free==See also: Commons:Paying public domain

Upon expiry of the protection time limits referred to in Section 37, the exclusive right shall become public property. The exploitation of public works shall be subject to the respect of moral rights, to a prior declaration addressed to the Minister in charge of culture, and to the payment of royalty whose proceeds shall be kept in a cultural policy support account provided for in Section 5. The rate of the royalty shall be fixed by regulations.^{[2000/011 Section 39]}

“Folklore” shall mean all productions involving aspects characteristic of traditional cultural heritage, produced and perpetuated by a community or by individuals who clearly reflect the expectations of such community, comprising particularly folk tales, folk dances and shows, as well as artistic expressions, rituals and productions of popular art.^{[2000/011 Section 2]} Folklore shall belong originally to the national cultural heritage. Its representation, direct or indirect fixation for profit-making purposes shall be subject to prior authorization from the service in charge of culture, in return for payment of royalty whose amount shall be fixed by statutory instrument. The amount received shall be deposited in a cultural policy support fund.^{[2000/011 Section 5]}

Currency

OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.

Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK, only non-commercial use is allowed.

Under Cameroon's Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, enacted in 2000, there is freedom of panorama for artwork and architecture permanently located in a public place, but only for non-commercial uses:

• Works of art, including works of architecture, permanently kept in a public place, may be reproduced and made available to the public through photographic and audiovisual means.^{[2000/011 Section 32(1)]}
• Any exploitation for profit of these reproductions without the prior authorization of the author of the works referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be unlawful.^{[2000/011 Section 32(2)]}

See also

• Cameroun / Cameroon
• Category:Cameroonian 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

Text transcluded from
COM:Canada

Canada

Copyright rules: Canada Shortcut: COM:CANADA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 75 years or Create + 100 years
Audiovisual	Publish + 75 years or Create + 70 years
Government	Publish + 50 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works and "works of artistic craftsmanship"
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Canada}} {{PD-Canada-stamp}} {{PD-Canada-anon}} {{OGL-C}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	CAN
Treaties
Berne convention	10 April 1928
Univ. Copyright Convention	10 August 1962
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	13 August 2014
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Canada relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Canada must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Canada 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 Canada, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Canada was formed as a federal dominion in 1867, became largely independent of the United Kingdom with the Statute of Westminster of 1931, and became fully independent with the Canada Act of 1982.

Canada has been a member of the Berne Convention since 10 April 1928, the Universal Copyright Convention since 10 August 1962, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO treaty since 13 August 2014.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) (consolidated version incorporating all amendments up to June 19, 2017) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Canada.

WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

As a result of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on 23 June 2022 the Canadian Copyright Act was amended via Bill C-19 to extend the term of copyright from life of the author plus a period of 50 years following the end of the calendar year in which that author dies to a period of 70 years. The amendment did not extend the term for Crown Copyright, nor did it "revive" the copyright of works that have entered the public domain prior to the amendment coming into force. On 17 November 2022 Orders in Council 2022-1219 fixed 30 December 2022 as the day on which Division 16 of Part 5 of Bill C-19 came into force. Relatedly, due to CUSMA a 25 year extension previously went into effect for anonymous works on 1 July 2020 per Orders in Council 2020-0215.

General rules

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 70 years following the end of the calendar year of death (section 6), however, since the 20-year copyright extension in 2022 was not retroactive, the copyright term has expired for works where the author died before 1972. If the work is anonymous or pseudonymous then the copyright lasts either 75 years following publication or 100 years after the making of the work, whichever is earlier (section 6.1), provided the authorship does not become known in that timeframe.

Cinematographic works are copyrighted for 75 years following publication of 70 years after the creation of the work if it had not been published within 70 years of its creation, unless the arrangement or acting is a dramatic work. This was extended from 50 years in 2020 non-retroactively, so copyright has expired for films published before 1970.

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

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Canada}} – for Government images and other works first published over 50 years ago, photographs created before 1949 and works where the author died before 1972.
• {{PD-Canada-anon}} – for works where the author or authors are unknown, and the work was published before 1970 or created before 1945
• {{PD-Canada-Crown}} - for Crown copyright works over 50 years old
• {{PD-Canada-stamp}} – for stamps over 50 years old
• {{OGL-C}} for Government supplied information released under the Open Government License-Canada. Usually through the Open Data portal, https://open.canada.ca/en/open-data, or the geogratis portal, https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/topographic-information/10785
• {{OGL-Alberta}}, {{OGL-BC}}, or {{OGL-ON}} for material released under open-data licences of provincial governments
• {{OGL-YT}} for material released under open-data licences of territorial governments
• {{StatCanOpen}} for material released under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Currency

 Not OK "The Bank of Canada is the registered copyright owner of all design elements of Canadian bank notes [...] The Bank's written permission for the reproduction of bank note images must be obtained before the image is reproduced." The sole exception is that "It is not necessary to request the Bank's permission to use bank note images for film or video purposes, provided that the images are intended to show a general indication of currency, and that there is no danger that the images could be misused." Other images of Canadian currency might still be permitted on local Wikipedia projects under fair dealing.

Counterfeiting law will not apply to any printed replica of Canadian printed money that is "less than 3/4 or greater than 1 1/2 times the length or width of the bank note; and in black and white or only one-sided."

Coins are copyrighted by the Royal Canadian Mint. There are charges for educational and commercial use, so they cannot be shown on Commons before the expiration of fifty years.

De minimis

Subsection 30.7 of the Canadian Copyright Act, 1985 states:

It is not an infringement of copyright to incidentally and not deliberately

(a) include a work or other subject-matter in another work or other subject-matter; or

(b) do any act in relation to a work or other subject-matter that is incidentally and not deliberately included in another work or other subject-matter.

Freedom of panorama

OK for 3D works and "works of artistic craftsmanship": {{FoP-Canada}}
 Not OK usually for 2D works
Under Section 32.2 (1)(b) of the Canadian Copyright Act 1985, it is not an infringement of copyright for any person to reproduce, in a painting, drawing, engraving, photograph or cinematographic work … (i) an architectural work (defined as any building or structure or any model of a building or structure"); or

• (ii) "a sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship or a cast or model of a sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship, that is permanently situated in a public place or building".

Canadian law was originally derived from UK concepts and some of Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom may therefore be of relevance, in particular the restricted legal meaning of "work of artistic craftsmanship". Some non-sculptural works can qualify for Canadian FOP under this clause, such as Body Shop Yonge.jpg for example. The freedom provided by the quoted section does not apply to typical two-dimensional works such as paintings, murals, advertising hoardings, maps, posters or signs. These cannot be uploaded to Commons without a license from the copyright holder even if they are permanently located in a public place, unless they are in the public domain.

Stamps

There is no special provision in the copyright law for postage stamps. Section 12 of the 1921 Copyright Act of Canada states that for government works (work that is, or has been, prepared or published by or under the direction or control of Her Majesty or any government department) the copyright is 50 years following the end of the calendar year during which the work has been published. This is known as Crown copyright.

There are also special non-copyright regulations which apply: see https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._1292/page-1.html.

For stamps published more than 50 years ago (before 1^st of January 1974) use {{PD-Canada-stamp}}.

Threshold of originality

Unlike other common law countries, Canada's threshold of originality veers closer to that of the United States. CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada explicitly rejected the "sweat of the brow" doctrine for being too low of a standard, but at the same time, stated that the creativity standards for originality were too high:

A creativity standard implies that something must be novel or non-obvious — concepts more properly associated with patent law than copyright law. And for these reasons, I conclude that an “original” work under the Copyright Act is one that originates from an author and is not copied from another work. That alone, however, is not sufficient to find that something is original. In addition, an original work must be the product of an author’s exercise of skill and judgment. The exercise of skill and judgment required to produce the work must not be so trivial that it could be characterized as a purely mechanical exercise."

The same case also stated:

For a work to be “original” within the meaning of the Copyright Act, it must be more than a mere copy of another work. At the same time, it need not be creative, in the sense of being novel or unique. What is required to attract copyright protection in the expression of an idea is an exercise of skill and judgment. By skill, I mean the use of one’s knowledge, developed aptitude or practised ability in producing the work. By judgment, I mean the use of one’s capacity for discernment or ability to form an opinion or evaluation by comparing different possible options in producing the work. This exercise of skill and judgment will necessarily involve intellectual effort.

See also

• Canada
• Category:Canadian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Canada
• Category:Stamps of Canada
• en:Originality in Canadian copyright law

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Cape Verde

Cape Verde

Copyright rules: Cape Verde Shortcut: COM:CAPE VERDE
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Photograph	Create + 25 years
Anonymous	Disclose/Publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Life + 50 years
Collective	Publish + 50 years
Posthumous	Life + 50 years
Applied art	Create + 25 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Treaties
Berne convention	7 July 1997
WTO member	23 July 2008
URAA restoration date‌*	7 July 1997
WIPO treaty	22 May 2019
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Cape Verde relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Cape Verde must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Cape Verde 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 Cape Verde, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Cape Verde was first settled by the Portuguese in the 15th century. The islands were incorporated as an overseas department of Portugal in 1951. They gained independence in 1975.

Cape Verde has been a member of the Berne Convention since 7 July 1997, the World Trade Organization since 23 July 2008 and the WIPO Copyright treaty since 22 May 2019.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Decree-Law No. 1/2009 of April 27, 2009, on the Revision of Copyright Law as the main copyright law of Cape Verde. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. This was amended by Decree-Law No. 2/2017 of November 16, 2017. The amendment does to appear to affect the definitions of works or the durations of protection.

Durations of protection

Under the Decree-Law No. 1/2009 of April 27, 2009,

• The duration of protection granted to an author for a literary, artistic and scientific work shall be for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years following his death, even if it is a posthumous work.^{[2009 Article.25(1)]}
• A "Collective work" is one that was organized at the initiative and under the responsibility of a single or collective entity and in whose name it is published.^{[2009 Article.6(e)]} Where it is possible to distinguish the individual contributions of some or all of the authors in a collective work, the provisions on individual contributions to works of joint authorship shall apply.^{[2009 Article.13(2)]}
• Newspapers and other periodicals shall be deemed to be collective works and copyright therein shall belong to the respective owners or publishers.^{[2009 Article.13(3)]} Copyright in collective works shall lapse 50 years after the first disclosure or publication of the works.^{[2009 Article.26(2)]}
• Copyright in works published anonymously shall lapse 50 years after their disclosure or publication, starting from the first day of January of the calendar year following that in which the work was published beginning from the end of the calendar year in which it took place.^{[2009 Article.28(1)]}
• Copyright in an audiovisual work shall lapse 50 years after the death of the last survivor among (a) the director; (b) the author of the script and the dialogues or its adaptation; (c) the composer of the music; (d) the author and the director of the cartoons.^{[2009 Article.29]}
• Copyright in works of photography or applied arts shall lapse 25 years after such works are produced.^{[2009 Article.30]}
• Ownership of copyright in works of Cape Verdean folklore shall belong to the State, which shall exercise it through the Government department responsible for the culture sector.^{[2009 Article.15(1)]} The protection of works of folklore shall have no time limit.^{[2009 Article.33]}

The periods of protection established in the preceding articles shall only begin from the first day of January of the year following which the events referred to therein take place and shall remain in force until the last day of the year during which they lapse.^{[2009 Article.32]}

Not protected

The following are not protected: (a) news of the day and reports of different events given simply for information, however disclosed: (b) laws and rulings of judicial and administrative bodies, as well as petitions, allegations, complaints and other texts submitted to public authorities or services; (c) political speeches, except when assembled in a volume by their authors; (d) simple facts and data; (e) ideas, processes, systems, operational methods, concerts, principles or discoveries, in themselves and as such.^{[2009 Article.10]}

Public domain non-free

See also: Commons:Paying public domain

The use and exploitation, for financial gain, of works in the public domain shall be free as long as such use is subordinate to absolute respect for the moral rights, on the previous authorization of the member of Government responsible for culture and the payment of a fee to be set by the members of Government responsible for culture and finance, with the purpose of promotion and cultural development and social assistance to Cape Verdean authors.^{[2009 Article.34(4)]}

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK Limited to incidental or non-commercial use.

The following embodiments of works already lawfully published or disclosed shall be lawful, irrespective of authorization of the respective author and without any need for compensation, as long as the authenticity and integrity of the title and the name of the author are mentioned and respected: ... (d) reproduction, broadcasting or communication, by any other means, to the public, of the image of a work of architecture, three­ dimensional arts, photography or applied arts, which is kept permanently in a place open to the public, except if the image of the work is the main subject of the reproduction, broadcasting or communication in question, and if it were used for commercial purposes.^{[2009 Article.62.1(d)]}

See also

• Category:Cape Verde 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

Text transcluded from
COM:Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands

Copyright rules: the Cayman Islands Shortcut: COM:Cayman Islands
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	3D works and 2D "works of artistic craftsmanship"
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	CYM
Treaties

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Cayman Islands relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the Cayman Islands must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Cayman Islands 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 Cayman Islands, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

England took formal control of the Cayman Islands, along with Jamaica, in 1670. The islands were governed as part of the Colony of Jamaica until 1962, when they became a separate Crown colony. The Cayman Islands today is an autonomous British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean Sea.

Copyright works are protected in the Cayman Islands under rules defined in the Copyright (Cayman Islands) Order 2015 and the Copyright (Cayman Islands) (Amendment) Order 2016 which came into force on 30 June 2016. These order make a customized version of Part 1 of the United Kingdom's Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (including Schedule ZA1 and Schedule 1 of the Act) applicable to the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands Intellectual Property Office defined durations of protection on its website in 2018.

Durations

According to the Cayman Islands Intellectual Property Office as on November 2018, durations of protection are generally:

• Written, dramatic, musical and artistic work: 70 years after the author’s death
• Sound and music recording: 70 years from when it’s first published
• Films: 70 years after the death of the director, screenplay author and composer
• Broadcasts: 50 years from when it’s first broadcast
• Layout of published editions of written, dramatic or musical works: 25 years from when it’s first published

Currency

 Not OK The Cayman Islands Money Authority holds the copyright on its currency notes. It permits reproductions with prior consultation with the Authority and if the reproduction is not on products for sale. Given the copyright status and the non-commercial use clause, their designs are not appropriate for use on Commons.

Freedom of Panorama

OK for 3D works

OK for 2D "works of artistic craftsmanship"

 Not OK for 2D "graphic works" {{FoP-UK}}

The relevant law is section 62 of the United Kingdom's Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Copyright (Cayman Islands) Order 2015 and Copyright (Cayman Islands) (Amendment) Order 2016 do not modify this section.

Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom#FOP

See also

• Atlas of the Cayman Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/British Overseas Territories
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Central African Republic

Central African Republic

Copyright rules: the Central African Republic Shortcut: COM:Central African Republic
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Photograph	Create + 20 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish + 50 years
Applied art	Create + 20 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For films, radio and television broadcasts
Common licence tags	{{PD-Central African Republic}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	CAF
Treaties
Berne convention	3 September 1977
Bangui Agreement	8 February 1982
WTO member	31 May 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of the Central African Republic (CAR) relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the Central African Republic must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the Central African Republic 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 Central African Republic, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

France created the Ubangi-Shari territory in 1894 and ruled it as a colony until 1960, when it became fully independent as the Central African Republic.

The Central African Republic has been a member of the Berne Convention since 3 September 1977, the Bangui Agreement since 8 February 1982 and the World Trade Organization since 31 May 1995.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Ordinance No. 85.002 of January 5, 1985, on Copyrights as the main copyright law issued by the Executive of the Central African Republic. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

Under Ordinance No. 85.002 of 5 January 1985,

• The author's rights last for their lifetime and for 50 years counting from the end of their year of death, or in the case of collaborative works from the end of the year of death of the last surviving author.^{[85.002 Article 40]}
• For cinematographic, radiophonic and audiovisual works, protection lasts for 50 years from when it was lawfully made available to the public, or for 50 years from creation if it was not published within 50 years.^{[85.002 Article 40 (1)]}
• Works owned by a legal entity, anonymous and pseudonymous works and posthumous works are protected for 50 years from being lawfully made available to the public.^{[85.002 Article 41]}
• Photographs and works of applied art are protected for 20 years from creation.^{[85.002 Article 40 (2)]}
• Laws, official texts of administrative or judicial nature, or the official translations thereof are not subject to copyright.^{[85.002 Article 10]}

Folklore: not free

See also: Commons:Paying public domain

Folklore belongs to the national heritage. It includes literary and artistic works created by national communities and transmitted from generation to generation. Public representation, performance or direct or indirect recording of folklore for profit requires authorization from the office responsible for copyright and payment of a royalty. The proceeds will be used to support cultural and social activities to the benefit of the authors.^{[85.002 Article 9]}

Not protected

Article 10 of the 1985 law states that protection does not apply to laws, judicial or administrative decisions or official translations of these texts, or to news of the day published, broadcast by radio or television, or communicated in public.^{[85.002 Article 10]}

Currency

OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc used in Central African Republic, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.

Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.

See also: COM:CUR Cameroon

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK. For photographs, drawings, paintings etc. of protected works of art or architecture.
OK for films, radio and television broadcasts of protected works if permanently in a public place or included only incidentally.

Chapitre II: Limitation permanente of the 1985 law includes the following:

• Article 11 allows copying, performance or broadcasting of protected works for non-commercial private or family use, or for scholarly or religious use.
• Article 14 allows reproduction and communication to the public of literary, artistic or scientific works when reporting a news event by photography or film to the extent necessary to convey the information.
• Article 15 allows reproduction for cinematography, radio or television broadcasting of works of art or architecture if placed permanently in a public place or if its inclusion is accessory or incidental to the main subject.

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Chad

Chad

Copyright rules: Chad Shortcut: COM:CHAD
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish + 50 years
Collective	Publish + 50 years
Posthumous	Create/publish + 50 years
Applied art	Create + 25 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Chad}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	TCD
Treaties
Berne convention	25 November 1971
Bangui Agreement	5 November 1988
WTO member	19 October 1996
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Chad relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Chad must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Chad 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 Chad, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

France occupied the territory east of Lake Chad by 1920 and incorporated it into French Equatorial Africa. Chad obtained independence in 1960.

Chad has been a member of the Berne Convention since 25 November 1971, the Bangui Agreement since 5 November 1988 and the World Trade Organization since 19 October 1996.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 005/PR/2003 of May 2nd, 2003 on the Protection of Copyright, Neighboring rights and Expressions of Folklore as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Chad. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

Under Law No. 005/PR/2003 of May 2nd, 2003:

• The author shall, during his lifetime, enjoy the exclusive right to exploit his work. On the author's death, this right shall subsist during the current calendar year and for 70 years thereafter.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 39]}
• With works of joint authorship, with the exception of audiovisual and radio works of joint authorship, the calendar year taken into account shall be that of the death of the last surviving joint author.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 40]}
• The term of protection of audiovisual and radio works of joint authorship shall expire 50 years after the work has been lawfully made accessible to the public or, where no such event occurs during the seventy (70) years following the making of the work, fifty (50) years after its making.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 40]}
• In the case of collective works, the duration of the exclusive right is 50 years from January 1 of the calendar year following that in which the work was published.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 41]}
• With anonymous or pseudonymous works, the duration of the exclusive right is 50 years from January 1 of the calendar year following that in which the work was published.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 42]}
• With posthumous works, the duration of the exclusive right is 50 years from the date of publication of the work.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 43]}
• With works of applied art, the rights lapse on expiry of a period of 25 years after the creation of such work.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 45]}

Copyright protection does not apply to official texts of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or any translation thereof.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 9]}

Public domain and folklore: not free

See also: Commons:Paying public domain

The integrity or authorship of works may not be infringed even where they are not protected by the law. The exploitation of such works shall be subject to the collection of royalties by the Chadian Copyright Office provided for in Article 119 of the present Law, which shall use them for welfare and cultural purposes for the benefit of Chadian authors and performers.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 3]}

"Expressions of folklore" are productions consisting of characteristic elements of the traditional artistic heritage developed and perpetuated by a community of the Republic of Chad or by individuals who are unknown but are recognized as meeting the artistic aspirations of such community and including folk tales, folk poetry, folk songs and instrumental music, folk dancing and entertainments and also the artistic expressions of rites and productions of folk art.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 1(16)]} Expressions of folklore shall belong by their origin to the national heritage.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 82]}

The following uses of "expressions of folklore" shall be subject to the authorization of the Chadian Copyright Office, where they are carried out both for profit making purposes and outside their traditional or customary context: ­ any publication, reproduction and distribution of copies of "expressions of folklore";­ any recitation or public performance, any transmission by wire or by wireless means, and any other form of communication to the public of "expressions of folklore".^{[005/PR/2003 Article 85]} The authorization of the Chadian Copyright Office shall be granted against payment of a royalty. The proceeds of such royalty shall be managed by the Chadian Copyright Office and used for cultural or welfare purposes for the benefit of the communities of origin, authors and performers in Chad.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 86]}

Currency

OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc used in Chad, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.

Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.

See also: COM:CUR Cameroon

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK if the work is the main subject and if the reproduction of it is used for commercial purposes. OK if the work is incidental (Commons:De minimis).

As an exception to copyright, it shall be permitted to reproduce, broadcast or communicate by cable to the public an image of a work of architecture, a work of fine art, a photographic work or a work of applied art that is permanently located in a place open to the public, except where the image of the work is the main subject of such reproduction or communication and where it is used for profit­ making purposes.^{[005/PR/2003 Article 37]}

See also

• Category:Chadian 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

Text transcluded from
COM:Chile

Chile

Copyright rules: Chile Shortcut: COM:CHILE
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For most works permanently located in "squares, avenues and public places."
Common licence tags	{{PD-Chile}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	CHL
Treaties
Berne convention	5 June 1970
Univ. Copyright Convention	16 September 1955
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 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Chile relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Chile must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Chile 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 Chile, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

What is now Chile was colonized by Spain in the mid-16th century, since 1542. Chile declared its independence from Spain in 1818, but was de facto independent since 18 September 1810, except between 1814 and 1818, when it was again under the administration of Spain.

The earliest copyright legal norm of Chile as an independent republic was included in the Constitution of 1833, whose Article 152 established that "every author or inventor will have the exclusive property of their discovery, o production, during the time established by law; and the law demands its publication, the inventor will be given the competent indemnization". Shortly after, on 24 July 1834, the Law of Literary and Artistic Property was enacted, giving authors "exclusive right" during their lifetime to "sell, make (others) to sell or distribute their works". Their heirs were given the same right for five years post mortem, extendable to ten years if decreed by the Government.

The 1834 law was abolished on 5 May 1925, when the Decree Law N.° 345 on Intellectual Property was enacted. Protection lasted for the lifetime of the author plus twenty years after their death. If the work is inherited by the State, the work will become public domain (common property). If the work was authored by a "collegiate body", the work was protected for fourty years after inscription. Law No. 9.549 extended the protection term to 50 years p.m.a..

Chile has been a member of the Universal Copyright Convention since 16 September 1955, the Berne Convention since 5 June 1970, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 6 March 2002.

After enacting the Berne Convention, a new intellectual property compatible with the treaty was drafted and promulgated: Law No. 17.336 (2 October 1970). The original law protected works 30 years p.m.a., expanding such term (not retroactively) to 50 years in 1992, and 70 years in 2003.

As of 2021 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 17.336 on Intellectual Property (as amended up to Law No. 21045 of November 3, 2017 as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Chile. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

As of the 2017 revision:

• Protection lasts for the author's life, then for 70 years after the date of death.^{[17.336/2017 Art.10]}
• Works made for hire are protected for 70 years from first publication.^{[17.336/2017 Art.10]}
• For collaborative works, the term of 70 years runs from the death of the last surviving co-author.^{[17.336/2017 Art.12]}
• Anonymous or pseudonymous works are protected for 70 years from first publication, or if not published within 50 years of creation the protection will be for 70 years from the end of the calendar year of creation.^{[17.336/2017 Art.13]}

Not protected

The common cultural heritage includes.^{[17.336/2017 Art.11]}:

a) Works whose term of protection has been extinguished;

b) Work of an unknown author, including the songs, legends, dances and expressions of the folkloric heritage;

c) Works whose owners waived the protection granted by this law;

d) Works of foreign authors, domiciled abroad that are not protected by international conventions that Chile subscribes to and ratifies;

e) Works that were expropriated by the State, unless the law specifies a beneficiary.

Works of common cultural heritage may be used by anyone, provided that paternity and the integrity of the work is respected.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Chile}} – for works in the public domain according to Chilean law (see: Template talk:PD-Chile).

Currency

 Not OK The Central Bank of Chile holds the intellectual property for the designs of banknotes and coins in circulation, and those designs are registered with the Department of Intellectual Property (N° 115.594). This is expressed in Sections 28 of the Constitutional Organic Act. Publication or reproduction of such designs without the consent of the Bank is prohibited, and subject to criminal and civil sanctions.^{[17.336/2017 Art.78]}

Freedom of panorama

• OK for most works permanently located in "squares, avenues and public places." {{FoP-Chile}}
•  Not OK for copyrighted literary works, as such works are in a separate category – Article 3(1) and (2) – as opposed to lithography (Article 3(7)), finished architectural projects (Article 3(9)), two-dimensional works (Article 3(11)), and three-dimensional works (Article 3(12)).

The Chilean copyright law 17336 provides freedom of panorama for architectural and artistic works:

• The reproduction of architectural works by means of photography, film, television and any other analogous procedure, as well as the publication of the corresponding photographs in newspapers, magazines and books and texts intended for education, is free and is not subject to to remuneration, provided that it is not in a separate, complete or partial collection, without authorization of the author.^{[17.336/2017 Art.71F]}
• Art. 1 Nº 8 Likewise, reproduction through photography.^{[17.336/2017 Art.71F]}
• Drawing or any other procedure, of monuments, statues and, in general, artistic works that permanently adorn squares, avenues and public places, is free and is not subject to remuneration, the publication and sale of the reproductions being lawful.^{[17.336/2017 Art.71F]}

Threshold of originality

Registration in the Intellectual Property Registry generates a "presumption" of copyright in favor of the registrant. Any work may be registered for "presumed" copyright, but Law No. 17.336 clearly states the "presumed" copyright may be contested. That is because, as established in "Astorga Sánchez José / Inversiones C. S. A.", C-2470-2009, 17.° Juzgado Civil de Santiago (28 October 2011), the Intellectual Property Conservator (Conservador) only makes the deposit of the documents into the registry, does not make an examination of their originality, or to determine whether the deposited documents are works or not, and so certificates of intellectual property generated by the Intellectual Property Registry do not establish that a work is new, original or viceversa. The Conservator of Intellectual Property expressed in 2011 it is up to the judicial system "to carry out an originality test to define whether the creation is indeed a particular manifestation of human ingenuity that can be classified as original compared to other equivalent creations, analyzed from a subjective perspective, that is, that the imprint or trace of the author can be perceived, that allows it to stand out from others". Such pronouncement was adhered to by the 17th civil judge of Santiago.

See also

• Chile
• Category:Chilean FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Chile
• Template talk:PD-Chile

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

Text transcluded from
COM:China

China

Copyright rules: People's Republic of China Shortcut: COM:China
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Photograph	Publish + 50 years (before June 1, 2021) Life + 50 years (after June 1, 2021)
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Publish + 50 years
Government	Public domain (not always)
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-China}} {{PD-PRC-exempt}}
Treaties
Berne convention	15 October 1992
Univ. Copyright Convention	30 October 1992
WTO member	11 December 2001
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	9 June 2007
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of the People's Republic of China relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in China must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both China 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 China, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Different legal regimes and copyright terms apply in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and in Taiwan.

Background

China has been independent for centuries, first as an empire and then since 1912 as a republic. Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842, and in 1 July 1997 was returned to China as a special administrative region. In 1887 Portugal gained rights to Macao, which was returned to China as a special administrative region in 1999. The Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931 and created the puppet state of Manchukuo. This was returned to China in 1946.

After the Chinese Civil War the government of the Republic of China fled to Taiwan in 1949, but continued to claim to be the legitimate government of mainland China. The mainland People's Republic of China does not recognise the legitimacy of the Republic of China, and claims sovereignty over Taiwan. The same copyright rules apply to mainland China and Taiwan up to 1949.

China has been a member of the Berne Convention since 15 October 1992, the Universal Copyright Convention since 30 October 1992, the World Trade Organization since 11 December 2001 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 9 June 2007. As of 2021 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (as amended up to the Decision of November 11, 2020, of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of China. For the time being, the WIPO Lex database only holds its Chinese edition. Wikisource has a Chinese version and an English translation. Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China is retroactive.

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.^{[1990 Art.55]}

General

According to the 2020 Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China,

• A work created by a natural person when fulfilling the tasks assigned to him by a legal entity or another unincorporated 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 unincorporated organization shall have a priority right to exploit the work within the scope of its professional activities....^{[2020 Art.18]}
• The rights of authorship, alteration and integrity of an author shall be unlimited in time.^{[2020 Art.22]}
• The term of protection for the right of publication ... in respect of a work of a citizen shall be the lifetime of the author and fifty years after his death, and expires on 31 December of the fiftieth year after the death of the author.^{[2020 Art.23]}
• In the case of a work of joint authorship, such term shall expire on 31 December of the fiftieth year after the death of the last surviving author.^{[2020 Art.23]}
• For a work of a legal person or an unincorporated organization, and a work for hire whose copyright (excluding right of signature) is owned by a legal person or an unincorporated organization, the protection period for its right of publication shall be 50 years, ending on December 31 of the 50th year after the creation of the work; and the protection period for its rights shall be 50 years, ending on December 31 of the 50th year after the first publication of the work, but if a work has not been published within 50 years after the completion of the creation, it shall no longer be protected by this Law.^{[2020 Art.23]}
• For an audiovisual work, the protection period for its right of publication shall be 50 years, ending on December 31 of the 50th year after the creation of the work; and the protection period for its rights shall be 50 years, ending on December 31 of the 50th year after the first publication of the work, but if a work has not been published within 50 years after the completion of the creation, it shall no longer be protected by this Law.^{[2020 Art.23]}

According to the Implementing Regulations of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of 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 Part IV Personality Rights, Chapter IV Portraiture Right, Article 1019 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, any organizations or peoples are not permitted to violate portraiture rights of other peoples by smear, stain, counterfeit by using information technology or else ways. No making, using and publishing of portrait owners' images are allowed without their consent, unless permitted by other laws. The copyright owners of portraint works are also not allowed to use or disclosure by releasing, copying, distributing, hiring, exhibiting or other ways without their consent. Portraiture rights provisions mentioned above are non-copyright restrictions.

There were some discussions about the copyright situations of the works of Communist Party of China, a de facto consensus on Chinese Wikisource (see s:zh:Template:PD-PRC-CPC) considered that, based on the Criminal Justice Reference guiding cases №. 680, CPC works may considered as in Public Domain per Article 5 if they are published by central organizations of CPC, such as National Congress, Central Committee and their subordinate bodies. If not published by central organizations, then CPC works may considered as copyrighted.

Not protected

According to the 2020 Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, this Law shall not be applicable to: (1) laws, regulations, resolutions, decisions and orders of state organs; other documents of legislative, administrative or judicial nature; and their official translations; (2) simple factual information; and (3) calendars, numerical tables, forms of general use and formulas.^{[2020 Art.5]}

Terms

Individual works

Date of author's death	Date of publication	Copyright tag
– 31 December 1973	– 31 December 1928	{{PD-China-expired}} + {{PD-old-auto-expired}} {{PD-China-expired}}{{PD-old-auto-expired|deathyear=death year}}
– 31 December 1945	1 January 1929 –	{{PD-China-1996}} + {{PD-old-auto-1996}} {{PD-China-1996}}{{PD-old-auto-1996|country=China|deathyear=death year}}
Others		The work is still protected under China law and/or URAA.

Anonymous, Pseudonymous or Cooperative works

If the author of the work is unveiled during its copyright term, it is protected as an individual work.

Date of publication	Copyright tag
– December 31, 1928	{{PD-China-expired}} + {{PD-anon-expired}} {{PD-China-expired}}{{PD-anon-expired}}
January 1, 1929 – December 31, 1945	{{PD-China-1996}} + {{PD-anon-auto-1996}} {{PD-China-1996}}{{PD-anon-auto-1996|country=China|publication=year}}
Others	The work is still protected under China law and/or URAA.

Photographs

Date of creation	Date of publication	Copyright tag
– December 31, 1928	– December 31, 1928	{{PD-China-expired}} + {{PD-old-auto-expired}} {{PD-China-expired}}{{PD-old-auto-expired|deathyear=death year}}
– December 31, 1945	Unpublished	{{PD-China-1996}} + {{PD-old-auto-1996}} {{PD-China-1996}}{{PD-old-auto-1996|country=China|deathyear=death year}}
	January 1, 1929 – December 31, 1945 January 1, 1996 –
Others		The work is still protected under China law and/or URAA.

Exceptions

• For some government works, {{PD-PRC-exempt}}
• {{PD-China-film}} + choose from {{PD-US-expired}}, {{PD-1996}} (–1945) or {{Not-PD-US-URAA}} (1946–1953)
• FoP (photographs of an architectural work) {{FoP-China}} + free license tag for the image

Copyright tags

• {{PD-China}} – for images in the public domain according to the People's Republic of China (mainland) and the Republic of China (Taiwan).
• {{PD-China-film}} – for movies or images from movies published in the China more than 50 years ago according to Mainland China and Taiwan.
• {{PD-Empire of China Government Gazette}} – for the Government Gazette from January to March 1916 (Hongxian Year 1) by the Empire of China.
• {{PD-Manchukuo-stamps}} – for images of Manchukuo stamps that are now in the public domain in China.

People's Republic of China

• {{PD-PRC-exempt}} – for works in the public domain according to the People's Republic of China for free of copyright.
• {{PD-PRC-GB mandatory standard}} – for images from mandatory Guobiao standards with legal nature.
  • {{PD-PRC-Road Traffic Signs}} – for road traffic signs from mandatory National Standard GB 5768.
  • {{PD-PRC-Road Traffic Markings}} – for road traffic markings from mandatory National Standard GB 5768.
• {{PD-PRC-CPC}} - for works formulated by central organization of the Communist Party of China

Republic of China

Works with these tags may be published before or after 1949 within the jurisdiction of the Republic of China:

• {{PD-ROC-exempt}} – for images in the public domain according to the Republic of China for free of copyright
• {{PD-ROC-official}} – for the attachments of the laws of the Republic of China from the website of the Legislative Yuan law system
• {{PD-ROC-Presidential Office Gazette}} – for the Presidential Office Gazette from 20 May 1948 to present by the Presidential Office of the Republic of China [11]

Older (1912–1949) works published within the jurisdiction of the Republic of China

• {{PD-ROC-Provisional Government Gazette}} – for the Provisional Government Gazette from 29 January to 5 April 1912 by the Nanking Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912) [12]
• {{PD-ROC-Provisional Gazette}} – for the Provisional Gazette from 13 February to 26 April 1912 by the Peking Republican Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912–1913)
• {{PD-ROC-Government Gazette}} – for the Government Gazette from May 1912 to June 1928 by the Beiyang Government of the Republic of China [13]
• {{PD-ROC-Military Government Gazette}} – for the Military Government Gazette from 17 September 1917 to 14 May 1918 by the Southern Government of the Republic of China [14]
• {{PD-ROC-Generalissimo Government Gazette}} – for the Generalissimo Government Gazette from 30 January 1922 to 20 May 1925 by the Southern Generalissimo Government of the Republic of China [15]
• {{PD-ROC-National Government Gazette}} – for the National Government Gazette from July 1925 to 19 May 1948 by the National Government of the Republic of China [16]

Cheque

OK {{PD-shape}} for cheques with simple designs. However, many Chinese cheques have security features that exceed threshold of originality and therefore  Not OK.

Currency

 Not OK. The design of renminbi is exceeding the threshold of originality of China and there is no apparent evidence that renminbi designs are in public domain.

However, for currencies that are in circulation, there are some non-copyright restrictions. The use of Renminbi designs is subject to approval. According to the Measures for the Administration of the Use of Renminbi Designs (人民币图样使用管理办法) (amended in 2019):

• Article 4 The use of Renminbi designs are not permitted for ceremonial, lifestyle and finance bill purposes;
• Article 6 The use of Renminbi designs are administrated territorially, and every use cases shall be approved one by one. The People's Bank of China, to which their headquarter is located in Shanghai, as well as their branches, business management departs, sub-branches of the capitals of provinces, and centre bank of PBC in Shenzhen, are the approval authorities of Renminbi use cases. The local branches of PBC are acceptance agencies of applications of cases.
• Article 9 The use of Renminbi designs should follow the following terms:
  • Only one paper face by one picture;
  • No harms of Renminbi images, national interests and public interests are allowed;
  • Will not let the public consider mistakenly as the Renminbi itself;

...

OK for those with expired copyright.

Freedom of panorama

In general, OK , with attribution {{FoP-China}}, for outdoor and indoor works (since June 2021 with the 2020 amendment of the copyright law allowing indoor works) but practically may be problematic with regards to images of 2D works like murals and permanent outdoor paintings (reference: Commons:Deletion requests/File:Mao Zedong portrait.jpg). To summarize:

• OK for architecture,
• OK for 3D works like sculptures (and possibly things like handicrafts, ceramics, and tiles), and
• generally  Not OK for 2D works like murals and outdoor paintings, unless their presences in images are not being main subjects.

The reproduction of artistic, architectural, or applied artwork, is covered under the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, which allows reproduction of works in an outdoor public place if the author and the name of the original work is attributed.

• Article 24: 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 or designation of the author and the title of the work are mentioned and the normal use of the work, or unreasonably damage the lawful rights and interests of the copyright owner shall not be affected:
  (10) copying, drawing, photographing, or video recording of an artistic work located or on display in a public place;...
  The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to restrictions on copyright-related rights.

The "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China" (2020) Article 24, clause 10 states that:

[A] work may be exploited without the permission from, and without payment of remuneration to, the copyright owner, provided that the name or designation of the author and the title of the work are mentioned and the normal use of the work, or unreasonably damage the lawful rights and interests of the copyright owner shall not be affected:

copying, drawing, photographing, or video recording of an artistic work located or on display in a public place

Regulations and court decisions regarding to freedom of panorama:

• Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases of Civil Disputes over Copyright, Article 18: Artistic works in outdoor public places stipulated in Article 22, Item 10 of the Copyright Law refer to sculptures, paintings, calligraphy and other works of art that are set up or displayed in outdoor public places.
  Copying, painting, photographing, and video recording of the artistic works specified in the preceding paragraph may be used again in a reasonable manner and scope without causing any infringement.
• Reply on the "Report on the Request for Infringement of Copyright Disputes between Shandong Tianyi Advertising Co., Ltd. and Qingdao Hisense Communications Co., Ltd." of the Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court, the Supreme People's Court: (Dispute on using May Wind sculpture in advertisements) ... Here, for 'reasonable approach and scope', the 'approach and scope' for profit purposes should be included. This is the original intention of formulating the Judicial Interpretation. This provision of judicial interpretation is in conformity with the basic spirit of fair use as stipulated by the Berne Convention, and it is also in line with the legislation of most countries in the world."
• Wang Juxian vs. Shaoxing Water Conservancy Bureau on Other Copyright Ownership Infringement Dispute Trial Supervision, The Supreme People's Court: As mentioned above, China's Copyright Law exempts the public from the obligation to attribute the author's name and the name of the work while exempting the author from the obligation to authorize and pay for the copying of the sculpture in the outdoor public place. Under normal circumstances, the public can only rely on the annotation of the outdoor art work itself to confirm the author's name and the name of the work without any obligation to verify.

The following examples are OK:

• Photos of the Tian Tan Buddha sculpture. See the court ruling of a civil law case, in which the court ruled that commercial use of a photo of the Tian Tan Buddha by a telecommunications operator on their IP phone cards is permissible.
• Photos of the May Wind sculpture. Shandong Province Higher People's Court ruled in a civil case that the usage of an image of this sculpture as a wallpaper in cellphones by a cellphone manufacturer is permissible. China's Supreme Court later on endorsed this ruling.

Some limitations to the Chinese freedom of panorama as ruled by courts

• The Chinese FOP provision can hardly apply to works temporarily displayed in public places according to the reply by Supreme People's Court in 1995, which stated that works displayed only during the festival cannot be considered as "an artistic work located or on display in a public place".
• More recently, however, Chongqing Yuzhong District People's Court ruled in 2016 that the use of a photo of an outdoor sculpture on postcards for sale (commercial use without attribution) to be an infringement of the sculpture creator's rights (source: [17][18]). Note that the judge applied criteria pertaining to "fair use", including the purpose of reuse, the nature of use, and the consequences of use. Regarding the nature of use, the judge comments, "in this case, the photo contained in the 'Folklore Heritage' postcard issued by the advertising company is a full-body frontal photo of the sculpture of the 'Ciqikou night watchman', which is featured prominently in the picture and is the main vehicle for the postcard to express the design theme of 'Folklore Heritage', so this kind of use is not incidental."
• Regarding 2D works like outdoor paintings permanently installed in public spaces and murals, a recent court case by Beijing IP court (2020) gave a negative decision: "The Court believes that the general use of 2D art works by copyright owners is relatively simple, that is, copying works, creating derivative works on the basis of the original works for commercial use or authorizing others to do so. If a 2D art work is displayed in a public place, others can freely use it for commercial purposes after photographing, drawing or copying, the licensing and copyright owner's income will be seriously threatened, then the normal use of the work will be affected and the legitimate rights and interests enjoyed by the copyright owner will be prejudiced."

See also: Category:Chinese FOP cases.

Threshold of originality

China has a relatively low threshold of originality standard; basic designs may be copyrightable. One of the most noticeable cases is the logo of a company named Gang Heng (listed below) ruled by China's supreme court as copyrighted (see below).

The following examples are OK:

• "Matchstick man" (image) with a black sphere as a head, black lines as torso, limbs and feet is not copyrightable for lacking originality, ruled Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality (source).
• Five SKECHERS logos (image) are not copyrightable for lacking originality, ruled Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality in 2020 (final judgement and related news coverage).
• "BIOU" logo (image), with letter "b" and "o", and a small barcode in the upper right corner, is not copyrightable for lacking originality, ruled Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality in 2018 (final judgement and related articles [19] [20]). Note that the logo was initially ruled as copyrightable by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and a lower court.
• "KON" logo (see below), with three black bars crossed together, is not copyrightable for lacking originality, ruled Beijing Dongcheng District People's Court in 2019 (final judgement and news coverage).
• "Chao Qun" logo (see below), is not copyrightable for lacking originality, ruled China's Supreme People's Court in 2012 (original judgment by the Court). The court asserted that the expression does not show the existence of a unique style; there are only subtle differences when compared to the common Seal script and Clerical script, the "Chao Qun" logo does not reach a certain creative height, and does not have originality.

• 
  A stick figure similar to this image, where the head is represented by a circle and other parts represented by straight lines, is not copyrightable.
• 
  The SKECHERS's S logo is not copyrightable.
• 
  KON logo with three black bars crossed together is not copyrightable.
• 
  Chao Qun logo is not copyrightable.

The following examples are  Not OK:

• Calligraphy works, such as:
  • the work "道" on this photo (archived from original) (see the article by Beijing Youth Daily (archived from original), and the follow-up report (archived from original).
  • the character "勁" (archived from the original), with rulings made by Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court, and Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality
  • calligraphy for "澳門豆撈" (image), ruled by Henan Zhengzhou Intermediate People's Court (source).

are copyrighted (Copyright Law of the PR China: "Article 2 Works of Chinese citizens, legal entities or other organizations, whether published or not, shall enjoy copyright in accordance with this Law." ; "Article 3 'Works' mentioned in this Law shall include [...] in the following forms: (4) works of fine art and architecture" ; Regulations for the Implementation: "Article 4 (8) 'works of fine arts' means [...] such as paintings, works of calligraphy and sculptures;")

• Handwriting: a hand-written manuscript was deemed copyrightable as work of art, according to a decision made by Nanjing Intermediate People's Court in 2017 (sources: [21] [22], Final judgement).
• "LY" company logo (alternative link; archived from the original), although arguably relatively simple, has been ruled copyrightable by Trademark Appeal Board of the State Administration of Industry & Commerce, Beijing Intellectual Property Court, and Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality.
• Typefaces of characters "笑", "喜", and "城市宝贝" in these two logos are copyrightable, ruled Nanjing Intermediate People's Court in 2012. However the character "巴" in the same logo was decided not copyrightable for lacking originality in the same decision. (source, court decision full text: Final judgement)
• Gang Heng logo: China's Supreme People's Court ruled this logo to be protected by copyright in 2014 (original judgment by the Court; related news coverage).
• Dyneema logo (in this article): China's Supreme People's Court ruled this logo to be protected by copyright in 2017 (original judgment by the Court).
• K2 Sports logo as shown in the image below is eligible for copyright protection, determined during trademark adjudication proceedings in 2010 (source).

• 
  The logo of K2 Sports is copyrightable in China (but not copyrightable in its country of origin, the US).

Signatures

 Not OK: According to the laws of the People's Republic of China, whether a work is protected by copyright, that is contingent on the originality (, literally "independent creativity"). Works having originality are protected and the copyright held by their authors ("Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (2020) Article 15: "A work created by compilation shall refer to the work which is compiled of some works, fragments of works or the data or other materials not constituting a work, and the choice or layout of the contents of which embodies the original creation. The copyright of the compilation work shall be enjoyed by the compiler, provided that the exercise of such copyright does not infringe upon the copyright of the pre-existing works included in the compilation.") The signatures are commonly created independently rather than imitatively.

The signatures by the Chinese people containing Chinese characters may be considered as Chinese calligraphy works, and thus defined as artwork (, or translated as "works of fine arts") and protected by law ("Regulations for the Implementation of the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China (2002) Article 4: "(8) 'works of fine arts' means two- or three-dimensional works of the plastic arts created in lines, colours or other media which impart aesthetic effect, such as paintings, works of calligraphy and sculptures;"). In a typical case, Dow Jones & Company had used a calligraphy "" written by calligrapher Guan Dongsheng. In 2003, Guan Dongsheng won his court action against the company, ruling by the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court. The artwork can be seen here.

Exceptions OK:

• If a signature is originally from documents of legislative, administrative, or judicial nature, it is in the public domain (see {{PD-PRC-exempt}}).
• Signatures whose author died more than 50 years ago are in the public domain.
• If the work is not a handwritten signature, but was instead created using standard, common typefaces of Ming, Sans-serif, or Regular script, it may be in the public domain. However, the vector glyphs in computer fonts may still be copyrighted.

Stamps

Shortcut

• COM:Stamps China

See also: Commons:Stamps

As mentioned elsewhere (see Manchukuo and Wang Jingwei regime CRT pages), stamps issued by the government of Manchukuo, or the Wang Jingwei regime are nowadays in public domain, as both are considered as puppet regimes by Chinese Government, and hence never recognized their copyright status.

Pending informations, but in normal cases  Not OK for nearly all non-Manchukuo, non-Wang-regime stamps in China, because in most cases, the dates of birth of authors of those stamps are not publicly known, unless if that's issued before Jan 1, 1929 which is a {{PD-anon-expired}} case, we should de facto judge them as copyrighted by China Post or its affiliates (e.g. Beijing Stamp Factory).

In rare cases, if the dates of birth of authors of some individual stamps are known, those can enter the public domain 50 years after the death of the creator.

See also

• 中国 / 中國
• Category:License tags of China
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Hong Kong
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Macau
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Manchukuo
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Taiwan
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Wang Jingwei regime

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Colombia

Colombia

Copyright rules: Colombia Shortcut: COM:COLOMBIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 80 years
Anonymous	Publish + 80 years
Collective	Publish + 80 years
Government	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-80}} {{PD-Colombia}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	COL
Treaties
Berne convention	7 March 1988
Univ. Copyright Convention	18 June 1976
WTO member	30 April 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 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Colombia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Colombia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Colombia 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 Colombia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

The Republic of Colombia was declared in 1886. Panama was included in Gran Colombia from 1821, and seceded as an independent nation in 1903.

Colombia has been a member of the Universal Copyright Convention since 18 June 1976, the Berne Convention since 7 March 1988, the World Trade Organization since 30 April 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 Law No. 23 of January 28, 1982, on Copyright as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Colombia. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. This has been modified by

• Law No. 719 of December 24, 2001
• Law No. 1403 of July 19, 2010
• Law No. 1450 of June 16, 2011
• Law No. 1835 of June 9, 2017
• Law No. 1915 of July 12, 2018

General rules

According to the Colombian Law 23 of 1982 on Copyright, amended by Law 44 of 1993, Article 2 and Law 1520 of 2012,

• The author rights expire 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 80 years after the death of the author.^{[23/1982–2018 Art 11,21]}
• Protection for compilations, dictionaries, encyclopedias and other collective works lasts 80 years from date of publication.^{[23/1982–2018 Art 24]}
• Protection of anonymous works expires 80 years from the date of publication.^{[23/1982–2018 Art 25]}
• Protection for cinematic works lasts 80 years after the movie's premiere.^{[23/1982–2018 Art 26]}
• 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 70 years as from the date of publication.^{[23/1982–2018 Art 27]}
• 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.^{[23/1982–2018 Art 28]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Colombia}} – generally 80 years after the author's death or 80 years after publication of audiovisual works, collective works and anonymous works. In all cases where a 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 70 years as from the date of publication.

Currency

 Not OK within 70 years of publication of the design.

Both banknotes and coins are produced by the Banco de la República, the Colombian central bank. They claim all rights reserved on their website in the footer of all pages, and in a legal disclaimer (Spanish: [23]) which asserts intellectual property over the website's designs and trademarks. There is no further information provided about the legality of photographic reproductions or similar. Colombia's copyright law has no exemption for government works, meaning that the Bank is permitted to claim copyright, for up to 70 years from the date of publication. The law makes no exemptions for banknotes or currency either.

Freedom of panorama

OK for public art found permanently in public outdoors and exterior architecture = {{FoP-Colombia}};  Not OK for interior architecture as well as public art found in public indoors.

• See Andean Community of Nations:Freedom of panorama

• It shall be permissible to reproduce, by painting, drawing, photography or cinematography, works that are permanently located on public highways, streets or squares, and to distribute such reproductions or works and communicate them to the public. With regard to works of architecture, this provision shall be applicable solely to outward views.^{[23/1982–2018 Art 39]}

Notable cases

• Case 044-IP-2013 - an example of the commercial use of a property broadcast in a mass media, requiring explicit mention of its author and its publication is for "good commercial practice" (quoted as "buena fe comercial"). Otherwise, as its unlawful appropriation, this is considered as lucrative exploitation. A crucial passage at the last paragraph (P.39 Noveno) of the said ruling reads "Se advierte que las anteriores previsiones consagradas en la norma comunitaria, al ser tan generales en materia de procedimiento, dejan abierto un gran margen para que el ordenamiento interno de los Países Miembros regule los procedimientos y procesos con base en la norma comunitaria, de conformidad con el principio de complemento indispensable." Translated as: "It is noted that the previous provisions enshrined in the community standard, being so general in terms of procedure, leave open a great margin for the internal regulations of the Member Countries to regulate the procedures and processes based on the community standard, in accordance with the principle of indispensable complement." Interpreting from this, this means the FoP exception of the Decision 351 is binding in all member states, but the member states have the right to regulate or restrict the exception as being applied to them.

Stamps

Stamps appear to be out of copyright after 70 years. If stamp is published before 1 January 1954 please use {{PD-Colombia}}.

Threshold of originality

See Andean Community: Threshold of originality

The threshold of originality is subject to the personal stamp that the author puts on their work.

See also

• Colombia
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Andean Community
• Category:Colombian currency related deletion requests
• Category:Colombian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Colombia
• Category:Stamps of Colombia
• Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Banknotes of Colombia, 2018-03-29

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Comoros

Comoros

Copyright rules: the Comoros Shortcut: COM:Comoros
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Collective	Publish + 50 years
Posthumous	Publish + 50 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Comoros}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	COM
Treaties
Berne convention	17 April 2005
Bangui Agreement	25 May 2013
URAA restoration date‌*	17 April 2005
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of the Comoros relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the Comoros must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the Comoros 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 Comoros, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

The Comoros became part of the French colonial empire towards the end of 19th century. The island group became independent in 1975.

The Comoros has been a member of the Berne Convention since 17 April 2005 and the Bangui Agreement since 25 May 2013.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Law of March 11, 1957, on Literary and Artistic Property as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of the Comoros. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

Under the Law of March 11, 1957,

• The author enjoys, during his life, the exclusive right to exploit his work. On the death of the author, this right subsists for his successors during the current calendar year and the next fifty years.^{[1957 Article 21]}
• For works of collaboration, the calendar year taken into consideration is that of the death of the last surviving joint author.^{[1957 Article 21]}
• For collective works, the person or legal entity under whose name the work was published has the rights of the author.^{[1957 Article 13]}
• For pseudonyms or collective works, the duration of the exclusive rights is 50 years from 1 January of the calendar year following the year of publication.^{[1957 Article 22]}
• For posthumous works, the term of exclusive right is 50 years from the date of publication of the work.^{[1957 Article 23]}

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK because:

1. The 1957 law has no clauses about FOP; and
2. While Bangui Agreement has a FOP clause, that's for non-commercial purposes only, and only allow stuffs to be reproducted as films.

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Copyright rules: Costa Rica Shortcut: COM:COSTA RICA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Costa Rica}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	CRI
Treaties
Berne convention	10 June 1978
Univ. Copyright Convention	16 September 1955
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 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Costa Rica relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Costa Rica must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Costa Rica came under Spanish rule in the 16th century. It gained independence on 15 September 1821.

Costa Rica has been a member of the Universal Copyright Convention since 16 September 1955, the Berne Convention since 10 June 1978, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 6 March 2002.

As of 2021 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 6683 of October 14, 1982, on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to Law No. 9957 of April 14, 2021) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Costa Rica. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

According to Law Nº 6683 as amended up to 2010,

• Copyright lasts for the life of the author and 70 years after their death.^{[6683/2010 Article 58]}
• When the duration of protection of a work is calculated on a basis other than the life of a natural person, this duration shall be:
  • 70 years from the year of publication.^{[6683/2010 Article 58(a)]}
  • If publication does not occur within 70 years from creation, protection lasts 70 years from the year the work was first made available to the public.^{[6683/2010 Article 58(b)]}
  • If the work was neither published not made available to the public with 70 years from creation, it is protected for 70 years from creation.^{[6683/2010 Article 58(c)]}*With collaborative works the term of 70 years is counted from the death of the last co-author.^{[6683/2010 Article 59]}
• Dictionaries, encyclopedias and other collective works are protected for 70 years from publication.^{[6683/2010 Article 60]}
• Anonymous and pseudonymous works are protected for 70 years from publication.^{[6683/2010 Article 62]}

The terms of protection given above are counted from 31 December of the year of the event that started them.^{[6683/2010 Article 65]}

Government works

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

• Everyone is allowed to freely reproduce constitutions, laws, decrees, municipal agreements, regulations and other public acts, as long as they strictly conform to the official edition. Individuals can also publish the codes and legislative collections, with notes and comments, and each author will own their own work.^{[6683/2010 Article 75]}
• The State, municipal councils and official corporations shall enjoy the protection of this law, but with regard to economic rights, they shall have them for only 25 years from publication of the work, except in the case of public entities, whose purpose is the exercise of these rights as an ordinary activity; in which case the protection will be 50 years.^{[6683/2010 Article 63]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Costa Rica}}
• {{CC-CRC-PresidenciadelaRepublica}}

Currency

•  Not OK for currency less than 25 years old.
•  Unsure for currency between 25 and 50 years old.
• OK for currency more than 50 years old.

The Central Bank of Costa Rica (Banco Central de Costa Rica) is the "copyright holder of Costa Rica’s currency design -protected under Law No. 6683" According to Costa Rica's intellectual property law (Law 6683, as amended by Law 8834 of 3 May 2010):

• 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.^{[6683/2010 Article 63]}

All images of Costa Rican currency must use {{Currency}}, as the Central Bank of Costa Rica has placed several Non-copyright restrictions on use of images of Costa Rican currency.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK: Non-commercial use of public art and architecture only. ({{NoFoP-Costa Rica}}) According to Law Nº 6683 as amended up to 2021:

• It is lawful to make photographic reproductions or other pictorial processes, when this reproduction is without commercial purpose, of statues, monuments and other works of art protected by copyright, acquired by the public authority, exhibited in the streets, gardens and museums.^{[6683/2021 Article 71]}

This non-commercial restriction is identical to the 2010 version of the law; in any case, image files of copyrighted Costa Rican architecture and public art are not allowed on Wikimedia Commons and must be nominated for deletion; such content does not conform to Commons:Licensing which requires commercial uses.

Original Spanish text:

Es lícita la reproducción fotográfica o por otros procesos pictóricos, cuando esta reproducción sea sin fines comerciales, de las estatuas, monumentos y otras obras de arte protegidas por derechos de autor, adquiridos por el poder público, expuestos en las calles, los jardines y los museos.

Stamps

The basic copyright law of Costa Rica is: Ley Nº 6683 - Ley de Derechos de Autor y Derechos Conexos. There are no specific provision for copyrights of postage stamps, but all works are copyrighted until 70 years after the author's death. In the case of government agencies and other public entities the copyrights of official works expired after 25 years, and in special cases after 50 years (i.e. books), both since the original publication date.

See also

• Costa Rica
• Category:Costa Rican FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Costa Rica
• Category:Stamps of Costa Rica

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Croatia

Croatia

This page requires updating. 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/Consolidated list C}} ~~~~

Copyright rules: Croatia Shortcut: COM:CROATIA
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-Croatia-exempt}} {{PD-Croatia}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	HRV
Treaties
Berne convention	8 October 1991
WTO member	30 November 2000
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 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Croatia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Croatia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Croatia 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 Croatia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Croatia was part of Austria-Hungary for many years, then from 1918 became part of the newly-formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. Croatia became independent of Yugoslavia on 8 October 1991.

Croatia has been a member of the Berne Convention since independence on 8 October 1991 by virtue of succession from the former Yugoslavia. Notification of succession was given on 28 July 1992. Croatia has belonged to the World Trade Organization since 30 November 2000 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 Copyright and Related Rights Act and Acts on Amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights Act (OG Nos. 167/2003, 79/2007, 80/2011, 141/2013 and 127/2014) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Croatia. WIPO holds the text of these acts in their WIPO Lex database. Note that the text is not consolidated, but provides the text of the original 2003 act followed by the text of each of the amending acts.

The 2003 Act replaced the 1991 Copyright Act. This in turn replaced the 1978 Yugoslav Copyright Act.

General rules

Based on the Copyright and Related Rights Act amended up to 127/2014,

• Copyright shall run for the life of the author and for 70 years after his death, irrespective of the date when the work is lawfully released, unless otherwise provided by this Act.^{[127/2014 Article 99]}
• If the co-authors ... are the holders of joint copyright in the created work, the term referred to in Article 99 of this Act shall be calculated from the death of last surviving co-author.^{[127/2014 Article 100(1)]}
• For audiovisual works, the term referred to in Article 99 of this Act shall be calculated from the death of the last of the following persons to survive: the principal director, the author of the screen play, the author of the dialogue, and the composer of music specifically created for use in the audiovisual work.^{[127/2014 Article 100(2)]}
• Copyright in anonymous works shall run for 70 years after the work has been lawfully disclosed. If the author discloses his identity during such period, the term of protection set out in Article 99 of this Act shall apply.^{[127/2014 Article 101]}
• Copyright in pseudonymous works shall run for 70 years after the work is lawfully disclosed. Where a pseudonym leaves no doubt as to the identity of the author, the term of protection set out in Article 99 of this Act shall apply.^{[127/2014 Article 102]}
• Where the term of protection is not calculated from the death of the author, and where the work has not been lawfully disclosed, the copyright shall expire upon the expiration of a period of 70 years from the creation of the work.^{[127/2014 Article 104]}
• Terms of copyright laid down in this Act shall be calculated from the first day of January of the year following the year in which the relevant event has occurred.^{[127/2014 Article 105]}

Former durations

A Croatian work is in the public domain under the Yugoslav Copyright Act of 1978 and the succeeding Croatian Copyright Act of 1991 if it entered the public domain on or before 27 July 1999, when the law was changed. These acts provided for a copyright term of the life of the author plus fifty years, or of 25 years for a photograph or a work of applied art. The work must meet one of the following criteria:

• It is a work of known authorship and the author died before 1 January 1949
• Is an anonymous work published before 1 January 1949
• It is a photograph or a work of applied art published before 1 January 1974. However, such a work will not be in the public domain in the United States if published after 1970.

Not protected

Based on the Copyright and Related Rights Act amended up to 127/2014,

• The subject matter of copyright shall include expressions and not ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such.^{[127/2014 Article 8(1)]}
• The subject matter of copyright shall not include:
  • discoveries, official texts in the domain of legislation, administration, judiciary (acts, regulations, decisions, reports, minutes, judgments, standards, and the like) and other official works and their collections, disclosed for the purpose of officially informing the public;^{[127/2014 Article 8(2.1)]}
  • news of the day and other news, having the character of mere items of press information;^{[127/2014 Article 8(2.2)]}
• Folk literary and artistic creations in their original form shall not be the subject matter of copyright, but their communication to the public is subject to the payment of remuneration, as for the communication to the public of protected copyright works. The remuneration shall be the revenue of the budget, and shall be used for improving the creativity in the field concerned.^{[127/2014 Article 8(3)]}
• Translations of official texts in the domain of legislation, administration and judiciary, shall be protected, unless made for the purpose of officially informing the public and are disclosed as such.^{[127/2014 Article 6(2)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Croatia-exempt}} – for works exempt from copyright under the Croatian law.
• {{PD-Croatia}} – for works whose author died before 1949 or published before 1949 if anonymous (public domain prior to introduction of the new law in 1999).

Currency

 Not OK. The Croatian National Bank is the holder of all proprietary rights and copyrights on kuna banknotes and kuna and lipa coins, and their reproduction is subject to prior approval of the Croatian National Bank. See: Article 24 of the Act on the Croatian National Bank, Official Gazette 75/2007.

 Unsure Croatia has entered the Eurozone on 1. January 2023. Images of the national side of a Croatian euro coin may be shared under specific restrictions. Please see {{Croatian euro coin}}.

Freedom of panorama

OK. {{FoP-Croatia}}; in regard to architecture, for the exteriors only.

The Copyright and Related Rights Act amended up to 111/2021 allows 2D reproductions of permanently publicly displayed works, i. e. the full Freedom of Panorama:

• It shall be permitted, without the right holder’s authorisation and without payment of remuneration, to reproduce, except in a three-dimensional form, the copyright works, which are permanently located on streets, squares, parks or other places available to the public, and to distribute and communicate to the public such reproductions.^{[111/2021 Article 204(1)]}
• The limitation referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall apply only in respect of the outer appearance of an architectural structure.^{[111/2021 Article 204(2)]}

See also

• Croatia
• Category:Croatian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Croatia
• Category:Stamps of Croatia
• Category:Stamps of Fiume

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Cuba

Cuba

Copyright rules: Cuba Shortcut: COM:CUBA
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Photograph	First use + 25 years
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Government	Perpetual copyright
Applied art	First use + 25 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Cuba}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	CUB
Treaties
Berne convention	20 February 1997
Univ. Copyright Convention	18 June 1957
WTO member	20 April 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Cuba relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Cuba must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Cuba 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 Cuba, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Cuba was a Spanish colony from the 15th century until 1898, when it was occupied by the United States. In 1902 the country gained nominal independence, and regained self government in 1908.

Cuba has been a member of the Universal Copyright Convention since 18 June 1957, the World Trade Organization since 20 April 1995 and the Berne Convention since 20 February 1997.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 14 of December 28, 1977, on Copyright as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Cuba. The 1977 law repealed the Law of Intellectual Property of 10 January 1879 and its regulations of 3 September 1880, as well as articles 428 and 429 of the Civil Code of 1889.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 50]} WIPO holds the text of the 1977 law in their WIPO Lex database. This version takes into account amendments up to Decree-Law No. 156 of September 28, 1994.

General rules

According to Law No. 14 of December 28, 1977 as amended up to 1994,

• Copyright is valid for the life of the author and 50 years after his death, except for the exceptions expressly indicated in this Law.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 43]}
• For a collaborative work, the period of validity extends for 50 years after the death of all the authors.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 43]}
• The term of fifty years indicated in this article begins to count from the first of January of the year following the death of the author.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 43]}
• For a work by an unknown author, or a work published anonymously or under a pseudonym, copyright is valid for 50 years from the first publication of the work.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 45]}
• The period of validity of copyright belonging to legal entities is of unlimited duration. In case of reorganization, the copyright goes to the successor juridical person, and in case of its dissolution to the State.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 46]}
• The period of validity of the copyright in a work created by a procedure analogous to that of the photograph, or on a work of the applied arts, extends to twenty-five years from the use of the work.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 47]}

Status in United States

A Cuban work uploaded to Wikimedia Commons must be in the public domain in both Cuba and the United States.

• Photographs are in the public domain in the United States if first published in Cuba without compliance with US copyright formalities and used in Cuba before 20 February 1972.
• Anonymous works (not photographs) are in the public domain in the United States if first published in Cuba without compliance with US copyright formalities and used in Cuba before 20 February 1947.
• Corporate and government works are in the public domain in the United States if published before 1929 (95 years ago)
• All other works are in the public domain in the United States if published in Cuba without compliance with US copyright formalities, author died before 1947 or, published 95 years ago.

Paying public domain

See also: Commons:Paying public domain

At the expiration of the period of validity of the copyright, a work may be declared belonging to the State by decision of the Council of Ministers. The modalities and conditions of use of the declared work pertaining to the State, will be established by said body.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 48]} Subject to the stipulations of article 48, when the period of validity of the copyright on a work has expired, it may be freely used by any person, provided that the author's name is mentioned and the integrity of the work is respected. However, the user must pay a special contribution that will be used for the development of science, education and culture of the country. The amount of this contribution, its form of payment, and the principles of administration of the funds thus acquired, will be set by the Ministry of Culture, which will also be empowered to indicate the exceptions to the provisions of this article.^{[14/1977-1994 Article 49]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Cuba}} – for works made in Cuba whose copyright has expired.

Freedom of panorama

OK {{FoP-Cuba}}

According to Law No. 14 of December 28, 1977 as amended up to 1994, it is permissible, without the author's consent and without remuneration, but with obligatory reference to his name and provided the work is public knowledge and respectful of the artist's specific values: ... to reproduce by any means, except those involving direct contact with its surface, a work of art of any type on permanent display in a public place, except those in exhibitions and museums;^{[14/1977-1994 Article 38(c)]}

Stamps

Modern stamps of this country are not in public domain or their status is unknown. Cuba was under Spanish control until 1898 and then under U.S. control until the Republic was established on May 20, 1902. Accordingly, the copyright applicable to stamps issued during those time periods would be Spain and the U.S.

See also

• Cuba
• Category:Cuban FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Cuba
• Category:Stamps of Cuba

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Cyprus

Cyprus

Copyright rules: Cyprus Shortcut: COM:CYPRUS
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Photograph	Life + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	CYP
Treaties
Berne convention	16 August 1960
WTO member	30 July 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	4 November 2003
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Cyprus relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Cyprus must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Cyprus 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 Cyprus, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Cyprus was transferred from the Ottoman Empire to British administration in 1878, and was annexed by Britain in 1914. The island gained independence in 1960. Northern Cyprus became autonomous in 1974 with the support of Turkey, and in 1983 declared independence, but has not gained international recognition.

Cyprus came under the Berne Convention through the United Kingdom as of 1 October 1931. The Republic of Cyprus declared continued application of the Berne Convention on 24 February 1964, effective from independence on 16 August 1960. Cyprus joined the World Trade Organization as of 30 July 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 4 November 2003.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Copyright Laws 1976 to 1993 (Law No. 59 of December 3, 1976, as amended by Law No. 18(I), 1993) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Cyprus. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

This law was modified in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007. As of 2018 the University of Cyprus Library cited Law no. 59/76 regarding Intellectual Property Rights (as modified by Laws N.63/77, N.18(I)/93, N.54(I)/99, N.12(I)/2001), N.128(I)/2002 and N.128(I)/2004) as the source of rules on Intellectual Property Rights.

General rules

In December 2018 the University of Cyprus Library gave durations as:

• Scientific, literary, music and artistic works: rights expire 70 years after the creator’s death.
• Motion pictures: rights expire 70 years after the death of the last survivor of: producer, main director, scriptwriter, dialogues writer and composer of music composed specifically for use in the motion picture.
• Photographs: rights expire 70 years after the creator’s death.
• Sound recordings: rights expire 50 years after the date of recording, or 50 years from the date it is published or presented if that happens within 50 years of creation.
• Broadcasts: rights expire 50 years after the date of broadcasting
• Publication of previously unpublished works: rights expire 25 years from the date the work is published.

Freedom of panorama

OK {{FoP-Cyprus}}

The WIPO version of Copyright Laws 1976 to 1993, section 7(2), includes exception (c): "the reproduction and distribution of copies of any artistic work permanently situated in a place where it may be viewed by the public;"

See also

• Κύπρος - Kıbrıs
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Northern Cyprus

Citations

Text transcluded from
COM:Czech Republic

Czech Republic

Copyright rules: Czechia Shortcut: COM:Czechia
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-CzechGov}} {{FoP-Czech Republic}}
Treaties
Berne convention	1 January 1993
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 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Czechia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the Czechia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Czechia 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 Czechia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Czechia was formed on 1 January 1993 when Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved into Czechia and Slovakia.

Czechia has been a member of the Berne Convention since 1 January 1993, 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 Consolidated Version of Act No. 121/2000 Coll., on Copyright and Rights Related to Copyright and on Amendment to Certain Acts (the Copyright Act, as amended by Act No. 81/2005 Coll., Act No. 61/2006 Coll. and Act No. 216/2006 Coll.) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Czechia. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

WIPO also holds the text of Act of April 22, 2008, on Amendments to Act No. 121/2000 Coll., on Copyright and Rights Related to Copyright and on Amendment to the Copyright Act. This act relates to compensation and does not affect the definitions or durations of protection. Wikisource holds the Czech language consolidated version of the act as amended up to 2008.

General rules

Under the Consolidated Version of Act No. 121/2000 Coll. as amended up to 216/2006,

• Unless stipulated otherwise, economic rights run for the life of the author and 70 years after his death.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.27(1)]}
• If a work has been created as the work of joint authors, the period of duration of economic rights is calculated from the death of the last surviving author.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.27(2)]}
• Economic rights to an anonymous and pseudonymous work run for 70 years from the time when the work was lawfully made public, unless the identity of the author becomes known.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.27(3)]}
• Economic rights to a collective work run for 70 years from the time when the work was lawfully made public except where the authors are identified when the work is made accessible to the public; in such cases the economic rights run for the life of the author and 70 years after his death.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.27(3)]}
• Where the death of the author is not decisive for the calculation of the period of duration of economic rights, and where the work has not been made public within 70 years from its creation, the economic rights expire at the end of this period.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.27(4)]}
• The duration of economic rights to an audiovisual work is calculated from the death of the last surviving of the the director, author of screenplay, author of the dialogues and composer of the music specifically created for use in the audiovisual work.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.27(5)]}
• A work for which the period of duration of economic rights has expired may be utilised by anybody without any further provision.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.28(1)]}
• Whoever first makes public an unpublished work for which the economic rights have expired is entitled to economic rights for 25 years from making the work public.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.28(2-3)]}
• The period of duration of economic rights is calculated from the 1 January of the year after the year in which the event used for its calculation occurred.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.27(7)]}
• The economic rights of a performer run for 50 years from the creation of the performance. However, where a fixation of a performance is made public during this period; the rights of the performer shall not expire until 50 years from the time when such a fixation was made public.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.73]}

Not protected

Under the Consolidated Version of Act No. 121/2000 Coll. as amended up to 216/2006, copyright protection shall not apply to:

• An official work, such as a legal regulation, decision, public charter, publicly accessible register and collection of its documents, and also any official draft of an official work and other preparatory official documentation including the official translation of such work, Chamber of Deputies and Senate publications, a memorial chronicle of a municipality (municipal chronicles), a state symbol and symbol of a municipality, and any other such works where there is public interest in their exclusion from copyright protection.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.3(a)]}
• Creations of traditional folk culture, unless the real name of the author is commonly known and the works are anonymous or pseudonymous; such works may only be used in a way that shall not detract from their value.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.3(b)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-CzechGov}} – for public domain Czech official works, state symbols etc.
• {{Money-CZ}} – Czech currency
• {{PD-anon-70-CZ}} – for Czech public domain works that are 70+ years old and the author is unknown

Currency

OK. Common legal tender of Czechia is not subject to copyright as there is public interest in their exclusion from copyright protection.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.3(a)]} This does not necessarily apply to special-issue coins, such as precious-metal coins, commemorative coins, special editions of coins for collectors, etc.

Decree No. 274/2011 Coll. of 5 September 2011, consolidated as of 1 January 2017, defines the terms and conditions under which it is possible to reproduce banknotes and coins and to produce objects imitating them: For intangible reproductions of banknotes, it is required that their resolution not exceed 72 dots per inch and that they are marked with the word “specimen” printed diagonally in an opaque colour and in a layer that cannot be separated from the image of the banknote, with the length of the word being at least 75% of the longer side of the banknote and the height being at least 15% of the shorter side of the banknote (or with another word of the same dimensions and similar meaning). Intangible images of coins may always be produced. Tangible reproductions of banknotes and images have different conditions.

Please use {{Money-CZ}} for Czech currency images.

De minimis

Under the Consolidated Version of Act No. 121/2000 Coll. as amended up to 216/2006,

• Copyright is not infringed by anybody who uses a work incidentally, in connection with an intended primary use of another work or element.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.38c]}

Freedom of panorama

OK. {{FoP-Czech Republic}} Under the Consolidated Version of Act No. 121/2000 Coll. as amended up to 216/2006, Article 33: Use of a Work Located in Public Place says,

• Copyright is not infringed by anybody who records or expresses by drawing, painting, graphic art, photography or film a work permanently located on a square, in a street, in a park, on a public route or in any other public place; copyright shall likewise not be infringed by anybody who further uses a work so expressed, rendered or recorded. If possible, the name of the author (unless the work is an anonymous work) or the name of the person under whose name the work is being introduced in public, the title of the work and its location shall be indicated.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.33(1)]}
• The provisions of Paragraph (1) shall not apply to making a reproduction or imitation of a work of architecture in the form of erecting a building and to the reproduction and distribution of a work in the form of a three-dimensional reproduction.^{[121/2000–2006 Art.33(2)]}

The act itself does not explicitly define the meaning of the phrases “public space” (veřejné prostranství) and “permanently located” (trvale umístěno). As with all copyright exceptions, the use must fulfill the Berne three-step test. That is, this is a special-case exception, not a normal case. The uses allowed by this exception do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the rights holder.

Works located on streets, squares, in public parks etc. (a common interpretation includes also works which are visible from such places, although they aren't mentioned in the act) can be pictured freely. According to Telec's interpretation, the exception cannot be applied to e. g. parts of a building not visible from a public place, even if the building is generally visible.

With regard to the used term veřejné prostranství (public space) instead of veřejně přístupné místo (publicly accessible place) and the fact that the act use exterior examples only, some interpretations are that copyright exception does not apply to some (or all) types of interiors, such as shopping center interiors, waiting rooms, museums, galleries, concert halls etc., even if they are accessible to general public. Other authors perceive such places as private. However, the act itself does not distinguish or mention exteriors or interiors explicitly. Veřejné prostranství are more precisely defined in the Municipal Act (§ 34, 128/2000 Sb.) as "all squares, streets, markets, walkways, public vegetation, parks and other areas (prostory) accessible for everybody without restriction, thus serving to public use, disregarding ownership of this area." The Constitutional Court in their decision No. Pl. ÚS 50/03 presumed that areas which are made accessible only from the voluntariness of the owner or operator need not to fall under the term veřejné prostranství.

The spaciousness of the interior, a type of regulation of the public access (entrance fee zone, night closure, obligatory passability of the place etc.) and a purpose of the place can be relevant for the interpretation and application. There is lack of judicial precedents for more accurate distinction.

Enclosed parks which are publicly accessible in limited time (night closure) or conditioned by entrance fee can be disputable. However, as an example, the Prague Zoo declared repeatedly that its exteriors were public spaces when they argued that they were not eligible for a prohibition on smoking there. Romana Anděrová, an official speaker of the Prague Zoo, said: "A zoo is a public space, where smoking cannot be banned. Smoking is not allowed in pavilions and restaurants. Fortunately, the smoke does not penetrate to the animals, otherwise they would not like it." The zoological garden is a public space similar to Stromovka or other parks.

The exception is limited only to works permanently located in a public space. The word "permanently" was added to §33 during introduction of the European Parliament copyright directive. The directive contains a similar restriction. This means, according the explanatory report, that freedom of panorama is usually applied to three-dimensional artistic and architectonic works (sculptures, memorials, buildings, etc.) which are named as examples in the European Directive. However, the law text does not preclude or exclude application of the exception to two-dimensional works if all conditions are met. That is, it may apply to paintings permanently incorporated into a building facade, street art, permanent informational boards etc.

Temporary exhibitions etc. are not covered by the exception. The word "permanently" is generally understood as "for an indefinite period" and is not presumed that the work is really eternal and unremovable.

Stamps

Postal stamps of the Czech Republic (they are since 1993) are copyrighted 70 years after the author's death by both authors: an engraver and a graphic artist. They are not official works. Stamps are officially announced in Poštovní věstník (Postal bulletin, it is published at least since 2000) and texts in this bulletin is public domain but the stamps are copyrighted.

Threshold of originality

The work must be "a unique outcome of the creative activity of the author".^{[121/2000–2006 Art.2(1)]} For photographs and computer programs, it suffices if the work "is original in the sense that it is the author’s own intellectual creation".^{[121/2000–2006 Art.2(2)]}

See also

• Česko
• Category:Czech FOP cases
• Category:License tags of the Czech Republic
• Category:Stamps of the Czech Republic
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Czechoslovakia

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Copyright rules: Czechoslovakia Shortcut: COM:CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Photograph	Life + 10 years
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Other
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	~
Treaties
Berne convention	22 February 1921
Univ. Copyright Convention	6 January 1960

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Czechoslovakia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Czechoslovakia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the country of origin 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 Czechoslovakia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Czechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until its peaceful dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993.

Copyright rules were defined in the Act No. 35 of March 25, 1965 Concerning Literary, Scientific and Artistic Works (The Copyright Act), as modified and amended by the Act of March 28, 1990, No. 89 Coll. and by the Act of November 1, 1991 No. 468 Coll.

A work must be free in the successor state for it to be uploaded into Wikimedia commons. Act No. 35 was amended in the Czech Republic by the Act of December 8, 1993 No. 318 Coll. and by the Act of September 27, 1995, No. 237 Coll. In the Slovak Republic Act No. 35 was replaced by Act No.383 of 5 December 1997. Both countries have since enacted new copyright laws.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Czechoslovakia-old}} Works that come into the public domain fifty years after the death of the author, except published photographs which come into the public domain ten years after the death of the author.
• {{PD-Czechoslovakia-anon}} works first published without a claim of authorship in Czechoslovakia come into the public domain fifty years after publication

Currency

OK. There is a legal succession of "Česká národní banka" (ČNB) for all precursor institutes ("Státní banka československá" (SBCS), "Národní banka Československá" until 1919). Therefore, {{Money-CZ}} can be applied for Czechoslovakian currency of former times and money of the first Slovakian Republic too.

Freedom of panorama

The Czechoslovak copyright law (Act No. 35 of March 25, 1965 Concerning Literary, Scientific and Artistic Works) provided an adequate freedom of panorama at Section 15(2)(f): The author’s permission for the use of a work is not required and remuneration need not be paid by a person who...f) imitates a work of art, displayed in public premises, in another field of art, photographs of a thus displayed work of art may be reproduced and distributed also without the author’s permission.

The successor states Czech Republic and Slovakia also provide freedom of panorama; see Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Czech Republic#Freedom of panorama and Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Slovakia#Freedom of panorama for information.

Stamps

Postage stamps of Czechoslovakia (published in 1918-1939 and in 1945-1992) are copyrighted 70 years after the author's death by both authors: an engraver and a graphic artist. (see overview of artists) Stamps issued before 1922 are PD with exception of portrait of TGM and Dove. Between 1934-1939 are PD stamps engraved by Bohumil Heinz with some exceptions (non PD graphic artist).

See also

• Československo / Česko-Slovensko
• Category:Stamps of Czechoslovakia
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Czech Republic
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Slovakia

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

Copyright rules by territory

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
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