Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

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

Background[edit]

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic. It consists of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena has a Governor and a Legislative Council, whilst Tristan da Cunha and Ascension each have an Administrator and an Island Council.

The United Kingdom Copyright Act 1956 applied to overseas territories, including Saint Helena, except for ss. 32, 34, 35, 42 & 44 and Schedules 4 & 5, as defined by the Copyright (St Helena) Order 1963 (SI 1963/1038). The United Kingdom's Copyright (Computer Software) Amendment Act 1985 except ss. 4(3), & 5 did not apply to St Helena.[1] The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, holds the text of the Copyright Act 1956 in their WIPO Lex database.[2]

General rules[edit]

Under the Copyright Act 1956,

  • Copyright subsist­ing in a work ... shall continue to subsist until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author died, and shall then expire.[1956 Sec.2(3), 3(4)]
  • If the work had not been made public before the death of the author, copyright shall continue to subsist until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year which it was made public.[1956 Sec.2(3), 3(4)]
  • Where the first publication of a literary, dramatic, or musical work. or of an artistic work other than a photograph, is anonymous or pseudonymous, any copyright subsisting in the work ... shall continue to subsist until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published, and shall then expire.[1956 2nd Sched. Sec.2]
  • The copyright in a photograph shall continue to subsist until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the photograph is first published, and shall then expire.[1956 Sec.3(4b)]

Freedom of panorama[edit]

OK for works of architecture, sculptures, and artistic craftsmanship. Freedom of panorama is provided by Sections 9(3) and 9(4) of the Copyright Act 1956. For other types of works (like street art),  Not OK. Per Section 9(5), unspecified artistic works can only be included in broadcasts or films in an incidental manner, or at background (de minimis valid for audio-visual media only).

The FoP legal rights are identical to British overseas territories still using the 1956 copyright law (like the British Virgin Islands and the Falkland Islands), all are modelled upon the British version, see also Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom#Freedom of panorama.

See also[edit]

Citations[edit]

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