Commons:Unprotected works/Asia
This page gives overviews of rules for unprotected works in different countries or territories of Asia. These are works that by their nature do not qualify for copyright protection. The rules are "transcluded" from individual page sections giving the rules for each territory.
Countries of Asia
COM:NOP Afghanistan
Afghanistan
No information available
COM:NOP Armenia
Armenia
- The following works not subject to copyright: a) works of folklore and folk art; b) information about the news of the day or current events and facts; c) official documents - legal acts, contracts and their official translations; d) state symbols and signs (flags, emblems, orders, bank notes and so on); e) political speeches, speeches made during the trial; f) results obtained by technical means without human creative activity.[2013 Article 4.1]
- Copyright does not apply to scientific discoveries, ideas, principles, methods, procedures, concepts, systems, processes, scientific theories, mathematical formulas, statistical diagrams, rules of the game, even if they are expressed, described, disclosed, covered in works.[2013 Article 4.2]
COM:NOP Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
The following items are not objects of copyright:
- Official documents (laws, court decisions, other texts of legislative, administrative or judicial character) and their official translations;
- State emblems and official signs (flags, arms, anthems, orders, monetary signs and other State symbols and official signs);
- Folk creativity (folklore) expressions ;
- News of day, data about various events and the facts of information character.[636-IVQD/2013 Article 7]
COM:NOP Bahrain
Bahrain
Protection is not accorded to: (a) Mere ideas, procedures, working methods, mathematical concepts, principles, discoveries or data, (b) Legislation, judgements and judicial decrees, the judgement of arbitrators, decisions issued by administrative committees possessing judicial prerogatives, international treaties and all other official documents and official translations thereof, (c) News of current affairs when of a purely informative nature. Nevertheless, collections of the above elements do enjoy protection if creativity exists in the selection or arrangement of the contents.[22/2006 Article 4]
COM:NOP Bangladesh
Bangladesh
No information available
COM:NOP Bhutan
Bhutan
Protection does not apply to any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof.[2001 Section 7]
COM:NOP Brunei
Brunei
No information available
COM:NOP Cambodia
Cambodia
The following works shall not have under any protection by this law: a- Constitution, Law, Royal Decree, Sub-Decree, and other Regulations; b- Proclamation (Prakas), decision, certificate, other instructed circulars issued by state organizations; Court decision or other court warrants; d- translation of the materials mentioned in the preceding paragraphs; e- Idea, formality, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data, even if expressed, described, explained or embodied in any work.[2003 Article 10]
COM:NOP 中国 / 中國
China
According to the 2020 Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, this Law shall not be applicable to: (1) laws, regulations, resolutions, decisions and orders of state organs; other documents of legislative, administrative or judicial nature; and their official translations; (2) simple factual information; and (3) calendars, numerical tables, forms of general use and formulas.[2020 Art.5]
COM:NOP Cyprus
Cyprus
No information available
COM:NOP East Timor
East Timor
No information available
COM:NOP Egypt
Egypt
No information available
COM:NOP Georgia
Georgia
Under the Copyright Laws as of 2017, "The following shall not be protected by copyright: a) official documents (legislative acts, court decisions, other texts of administrative and regulatory nature), as well as their official translations; b) official state symbols (flags, coats-of-arms, anthems, rewards, banknotes, other state symbols and insignia); c) information about facts and events".[2112-IIS/2017 Article 8]
COM:NOP India
India
No information available
COM:NOP Indonesia
Indonesia
2014 Copyright Law is based on Dutch law and retains the same distinction between works with "no copyright" and works that may be used "without infringement of Copyright".
According to Article 42, the following works have no copyright: result of open meetings of State institutions; laws and regulations; State speeches or speeches of government officials; court decisions or judge provisions; scriptures or religious symbols. These works are in the public domain and should be tagged with {{PD-IDNoCopyright}}.
According to Article 43, Acts that are not considered as Copyright infringements include:
- Publication, Distribution, Communication, and/or Reproduction of State emblems and national anthem in accordance with their original nature; [28/2014 Article 43(a)]
- Any Publication, Distribution, Communication, and/or Reproduction executed by or on behalf of the government, unless stated to be protected by laws and regulations, a statement to such Works, or when Publication, Distribution, Communication, and/or Reproduction to such Works are made. [28/2014 Article 43(b)]
- Taking of actual news, either in whole or in part from a news agency, Broadcasting Organization, and newspaper or other similar sources provided that the source is fully cited; [28/2014 Article 43(c)]
- Production and distribution of the Copyrighted content through information technology and communication media that are not commercial and/or lucrative for the Author or related parties, or the Author expresses no objection to the manufacture and dissemination in question. [28/2014 Article 43(d)]
- Reproduction, Publication, and/or Distribution of Portraits of the President, Vice President, former Presidents, former Vice Presidents, National Heroes, heads of State institutions, heads of ministries/non-ministerial government agencies, and/or the heads of regions by taking into account the dignity and appropriateness in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations. [28/2014 Article 43(e)]
These works may be uploaded to Commons and tagged with {{PD-IDGov}}. However, please note that it has not been determined if modifications or derivatives can be made to works enumerated in Article 43 (Please read the Commons discussion on the issue here).
COM:NOP Iran
Iran
No information available
COM:NOP Iraq
Iraq
Under the 1971 law the following are not protected:[3/1971 Art. 6]
- Anthologies of poetry, prose, music and other collections, without prejudice to the rights of the author of each work.
- Collections of works that have fallen into the public domain.
- Collections of official documents such as texts of laws, regulations, international agreements, judicial rulings, and other official documents.
The aforementioned group enjoys protection if it is distinguished due to innovation, arrangement, or any other personal effort that deserves protection.
COM:NOP Israel
Israel
- Copyright in a work as stated in section 4 [original works which are literary works, artistic works, dramatic works or musical works, sound recordings] shall not extend to any of the following, however it shall extend to their expression: (1) Ideas; (2) Procedures and methods of operation; (3) Mathematical concepts; (4) Facts or data; (5) News of the day.[2007-2011 Sec.5]
- Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4, copyright shall not subsist in statutes, regulations, Knesset Protocols and judicial decisions of the courts or of any other government entities having judicial authority according to law.[2007-2011 Sec.6]
- Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4, copyright shall not subsist in "designs" as defined in the Patents and Designs Ordinance unless the design is not used, nor intended for use in industrial manufacture.[2007-2011 Sec.7]
COM:NOP Japan
Japan
Under the Copyright Act (Act No. 48 of May 6, 1970, as amended up to Act No. 35 of May 14, 2014) the following are not eligible for copyright.[35/1970-2014 Art. 13]
- the Constitution and other laws and regulations;
- public notices, instructions, circular notices and the like issued by organs of the State or local public entities, incorporated administrative agencies ... or local incorporated administrative agencies ...;
- judgments, decisions, orders and decrees of courts, as well as rulings and judgments made by government agencies in proceedings of a quasi-judicial nature;
- translations and compilations prepared by organs of the State or local public entities, incorporated administrative agencies or local incorporated administrative agencies of [any of] the materials listed in the preceding three items.
COM:NOP Jordan
Jordan
Under the Copyright Protection Law 22 of 1992, as amended up to 2005, there is no copyright protection for laws, regulations, judicial decisions, administrative committee decisions, international agreements and other official documents and translations of these works; news published, broadcast or delivered publicly; and works that have become public property.
National folklore is considered public property.[22/2014 Article 7]
COM:NOP Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
The following shall not be copyright objects: 1) official documents (laws, court decisions, other texts of legislative, administrative,
judicial, and diplomatic nature), and their official translations; 2) state emblems and signs (flags, emblems, decorations, banknotes, and other state symbols and signs); 3) works of folklore; 4) messages about events and facts which are of informational nature.[419/2015 Article 8]
COM:NOP Kuwait
Kuwait
The protection prescribed in accordance with the provisions of this Law shall not apply to the following:[75/2019 Article 4]
- Ideas, procedures, working methods, methods of operation, concepts of mathematics, principles, abstract facts, discoveries and data, even if expressed, described or described in a workbook.
- Official texts of a legislative, administrative or judicial nature os well as their translation.
- Daily news or events that are just press information.
- Heavenly books and lines used in writing (drawing) and recitation and recording recitation.
- Speeches as well as pleadings during judicial proceedings.
- Single words, short phroses, lists of components, symbols and familiar designs. Protection shall apply to the sum of the foregoing if its collection is characterized by innovation in ranking, display or classification without the protection of the content provided.
COM:NOP Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Law No. 6 as of 2017 states that the following works are not subject to copyright[2017 Article 8]:
- Official documents (laws, regulations, decisions, etc.), as well as their official translations;
- Official symbols and signs (flags, emblems, medals, monetary signs, etc.);
- Works of folk art;
- Regular press information that constitute the daily news or information on current events;
COM:NOP Laos
Laos
The following are ineligible for copyright protection: 1. News of the day or miscellaneous facts having the character of mere items of press information; 2. Ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such; 3. Official texts of a legislative, administrative and legal nature, and official translations of such texts.[38/NA/2017 Article 94]
COM:NOP Lebanon
Lebanon
The following shall be excluded from the protection provided by this Law: laws, legislative decrees, decrees and decisions issued by all public authorities and official translations thereof; judicial decisions of all kinds and official translations thereof; speeches delivered in public assemblies and meetings. The authors of speeches and presentations shall enjoy the sole right of collecting and publishing such lectures and presentations; ideas, data and abstract scientific facts; artistic folkloric works of all kinds. However, works inspired by folklore shall enjoy protection.[75/1999 Article 4]
COM:NOP Malaysia
Malaysia
No information available
COM:NOP Maldives
Maldives
Under the The Copyright & Related Rights Act (Law 23 of 2010), no protection shall extend to: (a) any idea, procedure, system, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data, even if expressed, described, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work; and (b) any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation of such documents.[23/2010 Section 6]
COM:NOP Mongolia
Mongolia
Under the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended on May 6, 2021), Article 7 (Works not protected by copyright)[1], the following are not protected by copyright:
- legislation, administrative norm acts, and other legal acts[2021 Article 7.1.1]
- decisions and official documents of state administrative authorities and legal entities[2021 Article 7.1.2]
- court decisions, judgments, decrees, judge's ordinance, speech at court hearings[2021 Article 7.1.3]
- official translations of the aforementioned documents[2021 Article 7.1.4]
- state emblems, coat of arms, flags, government awards, orders, medals, currency and other payment instrument[2021 Article 7.1.5]
- news and information which transmit the simple facts and data created for the purpose of reporting the current events and results[2021 Article 7.1.6]
- ideas, operating methods, operations, scientific discoveries, theories, abstract concepts and mathematical theorems.[2021 Article 7.1.7]
COM:NOP မြန်မာပြည်
Template:မြန်မာပြည်
Commons:Copyright rules by territory/မြန်မာပြည်
COM:NOP Nepal
Nepal
Copyright protection under this Act shall not be extended to any thought, religion, news, method of operation, concept, principle, court judgment, administrative decision, folksong, folktale, proverb and general data despite the fact that such matters are expressed or explained or interpreted or included in any work.[8/2002 Section 4]
COM:NOP North Korea
North Korea
- Documents for state management, current news or information data shall not be the object of copyright unless commercial purpose is pursued.[1532/2006 Article 12]
- A "work whose publication, issuance, performance, broadcasting, show and exhibition is prohibited" is not protected by copyright.[1532/2006 Article 6]
COM:NOP Oman
Oman
No information available
COM:NOP Pakistan
Pakistan
No information available
COM:NOP Philippines
Philippines
No protection shall extend to any idea, procedure, system, method or operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data as such, even if they are expressed, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work; news of the day and other miscellaneous facts having the character of mere items of press information; or any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof.[8293/2015 Section 175]
COM:NOP Qatar
Qatar
The protection provided by this Law shall not cover the following works:
- laws, legal provisions, administrative decisions, international treaties, official documents or any official translation thereof.[7/2002 Article 4(1)]
- daily news and other news of mere informatory nature.[7/2002 Article 4(2)]
- ideas, procedures, operational methods, mathematical concepts, principles and mere data.[7/2002 Article 4(3)]
COM:NOP Russia
Russia
No information available
COM:NOP Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Under the Copyright Law (M/41 of 30 August 2003), protection does not cover the following[M/41/2003 Art. 4]:
- Laws and Judicial judgments, decisions of administrative bodies, international agreements and all official documents, as well as the official translations thereof, subject to the provisions concerning the circulation of these documents.
- Daily news or news-like events that are published in newspapers, magazines, periodicals, or broadcasts.
- Ideas, procedures, work methods, concepts of mathematical sciences, axioms and abstract facts.
COM:NOP Singapore
Singapore
No information available
COM:NOP South Korea
South Korea
Under the Copyright Act (Act No. 432 of January 28, 1957, as amended up to Act No. 17588 of December 8, 2020), works that fall under any of the following are not protected by copyright.[3916/1987–2020 Article 7]
- Constitution, laws, treaties, orders, ordinances and rules
- Public notices, announcements, orders, and other similar matters by the State or local governments
- Judgment, decision, order and trial or administrative trial procedure of the court, other resolutions, decisions, etc. through similar procedures
- Compilation or translation of those stipulated in subparagraphs 1 through 3, prepared by the State or local government
- News reports that only convey facts
COM:NOP Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Under Sri Lanka's Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003,
- Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 6 and 7, no protection shall be extended under this Part (a) to any idea, procedure, system, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data, even if expressed, described, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work; (b) to any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof; (c) to news of the day published, broadcast, or publicly communicated by any other means.[36/2003 Section 8]
COM:NOP Syria
Syria
Under Legislative Decree No. 62/2013, there is no protection for[62/2013 Art. 4]:
- Ideas, procedures, methods of work, mathematical concepts, principles, abstract facts, discoveries and data, but protection applies to the innovative expression of any of them.
- Heavenly books except their designs and style of writing and recordings of recitations.
- Laws, regulations, judicial decisions, arbitral tribunal rules, international agreements, administrative decisions and other official documents and official translations thereof.
- News and other events that are characterized as mere press information.
COM:NOP Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Under the the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to 2009), the following are not covered by copyright: official documents (laws, court decisions, other texts of legislative, administrative and judicial nature), as well as their official translations; state symbols and signs (flag, coat of arms, anthem, the Order, the national currency and other public signs); communications concerning events and fact of informational nature; works of folklore.[2009 Article 7]
COM:NOP Thailand
Thailand
The following are not deemed copyright works:
- News of the day and facts having the character of mere information, not being works in the literary, scientific or artistic fields;[2537/1994 Sec.7(1)]
- The constitution and legislation;[2537/1994 Sec.7(2)]
- Regulations, bylaws, notifications, orders, explanations and official correspondence of the Ministries, Departments or any other government or local units;[2537/1994 Sec.7(3)]
- Judicial decisions, orders, decisions and official reports;[2537/1994 Sec.7(4)]
- Translations and collections of the materials referred to above, made by the Ministries, Departments or any other government or local units.[2537/1994 Sec.7(5)]
COM:NOP Türkiye
Turkey
The reproduction, distribution, adaptation or exploitation in any other form of laws, bylaws, regulations, notifications, circulars and court decisions that have been officially published or announced is permitted.[5846/1951 Article 31]
COM:NOP Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Under Law No. 257-IV of January 10, 2012, works not subject to copyright are:[2012 Article 7]
- Official documents (laws, court decisions, other texts of a legislative, administrative and judicial nature), as well as their official translations;
- State symbols and signs (flag, emblem, anthem, awards, banknotes and other state symbols and signs);
- Folk art (expressions of folklore);
- Messages about events and facts that have an informational nature.
COM:NOP United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
Under Federal Law No. 7 of 2002 protection does not extend to:
- Mere ideas, procedures, methods of work, mathematical understandings, principles, and abstract facts, but extends to creative expression in any of them.[7/2002 Article 3]
- Official documents, whatever their original language or the language they are translated to, such as the texts of laws, regulations, decisions, international agreements, judgments, arbitrators’ awards and the decisions of the administrative committees having judicial competence.[7/2002 Article 3(1)]
- News, events and current facts, which constitute merely media news.[7/2002 Article 3(2)]
- Works transferred to public property.[7/2002 Article 3(3)]
COM:NOP Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
The following are not objects of copyright: official documents (laws, regulations, decisions, etc.), as well as their official translations; official symbols and signs (flags, emblems, orders, banknotes, etc.); Folk products; reports on current events daily news or messages that are regular press information.[LRU-476/2018 Article 8]
COM:NOP Vietnam
Vietnam
The following subject matters are not protected by copyright:[50/2005 Article 15]
- News of the day as mere items of press information. This means short, daily information, short news, factual figures which are informative but not creative in nature.[Decree No. 17/2023 Article 8(1)][2]
- Legal documents, administrative documents and other documents in the judicial domain and official translations of these documents.
- Legislative documents include:[3][80/2015 Article 4]
The system of Vietnam's legislative documents
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- "Administrative documents" include regulations, announcements, guidelines, programs, plans, projects, reports, contracts, memorandums, agreements, invitations, sick leave, etc.[6][7] These are issued by governmental agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-profession-political organizations, social organizations, socio-profession organizations, and people’s armed forces.[Decree No. 17/2023 Article 8(2)]
- Processes, systems, operation methods, concepts, principles and data.
- Procedures are sequences of actions which must be complied with in order to carry out tasks;[Decree No. 17/2023 Article 8(3)(a)]
- A system is a combination of factors, units of the same types or functions that are closely connected or correlated and create a unified form;[Decree No. 17/2023 Article 8(3)(b)]
- Methods are ways of studying, perceiving natural phenomena and social life;[Decree No. 17/2023 Article 8(3)(c)]
- Concepts are thoughts reflecting overview of real things and phenomena and how they are connected;[Decree No. 17/2023 Article 8(3)(d)]
- Principles are basic, general rules that govern a series of phenomenon; important initial thoughts or theories and starting points for further development of other theories.[Decree No. 17/2023 Article 8(3)(đ)]
Note that the term "document" (translated from Vietnamese term văn bản) here means "written information communicated by means of language or sign"[7][Decree 30/2020 Article 3] and hence does not include images, logos or emblems of any kind. The official format of an administrative document includes signature and seals,[Decree 30/2020 Article 8] so it is assumed that signatures on government papers should be in the public domain.
However, Decree No. 18/2014/ND-CP said "Collectors and correctors of works, suppliers of works, documents and materials that are paid remuneration by agencies or organizations using the publications, including: Documents of state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations and economic organizations, and translations of these documents". And "royalties and remuneration shall be included in the costs of publications".[Decree 18/2014 Article 12][8]
The State's intellectual property policies are "not to protect intellectual property objects which are contrary to social ethics and public order and prejudicial to defense and security".[36/2009 Article 8(1)]
COM:NOP Yemen
Yemen
Yemeni works not protected:[15/2012 Article 5]
- Ideas, procedures, work methods, operations modes, concepts, principles and data even if expressed or described or clarified or inserted in a work.
- Official documents such as laws, regulations, government decisions texts of laws, government decisions, regulations, judicial verdicts, international agreements, all official documents and their official translations.
- The news about incidents or events which are merely media descriptive material.
- Works that have fallen into the public domain.
Limited recognition
COM:NOP Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Under the 2006 Law on Copyright and Related Rights the following are not objects of copyright[2006 Art.8]:
- official documents (laws, court decisions, other texts of legislative, administrative and judicial nature), as well as their official translations;
- state symbols and signs (flags, emblems, orders, bank notes and other state symbols and signs);
- works of folk art;
- messages about events and facts of informational nature.
COM:NOP 中華民國
Taiwan
According to the Copyright Act as amended on 15 June 2022, The following items shall not be the subject matter of copyright, to which {{PD-ROC-exempt}} applied:[2022 Art.9]
- The constitution, acts, regulations, or official documents.
- Translations or compilations by central or local government agencies of works referred to in the preceding subparagraph.
- Slogans and common symbols, terms, formulas, numerical charts, forms, notebooks, or almanacs.
- Oral and literary works for news reports that are intended strictly to communicate facts.
- Test questions and alternative test questions from all kinds of examinations held pursuant to acts or regulations.
The term "official documents" in the first subparagraph of the preceding paragraph includes proclamations, text of speeches, news releases, and other documents prepared by civil servants in the course of carrying out their duties.[2022 Art.9]
According to Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO)[9][10][11][12], symbols, seals, flags, or emblems that are formulated according to law are not subject to copyright protection under Article 9.
COM:NOP Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus
No information available
COM:NOP فلسطين / Palestine
Palestine
No information available
COM:NOP South Ossetia
South Ossetia
No information available
Other territories
COM:NOP Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
No information available
COM:NOP British Indian Ocean Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
No information available
COM:NOP Hong Kong
Hong Kong
No information available
COM:NOP Macau
Macau
According to Decree-Law No. 43/99/M of August 16, 1999, on the Regime of Copyright and Related Rights (as amended by Law No. 5/2012 of April 10, 2012), the following are not subject to protection: a) The news of the day and the reports of various events for the sake of simple information,
in any case disclosed; (b) applications, claims, complaints and other documents submitted in writing or orally before public authorities or services; c) The texts presented and the speeches delivered to assemblies or other bodies collegiate, political and administrative matters, or in public debates on matters of common interest; d) Political speeches.[43/99/M/2012 Article 5.1]
Official works do not enjoy protection. Official texts, among others, are the texts of conventions, laws, regulations and reports or decisions of any authorities, as well as their translations.[43/99/M/2012 Article 6]
partly located in Asia
Some citation text may not have been transcluded
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