Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Consolidated list Eastern Europe

This page gives overviews of copyright rules in different countries of Eastern Europe, as defined in the United Nations geoscheme for Europe. It is "transcluded" from individual pages giving the rules for each country. The list may be used for comparison or maintenance.

Text transcluded from
COM:Belarus

Belarus

Copyright rules: Belarus Shortcut: COM:BELARUS
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 50 years
Other
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Belarus}} {{PD-BY-exempt}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	BLR
Treaties
Berne convention	12 December 1997
Univ. Copyright Convention	27 July 1991
URAA restoration date‌*	12 December 1997
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 Belarus relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Belarus must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Belarus 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 Belarus, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Belarus was annexed by Russia in 1795. It was occupied by Germany during World War I. Towards the end of the war, Belarus declared independence in 1918. In 1919 the country became a republic of the Soviet Union. During the break-up of the Soviet Union, Belarus again declared independence on 27 July 1990.

Belarus has been a member of the Berne Convention since 12 December 1997 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 of the Republic of Belarus No. 262-Z of May 17, 2011, on Copyright and Related Rights as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Belarus. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

According to the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 262-Z of May 17, 2011,

• Moral rights to works of science, literature and art are protected without limitation of time.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.20(1)]}
• The exclusive right to a work is valid during the author’s life and for 50 years after his/her death unless otherwise stipulated below.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.20(2)]}
• The exclusive right to an anonymous work or work made under a pseudonym is valid for 50 years from the moment of the first rightful disclosure of such work or 50 years from the moment of creation unless it was duly disclosed with the author’s consent within 50 years from its creation.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.20(3)]}
• The exclusive right to the work created in co-­authorship is valid during the life and for 50 years after death of the author who outlived the other co­authors.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.20(4)]}
• Calculation of the above durations starts from 1 January of the year following the year of occurrence of the legal fact that is the basis for calculating the duration.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.20(5)]}
• Termination of the period of validity of exclusive right to a work means transfer of such work to public domain. Works that have never been protected on the territory of the Republic of Belarus are deemed as transferred to public domain.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.21(1)]}
• Works transferred to public domain can be freely used by any individual or legal entity without payment of royalty. However, moral rights of the authors must be observed.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.21(2)]}

Not protected

According to the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 262-Z of May 17, 2011,

• The following are not deemed objects of copyright: official documents (legal acts, court decisions, other administrative and court documents, constituent documents of legal entities) and their official translations; State symbols of the Republic of Belarus (State Flag of the Republic of Belarus, State Emblem of the Republic of Belarus, State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus), symbols of state decorations of the Republic of Belarus (orders and medals), state signs (paper currency of the Republic of Belarus, post stamps and other signs), official heraldry symbols (flags, emblems of administration divisions of the Republic of Belarus, heraldry signs, colours, badges, emblems of state authorities etc.); works of folk art which authors are unknown.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.7(2)]}
• Copyright shall not cover ideas, methods, processes, systems, ways, conceptions, principles, discoveries, facts even if they are expressed, presented, explained or implemented in works.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.7(2)]}

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK, noncommercial only. According to the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 262-Z of May 17, 2011,

• Works of photography, architecture, fine arts can be visualized, broadcasted or cablecasted, and publicly transmitted in any other way if such works continuously remain at the place with free admission. Representation of such works shall not be the main object of visualization, broadcasting or by cablecasting or other public transmission and shall not be used for commercial purposes.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.32(7)]}

This only permits noncommercial representations, but noncommercial licensing is not accepted at Wikimedia Commons.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-BY-exempt}} – for formal documents (laws, judgements, other texts of legal, administrative and judicial nature), and also their official translations; state symbols and signs (flag, coat of arms, anthem, awards, banknotes and other signs); works of folk arts, authors of which are not known.
• {{PD-Belarus}} – for works 50 years after the author's (or last-surviving co-author) death or 50 years after the first legal publication of the work published under pseudonym or anonymously.

Currency

OK Belarusian currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.7(2)]}

Please use {{PD-BY-exempt}} for Belarus currency images.

Stamps

use {{PD-BY-exempt}}

According to the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 262-Z of May 17, 2011, "state symbols and signs (flag, coat of arms, anthem, awards, banknotes and other signs)" are not copyrightable.^{[262-Z/2011 Art.7(2)]} According to the Postage Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 258-З of December 15, 2003, "postage stamp is an official (state) sign of postage printed on paper and carrying an artwork, and inscriptions "БЕЛАРУСЬ", "BELARUS", year of issue (in Arabic letters) and a par value (in Arabic figures). The par value of postage stamp may be designated in letters."

See also

• Беларусь
• Category:Belarusian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Belarus
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Soviet Union

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

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COM:Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Copyright rules: Bulgaria Shortcut: COM:BULGARIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Collective	Publish + 70 years
Other
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-BG-exempt}} {{PD-BulgarianGov}} {{PD-BGMFA}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	BGR
Treaties
Berne convention	5 December 1921
Univ. Copyright Convention	7 June 1975
WTO member	1 December 1996
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 Bulgaria relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Bulgaria must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Bulgaria 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 Bulgaria, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire for many years. The Principality of Bulgaria became an autonomous state after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. On 5 October 1908 Bulgaria declared its independence as the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

Bulgaria has been a member of the Berne Convention since 5 December 1921, the Universal Copyright Convention since 7 June 1975, the World Trade Organization since 1 December 1996 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 Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights (as amended up to 2011) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Bulgaria. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

Under the Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights (as amended up to 2023),

• Copyright shall be protected for the life of the author and 70 years after his death.^{[2023 Article 27(1)]}
• In the case of works created by two or more authors the term specified in para 1 shall run from the death of the last surviving author.^{[2023 Article 27(2)]}
• Copyright in anonymous or pseudonymous work shall expire 70 years after the work has been first made available to the public.^{[2023 Article 28]}
• Copyright in a film or other audio-visual work shall expire 70 years after the death of the last surviving among the director, the scriptwriter, the operator, the author of the dialogue and the author of the music if it has been created especially for the film.^{[2023 Article 29]}
• Copyright in encyclopaedias, periodicals and other works shall expire seventy years after making them available to the public. Where the author is disclosed, Article 27 applies.^{[2023 Article 30]}

The terms defined above begin on the first of January of the year following the year of the death of the author or in which the work was created, made available to the public or published, as applicable.^{[2023 Article 31]}

Not protected

The following are not considered subject matter of copyright:^{[2023 Article 4]}

1. normative and individual acts of state administration bodies, acts of courts, as well as their official translations;
2. ideas and concepts;
3. works of folklore;
4. news, facts, information and data.
5. materials obtained by reproduction of works referred to in Art. 5 - 10 with an expired term of copyright.

In particular, this applies to various documents, e.g. certificates, issued by units of the Bulgarian armed forces, including historical ones, like the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps (MAVC). In these cases it is advisable to use appropriate “author” templates if such exist, e.g. {{Author-MAVC}} for MAVC.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-BG-exempt}} – for works exempt from copyright under Bulgaria law.
• {{PD-BulgarianGov}} – for government works exempt from copyright under Bulgaria law.
• {{PD-BGMFA}} — for works published on the website of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• {{President.bg}} — for works published on the website of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Currency

 Not OK. The Bulgarian National Bank requires written permission for reproduction of Bulgarian banknotes and coins of all emissions in physical or electronic form.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK, non-commercial uses only of images of permanent works in public spaces. {{NoFoP-Bulgaria}}. Under the Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights (as amended up to 2011):

• Art. 24. (amend. - SG 77/02, in force from 01.01.2003) (1) Without consent of the owner of the copyright and without payment of compensation shall be permissible:
  • 7. use of works, permanently exhibited at streets, squares and other public places without mechanical contact copying, as well as wireless broadcasting or transmitting by cable or other technical device, if done with informatory or other non-commercial purpose.^{[2011 Article 24(7)]}

Notes:

1. Please tag Bulgarian no-FoP deletion requests: <noinclude>[[Category:Bulgarian FOP cases/pending]]</noinclude>
2. "Copyright protection expires 70 years after the death of the original author (who is defined as the creator or designer) here. On January 1st of the following year (ie. January 1 of the 71st year), freely licensed images of the author's 3D works such as sculptures, buildings, bridges or monuments are now free and can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. The lack of Freedom of Panorama is no longer relevant here for states with no formal FOP since the author's works are now copyright free."

See also

• България
• Category:Bulgarian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Bulgaria

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: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:Hungary

Hungary

Copyright rules: Hungary Shortcut: COM:HUNGARY
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Collective	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Hungary}} {{PD-HU-exempt}} {{PD-HU-unknown}} {{PD-user-hu}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	HUN
Treaties
Berne convention	14 February 1922
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 Hungary relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Hungary must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Hungary 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 Hungary, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Hungary has been a member of the Berne Convention since 14 February 1922, 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 Act No. LXXVI of 1999 on Copyright (consolidated text of July 16, 2015) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Hungary. WIPO holds the Hungarian text of this law in their WIPO Lex database, with an autotranslate facility. The Hungarian National Legislative Library holds the consolidated text as of February 2019.

Durations

Under the Act No. LXXVI of 1999, updated to 2019,

• Copyright is protected in the author's life and for 70 years after his death.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.31(1)]}
• The 70-year period of protection is calculated from 1 January of the year following the death of the author, in the case of joint works, from 1 January of the year following the death of the last deceased partner.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.31(2)]}
• If the identity of the author cannot be established, the term of protection is 70 years from the first day of the year following the first publication of the work.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.31(3)]}
• In the case of several partially published works, the year of the first publication shall be calculated in parts.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.31(4)]}
• The term of protection of a jointly created work is 70 years from 1 January of the year following the first publication of the work.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.31(5)]}
• The term of protection for cinematographic works is calculated from 1 January of the year following the death of the last deceased person, whether or not they are co-authors: the director of the film, the screenwriter, the author of the dialogue and the author of music composed for the film production.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.31(6)]}
• If the term of protection is not calculated from 1 January of the year following the death of the author or the last deceased co-author, and the work is not made public within 70 years from the first day of the year following its creation, the work longer qualifies for copyright protection.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.31(7)]}
• Legal protection applies when a publisher lawfully discloses a previously unpublished work whose copyright has expired. The duration of this protection is 25 years from 1 January of the year following the first publication.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.32]}

Not protected

Under the Act No. LXXVI of 1999, updated to 2019, the following works do not enjoy copyright protection:

• Laws, other legal instruments of public administration, court or authority decisions, official or other official communications and documents, and standards and other similar provisions made by law.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.1(4)]}
• Facts or daily news that are the basis for press releases.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.1(5)]}
• An idea, principle, concept, procedure, operating method, or mathematical operation.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.1(6)]}
• The expression of folklore. This provision does not affect the copyright protection of the author of an individual, original work inspired by folk art.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.1(7)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Hungary}} – for works when a work public domain is in Hungary
• {{PD-HU-exempt}} – for works not eligible for copyright in Hungary.
• {{PD-Coa-Hungary}} – for official coats of arms of Hungarian cities.
• {{PD-HU-unknown}} - for anonymous works published before 1943
• {{PD-redsludge-hu}} – by photos taken by a staff photographer of the Hungarian Government and is part of the Ajka red sludge accident photo series
• {{PD-user-hu|username}} – for works released into the public domain by their creators when the creators are Hungarian Wikipedia users.

Currency

OK. The Hungarian National Bank (MNB) issued an exemplary decree, which permits reproductions of all forms of Hungarian banknotes and coins in a way which they cannot be misidentified as original, with the most important factor being the usage of the same material as the original. This essentially lifts the counterfeiting restriction from digital copies, without limits (since anyone in possession of a banknote could create a high-quality digital reproduction at ease).

Moreover, they have released a license to allow free usage (unless restricted by the aforementioned anti-counterfeiting decree) of the banknotes they possess direct copyright.This covers most banknotes created since 1983. For all other notes and coins you should still have to locate the author and ask specifically for license, which is not impossible, but tough. In most cases the Magyar Nemzeti Bank is the copyright holder.

The {{HU banknote}} template should be used on recent banknotes. The copyright status for designs of coins should be researched individually. Out-of-copyright banknotes and coins can use {{PD-old}}.

Freedom of panorama

OK. {{FoP-Hungary}} Under the Act No. LXXVI of 1999, updated to 2019, if a fine art, architectural or applied art creation is erected with a permanent character outdoors in a public place, a view of it may be made and used without the authorization of the author and paying remuneration to them.^{[LXXVI/1999-2019 Art.68(1)]} Please note that – as determined in this deletion request – "fine art, architectural or applied art" does not include photographs, maps and text (e.g. content of informational boards) and thus FOP does not apply to them.

Stamps

Stamps of Hungary are probably not in the public domain. Although Hungarian copyright law denies copyright protection for "means of state direction" (Act No. LXXVI. of 1999], I.4), the recommendation by the Council of Copyright Experts rejects a similar arguments for banknotes and suggests that "means of state direction" applies to specific, "official" uses of a work. The same logic is presumed to apply to stamps as well. Assume copyrighted until general term of protection expires.

Also refer to Commons talk:Stamps/Public domain#Hungary and Commons:Undeletion requests/Archive/2013-10#File:1888 Kodaly 500.jpg

Threshold of originality

OK

• stylized text with a common stylized globe icon (does not show the actual image).

 Not OK

• Sulinet Expressz logo

See also

• Magyarország
• Category:License tags of Hungary
• Category:Stamps of Hungary

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:Moldova

Moldova

Copyright rules: Moldova Shortcut: COM:MOLDOVA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Applied art	Create + 25 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works made to be located permanently in public places
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Moldova}} {{PD-MD-exempt}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	MDA
Treaties
Berne convention	2 November 1995
WTO member	26 July 2001
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 Moldova relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Moldova must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Moldova 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 Moldova, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

The eastern part of the Principality of Moldavia, known as Bessarabia, was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire in 1812. After the Russian Revolution, the territory was recovered by Romania. In 1940, Bessarabia was captured by the USSR and split into the Ukrainian SSR and the newly formed Moldavian SSR within the Soviet Union. In 1990 the territory on the east of the Dneister river unilaterally broke away as Transnistria. Moldova declared independence on 27 August 1991.

Moldova has been a member of the Berne Convention since 2 November 1995, and the World Trade Organization since 26 July 2001 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. 139 of July 2, 2010, on Copyright and Neighboring Rights (as amended by Law No. 212 of July 29, 2016) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Moldova. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. The 2010 law superseded the Law on Copyright and Related Rights No.293-XIII of 23.11.1994.^{[139/2010-16 Art.69]} The law was retroactive: the provisions of Article 23 (Durations) of the 2010 Law also apply to works whose term of protection calculated according to the provisions previously in force had expired.^{[139/2010-16 Art.70]}

On 9 October 2022, the new Law No. LP230/2022 of 28.07.2022 on Copyright and Related Rights (English text, Romanian text, Russian text) came into force. In accordance with Article 122(3) of the new law, Law No. 139 of July 2, 2010 is repealed.

General rules

Under the former Moldova Law. Art. 17. (Law no. 1268-XV), a file first published in the USSR of Moldova was in the public domain if it met either of the following conditions:

• It is a photographic or cinematographic work and fifty years have passed since the year of its production.
• It is another type of work and fifty years have passed since the year of the creator's (if known) death.

Under Law No. 139 of 2010 as amended in 2016,

• The economic rights in relation to works other than works of applied art are protected for the life of the author and for 70 years after his death, computed from 1 January of the year following that of his death, unless otherwise provided below.^{[139/2010-16 Art.23(1)]}
• Copyright in audiovisual works is protected for 70 years from 1 January of the year following that of the death of the last surviving joint author: a) the principle director; b) the author of the scenario (the scriptwriter); c) the author of the dialogue; d) the composer – the author of the musical work (with or without words) created specifically for such audiovisual work.^{[139/2010-16 Art.23(2)]}
• The term of protection of a musical composition with words expire 70 years after the death of the last to survive of the author of the lyrics and the composer of the musical composition, provided that both were specifically created for the respective musical composition with words.^{[139/2010-16 Art.23(2')]}
• Copyright in anonymous or pseudonymous works, except for works of applied art, is protected for 70 years from 1 January of the year following that of the legal publishing of the work. If the author of an anonymous or pseudonymous work reveals his identity or if it becomes evident during that period, the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) apply.^{[139/2010-16 Art.23(3)]}
• Copyright in works of joint authorship, except for works of applied art, are protected for the life of each joint author and for 70 years from 1 January of the year following that of the death of the last surviving joint author.^{[139/2010-16 Art.23(4)]}
• For the term of copyright in collective works provisions of paragraphs (1) and (3) of the present Article apply.^{[139/2010-16 Art.23(5)]}
• Copyright in works of applied art is protected for 25 years from its creation, except the industrial designs and models unregistered in compliance with the Law on the protection of the industrial designs and models, created for industrial purposes of reproduction and subject to a 3-year protection from creation.^{[139/2010-16 Art.23(7)]}

The copyright protection terms introduced by Law No. 139 of July 2, 2010 remain virtually the same in Law No. 230/2022 of 28.07.2022 on Copyright and Related Rights. The provisions are now at Article 12 of the new law.

Not protected

Under Law No. 139 of 2010 as amended in 2016, copyright protection does not extend to:^{[139/2010-16 Art.8]}

• legal acts, other administrative, political or judicial acts (laws, court decisions), or to the official translations thereof;
• state emblems and official signs (flags, armorial bearings, decorations, monetary signs, etc.);
• folklore expressions;
• daily news and facts of simple informational nature.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-MD-exempt}} – for official documents (laws, court decisions, etc.) or to the official translations thereof, state emblems and official signs (flags, armorial bearings, decorations, monetary signs, etc.), folklore expressions, daily news and facts of simple informational nature.
• {{PD-Moldova}} – Moldovan or Soviet work first published in USSR or Moldova and in the public domain because its copyright has expired: photographic or cinematographic work and fifty years have passed since the year of its production, or another type of work and fifty years have passed since the year of the creator's death.

Currency

OK Moldova currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 8 of Law on Copyright and Related Rights of Moldova.

Please use {{PD-MD-exempt}} for Moldova currency images.

Freedom of panorama

Under Law No. 230/2022 of 28.07.2022 on Copyright and Related Rights,

• The reproduction, broadcasting, communication to the public and making available to the public of the following acts shall be permitted without the consent of the author or rightholder and without payment of any remuneration in the following cases:... h) use of works, such as works of architecture or sculpture, intended for permanent location in public places;^{[230/2022 Art.57(h)]}

Prior to July 2010, there were commercial restrictions on such works similar to those of the Soviet Union, but an amendment (part of Law No. 139 of 2010) removed that restriction.

Free reproduction of artistic works (including commercial purposes) is:

• OK for architecture and sculptures made to be located permanently in public places; per article 57(h)
•  Not OK for sculptures not made to be located permanently in public places
•  Not OK for paintings, drawings, engravings or photographs.

Please use {{FoP-Moldova}} to tag images from Moldova which meet Freedom of Panorama conditions.

Stamps

use {{PD-MD-exempt}}.

According to the law on Copyright of the Republic of Moldova no. 293-XIII of 23 November 1994 (Amended by Law no. 1268-XV, of 25 July 2002) Article 7. refers to "State emblems and official signs (flags, armorial bearings, decorations, monetary signs, etc.)" as Works Not Protected by Copyright. The Moldovan Postal Law No. 36 from 29 April 2016 defines postal stamp as "printed valuable sign issued and put into circulation exclusively by the state as an attribute of its sovereignty".

See also

• Moldova
• Category:Moldovan FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Moldova
• Category:Stamps of Moldova
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Transnistria
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Soviet Union

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:Poland

Poland

Copyright rules: Poland Shortcut: COM:POLAND
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-Polish}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	POL
Treaties
Berne convention	28 January 1920
WTO member	1 July 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	23 March 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 Poland relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Poland must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Poland 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 Poland, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Poland has been a member of the Berne Convention since 28 January 1920, the World Trade Organization since 1 July 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 23 March 2004.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Act of February 4, 1994, on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up Act of September 25, 2015) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Poland. WIPO holds the Polish language text of the law as of 2015 with an automatic translation tool in their WIPO Lex database. The act was retroactive, and reinstated copyright that had expired.^{[1996–2016 Art.124(3)]}

Wikisource has an English translation of the original 1994 law. Wikisource also has a Polish-language version as of 2016. Tomasz Rychlicki provides information on some Polish copyright cases on his blog.

General rules

Under the Consolidated 1994 Polish Copyright Law as of 2016,

• Except as specified otherwise below, copyright expires 70 years from the author's death, or from the last surviving co-author's death with works of joint authorship.^{[1996–2016 Art.36(1)]}
• For anonymous or pseudonymous works copyright expires 70 years from date of first being made public, unless the pseudonym does not leave any doubts as to the author's identity or the author disclosed his identity.^{[1996–2016 Art.36(2)]}
• For work to which copyrights are entitled by law to a person other than the author, copyright lasts 70 years from the date of being made public, or from the date of creation if it was not made public in this period.^{[1996–2016 Art.36(3)]}
• For in an audiovisual work, copyright lasts 70 years from the death of the last survivor of the the main director, author of the script, author of dialogues and composer of music composed for the audiovisual work.^{[1996–2016 Art.36(4)]}
• For a musical work with words, if the words and music were composed specifically for this work, copyright lasts for 70 years from the death of the last survivor of the author of the words and composer of the music.^{[1996–2016 Art.36(5)]}
• The duration of copyright is counted in full years following the year in which the event occurred on which the duration is based.^{[1996–2016 Art.39]}

Retroactive changes

Poland extended its copyright term to 50 years after the death of the author (or 50 years after publication for anonymous works) on May 23, 1994, and then to 70 years on January 1, 2003.

This means that on the URAA date of January 1, 1996, the shorter term of 50 years was still valid. However, some of these works then became re-copyrighted in 2003 within Poland (and later the European Union) as the term extension explicitly also applied to works on which the copyright had already expired.

For photographs, the situation was different:

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

Not protected

Under the Consolidated 1994 Polish Copyright Law as of 2016, copyright protection does not cover:^{[1996–2016 Art.4]}

1. normative acts and drafts thereof as well as official documents
2. official documents, materials, signs and symbols;
3. published patent or protection descriptions;
4. simple press information.

However in some instances the use of an image published by the government in Poland might be regulated by other laws. It is being debated if postage stamps and banknotes fall into this category. (See: {{PD-Polishsymbol}})

According to 2016 court decision photographs of maps, documents, medals, memorial plates do not enjoy their own copyrights.

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

Additionally all content published on www.gov.pl is under Creative-Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Poland}} – for public domain Polish photographs published in Poland without a copyright notice prior to May 23, 1994.
• {{PD-Polishsymbol}} – for public domain Polish government documents, materials, signs and symbols.
• See also non-PD Polish copyleft license tags: {{PolishSenateCopyright}}, {{PolishPresidentCopyright}}

Currency

 Not OK. Polish National Bank requires written permission for reproduction of Polish banknotes and coins which are legal tender on the territory of the Republic of Poland in physical or electronic form.

• Discussion that resulted in the deletion of Polish money images from Commons

Freedom of panorama

OK. {{FoP-Poland}} (exterior only)

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

Stamps

According to Article 4, case 2 of the Polish Copyright Law Act of February 4, 1994 "normative acts and drafts thereof as well as official documents, materials, signs and symbols are not subject to copyrights". Such materials should use {{PD-Polishsymbol}}. Unfortunately it is unclear if Polish stamps and banknotes are considered official materials, signs or symbols by Polish law. In 2009 about 900 files with Polish stamps were deleted (see Commons talk:Stamps/Archive 1#Polish stamps are copyrighted for the discussion).

Threshold of originality

Per Tomasz Targosz (Institute of Intellectual Property Law, Jagiellonian University Kraków):

Polish copyright law has quite a long tradition of setting the threshold rather low, which may encourage frivolous lawsuits forcing courts to ponder whether simple graphic designs, short lines of text or even names should or should not be protected by copyright law.

See also

• Commons:Reuse of PD-Art photographs
• Polska
• Category:License tags of Poland
• Category:Polish FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of Poland
• User:Piotrus/PolishCopyright

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:Romania

Romania

Copyright rules: Romania Shortcut: COM:ROMANIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Common licence tags	{{PD-Romania}} {{PD-RO-1956}} {{PD-RO-photo}} {{PD-RO-exempt}} {{PD-user-ro}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	ROU
Treaties
Berne convention	1 January 1927
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 Romania relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Romania must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Romania 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 Romania, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Romania has been a member of the Berne Convention since 1 January 1927, 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 Law No. 8 of March 14, 1996 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Romania. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. The 1996 law was not retroactive:

• Legal acts concluded under the former legislation shall produce all their effects according to that legislation, with the exception of clauses that provide for the transfer of the utilization rights in any future works that the author might yet create.^{[8/1996 Art.149(1)]}
• The duration of the economic rights in works created by authors deceased before the entry into force of this Law and for which the term of protection, calculated according to the procedures of the prior legislation, has not expired shall be extended up to the limit of the term provided for in this Law. Such extension shall come into effect only since the entry into force of the present law.^{[8/1996 Art.149(3)]}

General rules

Under Law No. 8 of March 14, 1996 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights,

• The economic rights last for the author’s lifetime, and after his death for 70 years, regardless of the date on which the work was legally disclosed to the public.^{[8/1996 Art.25(1)]}
• The person who, after the copyright protection has expired, legally discloses for the first time a previously unpublished work enjoys protection for 25 years from the first legal disclosure to the public.^{[8/1996 Art.25(2)]}
• The term of the economic rights in works legally disclosed to the public under a pseudonym or without a mention of the author’s name is 70 years from the date on which they were disclosed to the public.^{[8/1996 Art.26(1)]}
  • Where the author’s identity is revealed to the public before the term mentioned above expires, or the pseudonym used by the author leaves no doubt about his identity, the provisions of Article 25 (1) shall apply.^{[8/1996 Art.26(2)]}
• The term of the economic rights in works of joint authorship shall be 70 years from the death of the last surviving co-author.^{[8/1996 Art.27(1)]}
  • Where the contributions of the co-authors are distinct, the term of the economic rights in each such contribution shall be 70 years from the death of the author thereof.^{[8/1996 Art.27(2)]}
• The term of the economic rights in collective works shall be 70 years from the date of disclosure of the works. Where disclosure does not occur for 70 years following the creation of the works, the term of the economic rights shall expire 70 years after the said creation.^{[8/1996 Art.28]}
• The terms above are calculated from 1 January of the year following the author’s death or the date on which the work was disclosed to the public, as the case may be.^{[8/1996 Art.32]}

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

The 1923 law had a copyright term of 30 years after the author's death if heirs existed, the 1956 law had a general term of 50 years after the author's death or 50 years from publication for works created by a legal entity. Shorter terms in the 1956 law existed for authors of entries in encyclopedias and dictionaries (20 years from publication), and for photographers (5 years from publication for individual artistic photos, 10 years for a series of such). These terms were not extended by the new law for works that were already in the public domain, putting the work of any author who died before January 1st, 1946 in the public domain. However, it's been more than 70 years since then, so newer works may also be in the public domain.

Not protected

Under Law No. 8 of March 14, 1996 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, the following shall not benefit from the legal protection accorded to copyright:^{[8/1996 Art.9]}

(a) ideas, theories, concepts, scientific discoveries, proceedings, functioning methods or mathematical concepts as such and inventions, contained in a work, whatever the manner of the adoption, writing, explanation or expression thereof;

(b) official texts of a political, legislative, administrative or judicial nature, and official translations thereof;

(c) official symbols of the State, public authorities and organizations, such as armorial bearings, seals, flags, emblems, shields, badges and medals;

(d) means of payment;

(e) news and press information;

(f) simple facts and data.

Also, the photographs of letters, deeds, documents of any kind, technical drawings and other similar papers do not benefit from protection.^{[8/1996 Art.85(2)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-RO-exempt}} – for: (a) the ideas, theories, concepts, scientific discoveries, procedures, working methods, or mathematical concepts as such and inventions, contained in a work, whatever the manner of the adoption, writing, explanation or expression thereof; (b) official texts of a political, legislative, administrative or judicial nature, and official translations thereof; (c) official symbols of the State, public authorities and organizations, such as armorial bearings, seals, flags, emblems, shields, badges and medals; (d) means of payment; (e) news and press information; (f) simple facts and data; (g) the photographs of letters, deeds, documents of any kind, technical drawings and other similar papers.
• {{PD-RO-photo}} – for: (a) photographs series taken before 1986; (b) photographs taken before 1991.
• {{PD-RO-1956}} – for: (a) encyclopedias, dictionaries, corpora issued before 1976; (b) artistic photographs series taken before 1986; (c) artistic photographs taken before 1991.
• {{PD-Romania}} – for: works which have expired in Romania prior to 1996 (usually prior to 1946) under the terms specified in the 1956 law
• {{PD-user-ro|username}} – for works released into the public domain by their creators when the creators are Romanian Wikipedia users.

Currency

OK Article 9(d) of the Romanian copyright law of March 14, 1996 excludes means of payment from copyright.

Use {{PD-money-Romania}} to tag reproductions of Romanian currency.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK, non-commercial only. Under Law No. 8 of March 14, 1996 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights,

• The following uses of a work already disclosed to the public shall be permitted without the author’s consent and without payment of remuneration, provided that such uses conform to proper practice, are not at variance with the normal exploitation of the work and are not prejudicial to the author or to the owners of the exploitation rights:^{[8/1996 Art.33(1)]}
• ... the reproduction, to the exclusion of any means involving direct contact with the work, distribution or communication to the public of the image of an architectural work, work of plastic art, photographic work or work of applied art permanently located in a public place, except where the image of the work is the main subject of such reproduction, distribution or communication, and if it is used for commercial purposes;^{[8/1996 Art.33(1)(f)]}

Wikimedia Commons does not allow content that is restricted to non-commercial uses only, see Commons:Licensing#Acceptable licenses for more information.

Note

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

Stamps

use {{PD-RO-exempt}}.

According to the Romanian Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights Law no. 8/1996 of 14 March 1996 with further amendments Chapter 3 Article 9 "means of payment" shall not benefit from the legal protection accorded to copyright; therefore images of stamps are deemed to be in the public domain. Further, the Romanian law on postal services from 6 March 2013 defines postal stamp as "paper of value issued and put into circulation exclusively under the authority of the state, as an attribute of its sovereignty", implying that Romania postal stamps are "official symbols of the State, public authorities and organizations", which are not protected by the Romanian copyright.

See also

• România
• Category:Romanian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Romania
• Category:Postage stamps of Romania

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:Russia

Russia

Copyright rules: the Russian Federation Shortcut: COM:Russia
Durations
Standard	Life + 70(74) years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Posthumous	Publish + 70(74) years
Other
Terms run to year end	yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-RusEmpire}} {{PD-Russia-expired}} {{PD-Russia-1996}}
Treaties
Berne convention	13 March 1995
Univ. Copyright Convention	27 May 1973
WTO member	22 August 2012
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	9 February 2009
*‌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 Russian Federation relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Russia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the Russian Federation 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 Russia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

The Russian Federation has been a member of the Berne Convention since 13 March 1995, the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 5 February 2009 and the World Trade Organization since 22 August 2012.

Since January 1, 2008, intellectual property rights are regulated by Part IV of the Civil Code and the Implementation act for Part IV of the Civil Code. This new law replaced all previous IP laws in Russia. The same law applies to the works from the former Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR, 1917-1991, the main republic of the Soviet Union, 1922-1991), because the Russian Federation is the direct legal successor of the RSFSR since 1991 (when the RSFSR was renamed to the Russian Federation). Copyrights of works originating from other 14 former Soviet republics may be claimed by the corresponding post-Soviet states.

Durations

According to article 1256 of Book IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation No. 230-FZ of December 18, 2006, a work is non-copyrighted in Russia if it was published on territory of the Russian Empire (Russian Republic) except for territories of the Grand Duchy of Finland and Congress Poland before 7 November 1917 and was not re-published for 30 days following initial publications on the territory of Soviet Russia or any other states.

According to article 1281 of Book IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation No. 230-FZ of December 18, 2006 and articles 5 and 6 of Law No. 231-FZ of the Russian Federation of December 18, 2006 (the Implementation Act for Book IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), a work is in the public domain in Russia if:

• The author died:
  • (a) before January 1, 1950 or
  • (b) between January 1, 1950 and January 1, 1954, did not work during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) and did not participate in it.
• The work was originally published anonymously or under a pseudonym:
  • (a) before January 1, 1943 and the name of the author did not become known during 50 years after publication, counted from January 1 of the year following the year of publication, or
  • (b) between January 1, 1943 and January 1, 1954, and the name of the author did not become known during 70 years after publication, counted from January 1 of the year following the year of publication.
• The work is a film (a video fragment or a single shot from it):
  • (a) which was first shown before January 1, 1943 or
  • (b) which was created by legal entity between January 1, 1929 and January 1, 1954, provided that it was first shown in the stated period or was not shown until August 3, 1993.
• The work is an information report (including photo report), which was created by an employee of TASS, ROSTA, or KarelfinTAG as part of that person’s official duties between July 10, 1925 and January 1, 1954, provided that it was first released in the stated period or was not released until August 3, 1993.

If the author was subjected to repression and rehabilitated posthumously, countdown of copyright protection is to begin not from the death date, but from the rehabilitation date. If the work was first published posthumously, the copyright term is counted from the date of that first publication, unless the author was later rehabilitated, in which case it runs again from that later rehabilitation date.

Before 2008 Russian copyright legislation was based on the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (1993) and copyright term was 50(54) years. In 2004 copyright term was extended to 70(74) years non-retroactively, and then in 2008 70(74) years term became retroactive (if 50 years term had not been expired till January 1, 1993).

Copyright tags

PD tags

See also: PD Russia license tags

Since January 1, 2008, intellectual property rights are regulated by Russian law 230-FL of 2006: Part IV of the Civil Code, together with the Russian law 231-FL of 2006: Implementation act for Part IV of the Civil Code. This new law replaced all previous IP laws in Russia.

• In general, {{PD-Russia}} applies.
• {{PD-RusEmpire}} for works that was published on territory of the Russian Empire (Russian Republic) except for territories of the Grand Duchy of Finland and Congress Poland before 7 November 1917 and wasn't re-published for 30 days following initial publications on the territory of the Soviet Russia or any other states.
• {{PD-Russia-1996}} - This work is in the public domain both in Russia and USA because:
  • The author died before January 1, 1942.
  • The author died between January 1, 1942 and January 1, 1946, did not work during the Great Patriotic War (Eastern Front of World War II) and did not participate in it.
  • The work was originally published anonymously or under a pseudonym before January 1, 1943 and the name of the author did not become known during 50 years after publication.
  • The work was originally published anonymously or under a pseudonym between January 1, 1943 and January 1, 1946, and the name of the author did not become known during 70 years after publication.
  • The work is non-amateur cinema or television film (or shot, or fragment from it), which was first shown between January 1, 1929 and January 1, 1946.
• {{PD-RU-exempt}} for state symbols and signs (flags, armorial bearings, decorations, monetary signs and other State symbols and official signs) of Russian Federation.
• {{PD-Brockhaus&Efron}} – for images from the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (1890–1907).

For works first published not only in the RSFSR but in one of the other SSRs too, or simultaneously in various republics of Soviet Union, see the corresponding successor state of the Soviet Union. For instance, for a Soviet work first published in the Ukrainian SSR, see the entry Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Ukraine:Copyright tags. ({{PD-Ukraine}}, in this case.)

Creative Commons tags

• License tags of Russia

Currency

OK Russian currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 1259(6) of Part IV of the Civil Code of Russia (which covers intellectual property rights). Drafts for such items, however, are copyrighted by their authors. When a public body adopts such a draft and turns it into an official symbol, the resulting official symbol is not copyrighted and may be reproduced without mentioning the original author(s) of the draft. (See article 1264.)

Monetary items were already excluded from copyright in the 1993 legislation, which was in effect until the end of 2007. See article 8 of the 1993 law, as amended in 2004.

Please use {{PD-RU-exempt}} for images of Russian currency.

Freedom of panorama

• OK for buildings: {{FoP-Russia}}
• OK for works of garden design: {{FoP-Russia}}
•  Not OK for artwork, including sculptures: {{NoFoP-Russia}}

Article 1276 of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states:

• Free Use of Work Permanently Situated in Places Open for Free Attendance
  1. It is allowed without the consent of the author or other right holder and without paying a fee to reproduce and distribute produced copies, to transmit on air or through a cable, to bring to public knowledge works of fine arts or photographic works which are permanently located in a public place, except if the image of the work is the main object of use or the image of a work is used for the purpose of deriving profit.
  2. It is allowed to freely use by way of reproduction and distribution of produced copies, transmission on air or through a cable, bringing to public knowledge in the form of images the works of architecture, town-planning and landscape arts located in a public place or visible from that place.

The FoP exceptions for works of architecture, urban development, and garden and landscape design, which were added under consultation with Wikimedia Russia, have taken effect with the Civil Code amendments as of October 1, 2014.

Concerning non-architectural artwork, there is still a copyright exception for non-commercial use, but non-commercial use only is not allowed on Commons and unfortunately, we don't have sufficient number of court decisions to clarify the situation.

• An important court decision states that the copying of a showcase photo is not a creation of a 3D-object in 2 dimensions. See discussion at Commons:Форум/Архив/2010#Судебное решение о фотографиях трёхмерных объектов.
• A recent court case (2019–21) regarding a Yekaterinburg sculpture used commercially by a postcard company concluded in the Supreme Court, which overturned the decisions of the lower courts and returned the case to the court of first instance that denied the sculptor's copyright infringement claim. The latter court ruled that the monument was only reproduced in one of the postcards in a set, making it not the main subject of the entire postcard set.

Before January 1 2008, freedom of panorama was regulated by the similar (but not the same) article 21 of Copyright Law of Russia.

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

It is not clear if copyrighted buildings in Crimea are subject to the Russian or the more restrictive Ukrainian law. Following the Commons precautionary principle, images of knowingly unfree Crimean buildings should not be uploaded to Commons. See Commons:Village_pump/Copyright/Archive/2014/09#Buildings_in_Crimea. Nevertheless, photographic work created in Crimea before February 19, 1954 is the subject of the Russian law.

Stamps

use {{PD-RU-exempt|stamps}}

Pursuant to Article 1259.6 of Part IV of the Civil Code (No. 230-FZ) of the Russian Federation dated 8 December 2006, official symbols and signs (flags, emblems, orders, banknotes, and the like), as well as symbols and signs of municipal formations are not copyrighted. Pursuant to Article 2 of Federal Law No. 176-FZ of the Russian Federation On Postal Service dated July 17, 1999, official signs of postage include "postage stamps and other signs put on mail that give evidence that postage has been paid".

Article 1.1 of Official Postage Signs and Special Postmarks Regulations, put into force on 26 May 1994 by Order 115 of the Ministry of Communication of the Russian Federation, defines the official postage signs concretely and labels postage stamps, souvenir and miniature sheets, stamped envelopes, and postal stationery cards as the postage signs. Even works still under copyright can be used by the Russian post, without altering the copyright status of the work used.

A copyrighted painting can be used on an envelope or such and {{PD-RU-exempt}} will apply, without turning the painting into a Public Domain work. Prerequisite is that the Russian post acquired permission from the copyright-holder. We can safely assume that the Russian post has come to an agreement with the copyright-holder of such work.

Tuva stamps

use {{PD-RU-exempt}}.

From 1921 to 1944, Tuva constituted a sovereign, independent nation under the name of Tannu Tuva, officially, the Tuvan People's Republic, or the People's Republic of Tannu Tuva. The independence of Tannu Tuva, however, was recognized only by its neighbors: the Soviet Union and Mongolia. Since 1944 Tuva has been part of the Russian Federation.

Threshold of originality

Automatic camera works

use {{PD-RU-exempt-autocam}}

OK A photowork or a videowork made by automatic camera (Russian: автоматическая камера, not to be confused with automated camera: автоматизированная камера) is not the subject of copyright, because such work is made by technical tool without creative human activity. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Part 80 of Session Resolution No. 10 of April 23, 2019 on Application of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Examples

• Any photowork or videowork made by automatic camera for administrative violation record (for example, by automatic camera for driving offense record). The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Part 80 of Session Resolution No. 10 of April 23, 2019 on Application of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Simple creative works

 Not OK Simple result of creative work (creative human activity) is copyrightable. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Part 80 of Session Resolution No. 10 of April 23, 2019 on Application of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Examples

• Simple black square as geometric shape is uncopyrightable as itself. However Black Square by Kazimir Malevich was copyrightable because this painting was the result of creative work in recognized art style - suprematism, and it is in Public Domain because of copyright term expiry, not because of result simplicity.

Logos

 In doubt There is no clear precedent in Russian courts for the threshold of originality for simple logos.

Signatures

OK. Signature used for expression of will, for identification, or in similar cases is a legal or technical tool, it is not work of science, literature, or art, so it is not copyrightable.
 Depend on case. Signature used for other purposes can be protected depending on its creativity.

See also

• Russia
• Category:License tags of Russia
• Category:Russian FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of Russia
• Category:Stamps of Tuva
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Soviet Union

Citations

Text transcluded from
COM:Slovakia

Slovakia

Copyright rules: Slovakia Shortcut: COM:SLOVAKIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-SlovakGov}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	SVK
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 Slovakia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Slovakia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Slovakia 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 Slovakia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Slovakia was formed on 1 January 1993 when Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Slovakia 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 Act No. 185/2015 Coll. on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended by Act No. 125/2016 Coll.) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Slovakia. WIPO holds an English-language version of the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. Slov-Lex holds the text in Slovak.

General rules

Under Act No. 185/2015 Coll. as amended by Act No. 125/2016 Coll,

• Economic rights run from the moment of creation of the work for the life of the author and 70 years after his death.^{[125/2016 Section 32(1)]}
• In case of co-authorship, economic rights run for the life of the last surviving from the co-authors and for 70 years after his death.^{[125/2016 Section 32(1)]}
• Where an audiovisual work is created as a work of co-authorship, economic rights run for the life of the last surviving from the director, script author, dialogues author and author of music created especially for this work and 70 years after his death.^{[125/2016 Section 32(1)]}
• Rights to an unpublished work run for 25 years after releasing the work.^{[125/2016 Section 32(2)]}
• For pseudonymous and anonymous works, economic rights run for 70 years after its lawful releasing. If it was not released within 70 years after its creation, economic rights expire after elapsing of this period.^{[125/2016 Section 32(3)]}
• Where a work was created for an employer and was released without indication of name of the author, economic rights run for 70 years after its lawful releasing. If it was not released within 70 years after its creation, economic rights expire after elapsing of this period.^{[125/2016 Section 32(4)]}
• Where a musical work is merged with a literary work, which were originally created in order to be merged, economic rights with respect to these works run for the life of the last surviving author of these works and 70 years after his death.^{[125/2016 Section 32(5]}

The period of protection of economic rights expires upon the last day of the calendar year in which the period of protection of economic rights has elapsed.^{[125/2016 Section 32(7)]}

Not protected

The following are not subject to copyright:^{[125/2016 Section 5]}

• Text of legislation, a decision of public authority or a court decision, technical standard, including draft materials and translations thereof
• Land-use planning documents
• State symbol, municipality symbol, symbol of self-governing region; this does not apply to a work which formed the basis for creating of such symbol,
• Speech presented in discussions on public affairs
• Daily news: information on events or circumstances. A work discussing daily news is not considered daily news
• Work of traditional folk culture

Copyright tags

• {{PD-SlovakGov}} – for public domain Slovak official works, public documents, etc.

Currency

 Not OK. The Slovak National Bank does not provide information about copyright on images of currency. Some third parties, such as shops, have been granted permission to deal with Slovakian currency. Slovakia has used the Euro since 2009. See COM:CRT/European Union Currency for more information.

Freedom of panorama

OK {{FoP-Slovakia}} Under Act No. 185/2015 Coll. as amended by Act No. 125/2016 Coll,

• Copyright is not infringed by a person who without authorisation of its author uses the work permanently situated in public places by making copies, communication to the public or public distribution by transfer of title.^{[125/2016 Section 41(1)]}
• The above does not apply to making a copy of architectural work by means of building.^{[125/2016 Section 41(2)]}

See also

• Slovensko
• 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:Transnistria

Transnistria

Limited international recognition

Location of Transnistria

Transnistria is an unrecognized state which split off from Moldova in 1990 after the dissolution of the USSR. The region is considered by the United Nations to be part of Moldova.

Presumably for Commons purposes the laws of Moldova would be considered to apply.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-PMR-exempt}} This tag may be added where applicable to works originating in Transnistria. The file should also be free under the laws of Moldova.

See also

• Category:Transnistria
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Moldova

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:Ukraine

Ukraine

Copyright rules: Ukraine Shortcut: COM:UKRAINE
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Ukraine}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	UKR
Treaties
Berne convention	25 October 1995
WTO member	16 May 2008
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 Ukraine relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Ukraine must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Ukraine 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 Ukraine, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

In the past, Ukraine was controlled at different times in whole or part by Kievan Rus', Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Austria. After World War I, Ukraine became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December 1922. During the dissolution of the USSR, on 24 August 1991 the Ukrainian parliament adopted the Act of Independence.

Ukraine has been a member of the Berne Convention since 25 October 1995, the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 6 March 2002 and the World Trade Organization since 16 May 2008.

As of 2023 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed "Law of Ukraine No. 2811-IX of December 1, 2022, on Copyright and Related Rights" as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Ukraine. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. The law repeals the "Law of Ukraine No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993, on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to October 27, 2016)" and its successor "Law No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993, on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to April 26, 2017)", both of which are also available in the WIPO database.

General rules

Under Law No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993 as amended up to April 26, 2017),

• Copyright in a work arises from the fact of its creation and takes effect from the date of creation.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.28(1)]}
• Copyright is valid throughout the life of the author and for 70 years after his death, except as provided below.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.28(2)]}
• For works published anonymously or under a pseudonym, copyright expires 70 years after the work was released. If the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to the identity of the author or the author is revealed no later than 70 years after the publication of the work, copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.28(3)]}
• Copyright in collaborative works is valid for life and 70 years after the death of the last co-author.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.28(4)]}
• Copyright in works of posthumously rehabilitated authors is valid for 70 years after their rehabilitation.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.28(6)]}
• Copyright in a work first published within 30 years after the author's death is valid for 70 years from the date of its lawful publication.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.28(7)]}
• Persons who first publish an unpublished work after its copyright protection expires enjoy protection for 25 years from the time when the work was first published.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.28(8)]}
• Calculation of the terms of copyright starts from 1 January of the year following the relevant event.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.28(9)]}

Copyright protection under the 1993 act applied to all works where the copyright had not expired before the act became effective.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Final.4]} A Ukrainian or Ukrainian SSR work is in the public domain in Ukraine if it was published before 1 January 1951, and the creator (if known) died before that date. This is the effect of the copyright term extension from 50 to 70 years in 2001.

A Ukrainian or Ukrainian SSR work that is in the public domain in Ukraine according to this rule is in the public domain in the U.S. only if it was in the public domain in Ukraine before 1 January 1996, e.g. if it was published before 1 January 1946 and the creator died before this date, and no copyright was registered in the U.S. This is the combined effect of the retroactive 1993 law, Ukraine's joining the Berne Convention in 1996, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.

Not protected

Under Law No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993 (as amended up to April 26, 2017), protection does not extend to:^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.10]}

• Daily news or current events that constitute regular press information
• Works of folk art (folklore);
• Official documents issued by government authorities of a political, legislative or administrative nature (laws, decrees, regulations, court decisions and state standards, etc.) and their official translations;
• State symbols of Ukraine, government awards; symbols and signs of government, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations; symbols of territorial communities; symbols and signs of enterprises, institutions and organizations;
• Banknotes;
• Timetables of vehicles, broadcasts, schedules, telephone directories and other similar databases that do not meet the originality criteria.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Ukraine}} is in effect towards works first published before January 1, 1951, and the creator (if known) died before that date). This is the effect of the retroactive Ukrainian copyright law of 1993 and the copyright from 50 to 70 years in 2001.). The final conclusion is #.4 in Chapter VI Ukrainian Copyright Law:

#.4. It shall be established that as from the day on which this Law enters into force, the terms of copyright protection, stipulated in Article 28 of this Law and parts 1 and 2 of Article 44 of this Law, shall apply in all cases where the 50-year period of copyright validity after the author's death or the period of validity of related rights has not expired prior to the date of entry into force of this Law.

A Ukrainian or Soviet work that is in the public domain in Ukraine according to this rule is in the public domain in the U.S. only if it was in the public domain in Ukraine in 1995, e.g. if it was published before 1945 and the creator died before that year, and no copyright was registered in the U.S. This is the combined effect of the retroactive Ukrainian copyright law, Ukraine's joining the Berne Convention in 1995, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.

• {{PD-UA-exempt}} for daily news or details of current events that constitute regular press information; works of folk art (folklore); official documents of a political, legislative or administrative nature (laws, decrees, resolutions, court awards, State standards, etc.) issued by government authorities within their powers, and official translations thereof; State symbols of Ukraine, government awards; symbols and signs of government authorities, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations; symbols of territorial communities; symbols and signs of enterprises, institutions and organizations; bank notes; transport schedules, TV and radio broadcast schedules, telephone directories and other similar databases that do not meet the originality criteria and to which the sui generis right (a particular or special right) is applicable. Also for representation of an civil award or decoration of the government of Ukraine.
• {{PD-UAGovDoc}} for official documents of a political, legislative or administrative nature (laws, decrees, resolutions, court awards, State standards, etc.) issued by government authorities within their powers, and official translations thereof.
• {{PD-UAGov-Money}} for unit of currencies issued by Ukraine.
• {{PD-UAexMilitary}} for works of a Ukrainian military or Ministry of Defense if it is symbol or sign of government authorities, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations.

Currency

OK Ukrainian currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 10 of Copyright law of Ukraine.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.10(e)]}

Please use {{PD-UAGov-Money}} for Ukrainian currency images.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK, non-profit use only. {{NoFoP-Ukraine}}

A freedom of panorama exception was added in the Law of Ukraine No. 2811-IX of December 1, 2022, on Copyright and Related Rights, under Article 22(10). It is now permissible "creation of images of works of architecture and fine arts permanently located in places accessible to the public on the street, provided that such actions do not have independent economic value."

The condition "provided that such actions do not have independent economic value" seems to imply that images of such works in public spaces should not be made for the purpose of making profit. Regardless of the clarity of the condition, it still does not fit the licensing requirements of Wikimedia Commons, which only allows content that is licensed for any uses, including commercial uses. Non-commercial content is not allowed. See also Commons:Village pump/Copyright/Archive/2023/05#NEW copyright law of Ukraine.

Before 2023, Law of Ukraine No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993, on Copyright and Related Rights (with latest version from 2017) did not contain a freedom of panorama exception. It is claimed, though, that article 21(4) of the old law implied some kind of "freedom of panorama" (claim was repeated here):

• ...it shall be permitted without the consent of the author (or other copyright holder) and with mandatory indication of the author's name and of the source of borrowing: ... to reproduce, in order to highlight current events by means of photography or cinematography, to carry out public notification or other public communication of the works seen or heard in the course of such events to the extent justified by the informational purpose.^{[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.21(4)]}

This, however, is limited to "informational purposes" and to "current events". It is not general freedom of panorama but a "fair use"-like provision for news reporting.

Indeed, four separate court rulings during 2007–09 affirmed the lack of commercial freedom of panorama in Ukraine, all involving exploitations of Vasyl' Borodai's (1917–2010) 1982 sculpture Monument to the Founders of Kyiv by four different entities during late 1990s and early 2000s. According to Shtefan (2019), "all these cases went to trial and in each case the courts came to the conclusion that the author's rights were not respected." (article, page 23)

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

However, there's also a consensus that utilitarian buildings such as the New Safe Confinement (cf. a 2021 deletion request) are not considered copyrightable.

Stamps

use {{PD-UA-exempt}}.

According to the Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine on Copyright and Related rights, all Ukrainian stamps are in the public domain. They are defined as "state signs" in the Law of Ukraine On Postal Service (4 October 2001) :

• Postage stamp means a state sign manufactured according to the procedure set forth by legislation, with specified face value and state, serving as the tool of payment for postal services provided by the national operator.

See also

• Україна
• Category:License tags of Ukraine
• Category:Stamps of Ukraine
• Category:Ukrainian FOP cases
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Soviet Union

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