Commons:Currency/Americas
This page gives overviews of copyright rules for currency in different countries or territories of the Americas. It is "transcluded" from individual page sections giving the rules for each country or territory. It includes pages for which no currency rules have been defined ("No information available").
Countries of the Americas[edit]
COM:CUR Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda
No information available
COM:CUR Argentina
Argentina
Not OK. There is no exception for currency in the Argentine copyright law.
COM:CUR Bahamas
The Bahamas
Not OK. Images of banknotes and coins denominated in Bahamian dollars are subject to copyright protection and are property of the Central Bank of The Bahamas. They cannot be reproduced or published without the expressed consent of the Central Bank of The Bahamas.[1]
COM:CUR Barbados
Barbados
No information available
COM:CUR Belize
Belize
As of 2019, all Belize coins are in the public domain, with the exception of some commemorative and numismatic coins (e.g. those created by the Franklin Mint). The designs for all currently circulating Belize coins were created in the 1950s or earlier by the Royal Mint of the United Kingdom (when Belize was British Honduras). Thus they were under crown copyrights which have now expired. Please use {{PD-UKGov}} for these in addition to a license for the photographs (since coins are considered 3D objects). Any future coin designs, however, are likely to be copyrighted by the Belizean government, as Belize does not have a public domain exception for government works.
COM:CUR Bolivia
Bolivia
Unsure According to Article 8 of the Law No.1322 of April 13, 1992, on Copyright: "Only a natural person may be an author; however, the State, public law bodies and moral or legal entities may exercise copyright as derived owners, in accordance with the norms of this Law".[1322/1992 Article 8]
Article 5(i) of Law No. 1322 defines "derived work" as: "Any work arising from the adaptation, translation or other transformation of an original work, provided that it constitutes a separate creation".[1322/1992 Article 5(i)]
The copyright law has provisions giving copyright to the State in national folklore and when Bolivian nationals die without heirs, so it is not clear if the government's right to hold copyright extends to banknotes.
COM:CUR Brazil
Brazil
OK
Under the Copyright Law, all works subsidized by the Union are in the public domain.[9.610/2013 Article 6] According to the Industrial Property Law of 1996,
- The following are not registrable as marks: ... reproductions or imitations of titles, policies, coins, and paper currency of the Union, the States, the Federal District, the Territories, the Municipalities, or of a country.[9.279/1996 Art.124(XIV)]
- However, the law prohibits reproducing or imitating, in whole or in part and in a way that may induce error or confusion, coats of arms, escutcheons, or national, foreign or international official badges, without the necessary authorization, in a mark, title of establishment, trade name, insignia or advertising sign, or using such reproductions or imitations for economic purposes.[9.279/1996 Art.191]
Please use: {{Money-BR}}.
COM:CUR Canada
Canada
Not OK "The Bank of Canada is the registered copyright owner of all design elements of Canadian bank notes [...] The Bank's written permission for the reproduction of bank note images must be obtained before the image is reproduced." The sole exception is that "It is not necessary to request the Bank's permission to use bank note images for film or video purposes, provided that the images are intended to show a general indication of currency, and that there is no danger that the images could be misused." Other images of Canadian currency might still be permitted on local Wikipedia projects under fair dealing.
Counterfeiting law will not apply to any printed replica of Canadian printed money that is "less than 3/4 or greater than 1 1/2 times the length or width of the bank note; and in black and white or only one-sided."[2]
Coins are copyrighted by the Royal Canadian Mint. There are charges for educational and commercial use, so they cannot be shown on Commons before the expiration of fifty years.[3]
COM:CUR Chile
Chile
Not OK The Central Bank of Chile holds the intellectual property for the designs of banknotes and coins in circulation, and those designs are registered with the Department of Intellectual Property (N° 115.594). This is expressed in Sections 28 of the Constitutional Organic Act. Publication or reproduction of such designs without the consent of the Bank is prohibited, and subject to criminal and civil sanctions.[17.336/2017 Art.78][4]
COM:CUR Colombia
Colombia
Not OK within 70 years of publication of the design.
Both banknotes and coins are produced by the Banco de la República, the Colombian central bank. They claim all rights reserved on their website in the footer of all pages, and in a legal disclaimer (Spanish: [1]) which asserts intellectual property over the website's designs and trademarks. There is no further information provided about the legality of photographic reproductions or similar. Colombia's copyright law has no exemption for government works, meaning that the Bank is permitted to claim copyright, for up to 70 years from the date of publication. The law makes no exemptions for banknotes or currency either.
COM:CUR Costa Rica
Costa Rica
- Not OK for currency less than 25 years old.
- Unsure for currency between 25 and 50 years old.
- OK for currency more than 50 years old.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica (Banco Central de Costa Rica) is the "copyright holder of Costa Rica’s currency design -protected under Law No. 6683"[5] According to Costa Rica's intellectual property law (Law 6683, as amended by Law 8834 of 3 May 2010):
- The State, the municipal councils and the official corporations shall enjoy the protection of this Law, but, as far as economic rights are concerned, only for 25 years from the date of publication of the work, except in the case of public bodies whose purpose is the exercise of such rights as their normal activity, in which case protection shall be for 50 years.[6683/2010 Article 63]
All images of Costa Rican currency must use {{Currency}}, as the Central Bank of Costa Rica has placed several Non-copyright restrictions on use of images of Costa Rican currency.[5]
COM:CUR Cuba
Cuba
No information available
COM:CUR Dominica
Dominica
No information available
COM:CUR Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
Not OK There is no exception for currency under Dominican copyright law. Under Law No. 65-00 of 21 August 2000,
- Rights in works created by public employees or officials in the performance of the duties inherent in their position shall be presumed to be assigned to the public organization in question.[65-00/2000 Article 28]
COM:CUR Ecuador
Ecuador
No information available
COM:CUR El Salvador
El Salvador
No information available
COM:CUR Grenada
Grenada
No information available
COM:CUR Guatemala
Guatemala
No information available
COM:CUR Guyana
Guyana
No information available
COM:CUR Haiti
Haiti
No information available
COM:CUR Honduras
Honduras
No information available
COM:CUR Jamaica
Jamaica
No information available
COM:CUR Mexico
Mexico
Not OK Mexican currency is copyrighted and the reproduction of designs is only permitted by seeking authorisation from the Ministry of Finance (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público).[6][7]
Coins and banknotes produced before 23 July 1928 entered the public domain before the law changed on 23 July 2003, and remain in the public domain.
COM:CUR Nicaragua
Nicaragua
No information available
COM:CUR Panama
Panama
No information available
COM:CUR Paraguay
Paraguay
Probably Not OK. Paraguayan currencies are presumed to be copyrighted.
See also: Category:Paraguayan currency-related deletion requests
COM:CUR Peru
Peru
- Before 1971
Anverse of sol coin (1892 in this picture, during the mandate of President Miguel de San Román) is PD in Peru. OK The old peruvian sol is out of circulation, most of designs were created before 1971.[8] The reverse side with the coat of arms was created in 1825.[D. L. 11323/1950] Use {{Peruvian currency}}.- Between 1971 and 1991
Unclear There is not enough information regarding the copyright status of this. If the design was published anonymously before 1981, use {{Peruvian currency}}.- After 1991
- Not OK Peruvian currency sol is not exempted from copyright.[822/1996 Art.9] In fact, the BCRP considers it to be a work of art but not a government "official work". Therefore, its design and art of the bill is subject to copyright in Peru and prohibits any free reproduction.[9] Law 26714, Article 256, prohibits reproducing bills and coins and distributing them for advertising or similar purposes in such a way as to create confusion or cause the reproductions to be used by third parties as if they were genuine currency.[10]
-back.png)
Please note that not all coins are copyrighted, because they contain previous designs and patterns released to be in the public domain or are below the originality threshold. See discussion.
COM:CUR Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis
No information available
COM:CUR Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
No information available
COM:CUR Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
No information available
COM:CUR Suriname
Suriname
No information available
COM:CUR Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
No information available
COM:CUR United States
United States of America
- Coins
OK for some but not all
Many but not all coins or bills produced by the United States Mint are in the public domain as works of the Federal Government. Some were designed by third parties who assigned rights to the Mint. These are typically commemorative coins for special occasions and the copyright is described in their marketing materials; another example is the obverse of the golden dollar.[2] The status of each coin or bill should be assessed individually. Please see Commons:Determining if U.S. coins are free to use for help in determining the copyright status of US coinage.
- Banknotes
OK
"Color illustrations" of banknotes appear to be permitted if they respect the following conditions (from 18 US Code § 504 and 31 CFR § 411.1):
- the illustration is of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of the item illustrated;
- the illustration is one-sided; and
- all negatives, plates, positives, digitized storage medium, graphic files, magnetic medium, optical storage devices and any other thing used in the making of the illustration that contain an image of the illustration or any part thereof are destroyed and/or deleted or erased after their final use.
Please use {{PD-USGov-money}} for relevant US currency images.
See also: Category:United States currency-related deletion requests
COM:CUR Uruguay
Uruguay
Not OK.
The Central Bank of Uruguay exclusively issues bank notes and mints coins throughout Uruguay.[11] State, municipality and public-law entities are holders of copyright, where, in any mode recognized by law, they acquire ownership of one of the works protected by the copyright law. State works have perpetual copyright.[18.046/2006 Article 40]
COM:CUR Venezuela
Venezuela
No information available
Other areas[edit]
COM:CUR Anguilla
Anguilla
No information available
COM:CUR Aruba
Aruba
Not OK The copyright on Aruban banknotes is owned by the Central Bank of Aruba.[12]
COM:CUR Bermuda
Bermuda
No information available
COM:CUR British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
No information available
COM:CUR Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
Not OK The Cayman Islands Money Authority holds the copyright on its currency notes. It permits reproductions with prior consultation with the Authority and if the reproduction is not on products for sale. Given the copyright status and the non-commercial use clause, their designs are not appropriate for use on Commons.[13]
COM:CUR Curaçao
Curaçao
No information available
COM:CUR Dutch Caribbean
Dutch Caribbean
No information available
COM:CUR Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
No information available
COM:CUR French Guiana
French Guiana
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Greenland
Greenland
No information available
COM:CUR Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Martinique
Martinique
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Montserrat
Montserrat
No information available
COM:CUR Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United States#CUR
COM:CUR Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Saint-Martin (France)
Saint-Martin
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/France#CUR
COM:CUR Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten
No information available
COM:CUR South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Falkland Islands#CUR
COM:CUR Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
No information available
COM:CUR United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United States#CUR