Commons:Currency/Africa
This page gives overviews of currency copyright rules in different countries or territories of Africa. It is "transcluded" from individual page sections giving the rules for each territory. It includes pages for which no currency rules have been defined.
Countries of Africa[edit]
COM:CUR Algeria
Algeria
Not OK for the currency issued by the current Bank of Algeria. According to the Algerian 2003 copyright act,
- State works, legally made available for public use in non-profit generating purposes, may be freely used subject to maintaining the work wellbeing and highlighting its source. State works, within the context of this article, shall mean works produced and published by various state institutions, local groups and public establishments of administrative nature.[Law of 2003, Art.9]
The non-commercial restriction that makes both coins or banknotes incompatible with Commons licensing policy. This does not apply to the banknotes and coins issued by the Banque de l'Algérie, the banking authority during French rule (until 1958), because it was not an official body of the current Algerian state. Copyright status of this currency is currently undetermined.
COM:CUR Angola
Angola
Not OK No exception for currency in the Angolan copyright law.
COM:CUR Benin
Benin
Unsure West African CFA franc used in Benin has close ties to France. French Cour de Cassation ruled in 2002 that franc is not covered by Copyright Law[1], but it is not known if it also applies to West African CFA franc.
See also: COM:CUR France
COM:CUR Botswana
Botswana
No information available
COM:CUR Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
See also: Commons:Currency
Unsure West African CFA franc used in Burkina Faso has close ties to France. French Cour de Cassation ruled in 2002 that franc is not covered by Copyright Law[2], but it is not known if it also applies to West African CFA franc.
See also: COM:CUR France
COM:CUR Burundi
Burundi
No information available
COM:CUR Cameroon
Cameroon
OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.
Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.
COM:CUR Cape Verde
Cape Verde
No information available
COM:CUR Central African Republic
Central African Republic
OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc used in Central African Republic, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.
Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.
See also: COM:CUR Cameroon
COM:CUR Chad
Chad
OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc used in Chad, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.
Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.
See also: COM:CUR Cameroon
COM:CUR Comoros
Comoros
No information available
COM:CUR Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Not OK The country joined the Berne Convention in 1963. The World Intellectual Property Organisation does not list any copyright-related laws prior to 1986. Ordinance-Law No. 86-033 of April 5, 1986 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights states:
- Official acts of the authority shall not give rise to any copyright. Any other literary, artistic, or scientific publications produced by the authorities shall generate copyright for the authorities.[86-033/1986 Article 7]
COM:CUR Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc used in the Republic of the Congo, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.
Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.
See also: COM:CUR Cameroon
COM:CUR Djibouti
Djibouti
No information available
COM:CUR Egypt
Egypt
OK According to Law No. 82 of 2002 on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights: "[Copyright protection] shall not cover the following: Official documents, whatever their source or target language, such as laws, regulations, resolutions and decisions, international conventions, court decisions, award of arbitrators and decisions of administrative committees having judicial competence."[82/2002 Article 141]
COM:CUR Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc used in Equatorial Guinea, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.
Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.
See also: COM:CUR Cameroon
COM:CUR Eritrea
Eritrea
No information available
COM:CUR Eswatini
Eswatini
No information available
COM:CUR Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Not OK. Ethiopia's copyright law excepts "any official text of a legislative, administrative or of legal nature, as well as official translations thereof".[410/2004 Article 5(b)] The term "official text" does not seem to include banknotes. Note that, as of May 2016, Ethiopia is not a party to the Berne Convention, so Ethiopian banknotes are not protected by US copyright law. However, Commons' policy is that works must be free in both the US and the source country.
COM:CUR Gabon
Gabon
OK. Bank of Central African States, which issues Central African CFA franc used in Gabon, is based in Cameroon. Article 3c of the main IP law of Cameroon, the 2000 Copyright law, explicitly excludes banknotes and coins from copyright protection.
Please use {{PD-CA-CFA-franc}} for Central African CFA franc images.
See also: COM:CUR Cameroon
COM:CUR Gambia
The Gambia
No information available
COM:CUR Ghana
Ghana
No information available
COM:CUR Guinea
Guinea
No information available
COM:CUR Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
Unsure West African CFA franc used in Guinea-Bissau has close ties to France. French Cour de Cassation ruled in 2002 that franc is not covered by Copyright Law[3], but it is not known if it also applies to West African CFA franc.
See also: COM:CUR France
COM:CUR Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast
Unsure West African CFA franc used in Ivory Coast has close ties to France. French Cour de Cassation ruled in 2002 that franc is not covered by Copyright Law[4], but it is not known if it also applies to West African CFA franc.
See also: COM:CUR France
COM:CUR Kenya
Kenya
No information available
COM:CUR Lesotho
Lesotho
No information available
COM:CUR Liberia
Liberia
No information available
COM:CUR Libya
Libya
No information available
COM:CUR Madagascar
Madagascar
No information available
COM:CUR Malawi
Malawi
No information available
COM:CUR Mali
Mali
See also: Commons:Currency
Unsure West African CFA franc used in Mali has close ties to France. French Cour de Cassation ruled in 2002 that franc is not covered by Copyright Law [5], but it is not known if it also applies to West African CFA franc.
See also: COM:CUR France
COM:CUR Mauritania
Mauritania
No information available
COM:CUR Mauritius
Mauritius
No information available
COM:CUR Morocco
Morocco
No information available
COM:CUR Mozambique
Mozambique
Not OK. Under Law No. 4/2001 of 27 February 2001 there are no exceptions to copyright protection for works which were already in the public domain. Banknotes are not within the exceptions to copyright. There is a copyright exception for "official texts of a legislative, administrative or judicial nature, or to official translations thereof".[4/2001 Article 5a] Because the exception uses "text", banknotes do not seem to be within the exception.
Copyright protection for collective works, such as banknotes, lasts 70 years under Mozambique law and also under US law, since Mozambique is a party to the Berne Convention. Since that is long before Mozambique gained independence, all Mozambique banknotes are copyrighted. For banknotes that circulated before independence, Portuguese law applies.
COM:CUR Namibia
Namibia
Not OK
The Bank of Namibia's Policy on the reproduction of images of the Namibian currency defines the relevant law, which is based on the Bank of Namibia Act, 1997.[6] "This policy ensures that entities other than the Bank reproduce images of the Namibian currency only under specific approved circumstances and that any reproduction of images is done in such a manner that prevents an imitation leading to public confusion or counterfeits".[BoN 1997 2.6] The Bank’s written permission for the reproduction of banknote and coin images must be obtained before the image is reproduced.[BoN 1997 4.0] Images on Wikimedia Commons must be freely usable, so this restriction means images of Namibian currency are not accceptable.
COM:CUR Niger
Niger
Unsure West African CFA franc used in Niger has close ties to France. French Cour de Cassation ruled in 2002 that franc is not covered by Copyright Law[7], but it is not known if it also applies to West African CFA franc.
See also: COM:CUR France
COM:CUR Nigeria
Nigeria
Not OK. There is no copyright exemption for government works. (discussion)
COM:CUR Rwanda
Rwanda
No information available
COM:CUR São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe
No information available
COM:CUR Senegal
Senegal
Unsure West African CFA franc used in Senegal has close ties to France. French Cour de Cassation ruled in 2002 that franc is not covered by Copyright Law[8], but it is not known if it also applies to West African CFA franc.
See also: COM:CUR France
COM:CUR Seychelles
Seychelles
No information available
COM:CUR Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Not OK: Government works are copyrighted.[8/2011 Section 8]
COM:CUR Somalia
Somalia
No information available
COM:CUR South Africa
South Africa
Not OK: Copyright of the designs of South African banknotes and coins is owned by the South African Reserve Bank. Their document "Policy on the reproduction of images of South African Currency" sets out the policy of the bank in respect to the reproduction of South African coins and banknotes. In short, only news media can produce such images and then only because of time constraints in obtaining formal permission. Under the Copyright Act of 1978, such copyright lasts for 50 years.
COM:CUR South Sudan
South Sudan
No information available
COM:CUR Sudan
Sudan
- OK: Banknote designs before 18 December 1996
- Not OK: Banknote designs on or after 18 December 1996
Sudan's first copyright law entered into force on 18 December 1996 and did not extend protection to works already in the public domain. Banknotes issued before this date are therefore in the public domain in Sudan. Because these banknotes were in the public domain in Sudan before it joined the Berne Convention (28 December 2000), they are also in the public domain in the United States and may be uploaded to Commons.
The status of banknote designs released after 18 December 1996 is unclear. Under Sudanese copyright law, "official documents" are in the public domain, but banknotes may not fall under the definition of "official documents". If that definition does not include banknotes, then banknotes will be protected for 50 years after the death of the last contributing author.
COM:CUR Tanzania
Tanzania
No information available
COM:CUR Togo
Togo
No information available
COM:CUR Tunisia
Tunisia
No information available
COM:CUR Uganda
Uganda
Not OK. Bank of Uganda owns the copyright in its banknotes and coins. Under section 120(373) of the Penal Code, it is a criminal offence for any person to reproduce banknotes or coins to any degree without the prior consent in writing of the Bank of Uganda.
COM:CUR Zambia
Zambia
Not OK Banknotes and coins are not exempted from copyright, and are assumed to be treated normally as works produced by government employees. According to the Copyright and Performance Rights Act 1994, the copyright on works made by government employees is held by the government, and the expiration of the protection is 50 years after the first publication of the work.[1994-2010 Section 12(2)]
COM:CUR Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Legal tender: Not OK According to section 50 of the Copyright Act Chapter 26:1 of Zimbabwe the copyright of banknotes and coins are vested in the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and subsists from the date on which such bank notes or coin are issued as legal tender until such bank notes or coin are demonetized.
OK Bank notes and coins that have been demonetized.
Limited recognition[edit]
COM:CUR Ambazonia
Ambazonia
No information available
COM:CUR Azawad
Azawad
No information available
COM:CUR Puntland
Puntland
No information available
COM:CUR Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
No information available
COM:CUR Somaliland
Somaliland
No information available
Other areas[edit]
COM:CUR Bir Tawil
Bir Tawil
No information available
COM:CUR Canary Islands
Canary Islands
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Spain#CUR
COM:CUR Ceuta
Ceuta
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Spain#CUR
COM:CUR Madeira
Madeira
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Portugal#CUR
COM:CUR Mayotte
Mayotte
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Melilla
Melilla
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Spain#CUR
COM:CUR Réunion
Réunion
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
No information available
COM:CUR Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean
Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Western Sahara
Western Sahara
No information available