Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Libya

Copyright rules: Libya Shortcut: COM:LIBYA
Durations
Standard	Life + 25 years and publish + 50 years
Photograph	Publish + 5 years if limited to mere transmission of scenery
Anonymous	Publish + 25 years
Posthumous	Life + 50 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	No
Common licence tags	{{PD-Libya}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	LBY
Treaties
Berne convention	28 September 1976
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

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

Background

Libya was under Ottoman rule until 1911, when it became an Italian colony. From 1943 to 1951, Libya was under British/French occupation. Libya became independent as a kingdom in 1951.

Libya has been a member of the Berne Convention since 28 September 1976.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 9 for 1968 Issuing the Copyright Protection Law as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Libya. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. A copy is also held in Wikisource.

Another source, written by IP firm Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property on Mondaq claims that copyright is governed by Law No. 7 of 1984, which is based on Law No. 9 of 1968. According to the source, protection is valid for the lifetime of the author plus a period of 50 years and in order for a work to be protected, the work must be deposited at a "Copyright Protection Office" at the Ministry of Culture & Information within one month of its publication in Libya, or the entry of the work into Libya prior to distribution of 20 copies. Law No. 7 of 1984 is also mentioned by the United States Department of State in an investment climate statement.. However, Law No. 7 of 1984 is a law on depositing binders that are prepared for publication, not on copyright.

Durations

Note: Libya is a party to the Berne Copyright law in 1976, which requires life + 50 years copyright length, however the provisions are only required to be implemented for foreign works, and Libya is not obligated to increase the duration of their own works.

According to Libyan Law No. 9 of 1968,

• Financial utilization rights expire 25 years after the death of the author, provided that the total period of protection shall not be less than 50 years as from the date of first publication of the work.^{[9/1968 Article 20]}
• However, for photographic and cinematic works which are limited to the mere mechanical transmission of scenery, such rights shall expire 5 years from the date of first publication of the work.^{[9/1968 Article 20]}
• The period of protection for joint works of art is calculated from the date of death of the last surviving author.^{[9/1968 Article 20]}
• If the author is a legal public or private entity, the financial utilization rights expire 30 years from the date of first publication of the work.^{[9/1968 Article 20]}
• The financial utilization rights of works of art published anonymously and under a pseudonym expire 25 years after publication of the work, unless the author's identity is revealed within this period^{[9/1968 Article 21]}
• The protection period for works of art published for the first time after the author's death expires 50 years after his death.^{[9/1968 Article 22]}

Privacy rights

According to Libyan Law No. 9 for 1968,

• A photographer may not show, publish or distribute a photograph unless the people depicted in the photograph have consented, unless the photograph is of a public event or of officials or persons enjoying public renown, or the public authorities have given permission for its publication for the general welfare. Notwithstanding the preceding, no photograph may be shown or circulated if doing so would result in detriment to the honour, reputation or social standing of the person depicted in the photograph.^{[9/1968 Article 36]}
• On the other hand, a person depicted in an engraving, painting, photograph, sculpture or other portrait has the right to authorize its publication in magazines, newspapers and similar publications even if the photographer does not consent, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.^{[9/1968 Article 36]}

Not protected

Shortcut

• COM:NOP Libya

See also: Commons:Unprotected works

According to Libyan Law No. 9 for 1968, the following works are not subject to copyright, if they are not characterized by innovation, arrangement or any other personal effort worthy of protection^{[9/1968 Article 4]}:

• A collection made up of various works such as verse, prose and music anthologies and other collections. However, each individual work making up the collection is copyrighted.
• A collection of work that has become public property.
• A collection of official documents such as texts of laws, decrees, regulations, international agreements, legal judgements and various official documents.
• Official documents such as texts of laws, decrees, regulations, international agreements, legal judgements and various official documents.

Copyright tags

Shortcut

• COM:TAG Libya

See also: Commons:Copyright tags

• {{PD-Libya}} – photos 5 years starting from the date of first publication of the work.

Freedom of panorama

Shortcut

• COM:FOP Libya

See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama

 Not OK The Copyright Protection Law of Libya (Libyan Law No. (9) for 1968) does not have a suitable freedom of panorama provision for Wikimedia Commons.

A similar provision is found at Article(17)(b) but is restricted to limited educational uses in books: "The following shall be allowed in school books and in literature, history, science and art books:...(b) Copying published works on graphic art, sculpture and photography provided that copying shall be limited to the extent necessary to explain what is written."^{[9/1968 Article 17(b)]}

Threshold of originality

Shortcut

• COM:TOO Libya

See also: Commons:Threshold of originality

For photographic and cinematic works which are limited to the mere mechanical transmission of scenery, rights expire 5 years from the date of first publication.^{[9/1968 Article 20]}

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