Commons:Stamps/Asia
This page gives overviews of copyright rules for stamps in different countries or territories of Asia. It is "transcluded" from individual page sections giving the rules for each country or territory.
Countries of Asia[edit]
COM:Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Copyright expires 50 years after first put in circulation.[2008 Article 16.1.6]. For stamps published more than 50 years ago (before 1 January 1974) use {{PD-Afghanistan}}.
COM:Armenia
Armenia
use {{PD-AM-exempt}}.
Stamps appear to qualify as "state symbols and signs", which are not subject to copyright under the 2013 version of the copyright law [2013 Article 4.1(d)]. The Law HO-46-N of December 14, 2004 On Postal Communication, amended in 2023, states that postal stamps are "state postal payment symbols".[1]
COM:Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
use {{PD-AZ-exempt}}
An exception is File:1995 John Lennon..jpg.
See also: Category:Stamps of Azerbaijan
COM:Bahrain
Bahrain
No information available
COM:Bangladesh
Bangladesh
. No Bangladeshi stamps might be uploaded before 2032 because the first stamps were issued on 29 July 1971 and the copyright term for government works is 60 years from publication. The 1971 stamps might be uploaded in 2032.
COM:Bhutan
Bhutan
No information available
COM:Brunei
Brunei Darussalam
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Brunei
COM:Cambodia
Cambodia
Not OK - Stamps are not among the government documents exempt from copyright.[2003 Article 10]
They may count as anonymous or collective works, in which case copyright expires 75 years after publication.
If the author is known, presumably they are protected for life + 50 years.[2003 Articles 31]
See also: Category:Stamps of Cambodia
COM:中国 / 中國
China
See also: Commons:Stamps
As mentioned elsewhere (see Manchukuo and Wang Jingwei regime CRT pages), stamps issued by the government of Manchukuo, or the Wang Jingwei regime are nowadays in public domain, as both are considered as puppet regimes by Chinese Government, and hence never recognized their copyright status.
Pending informations, but in normal cases Not OK for nearly all non-Manchukuo, non-Wang-regime stamps in China, because in most cases, the dates of birth of authors of those stamps are not publicly known, unless if that's issued before Jan 1, 1929 which is a {{PD-anon-expired}} case, we should de facto judge them as copyrighted by China Post or its affiliates (e.g. Beijing Stamp Factory).[2]
In rare cases, if the dates of birth of authors of some individual stamps are known, those can enter the public domain 50 years after the death of the creator.
COM:Cyprus
Cyprus
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Cyprus
COM:East Timor
East Timor
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of East Timor
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Egypt
COM:Georgia
Georgia
use {{PD-GE-exempt}}.
See also: Category:Stamps of Georgia
: Stamps are now covered under {{GODL-India}}. In addition, all Indian stamps older than 60 years are in the public domain. See en.wikipedia discussion here and here.
Use either {{GODL-India}} or {{PD-India}} where appropriate.
Material issued by the Government of India before independence may be covered by {{PD-UKGov}}.
See also: Category:Stamps of India
COM:Indonesia
Indonesia
under Article 43(b) of the 2014 Copyright Law.
Please use {{PD-IDGov}} for images of Indonesian postal stamps. 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).
See also: Category:Stamps of Indonesia
: All stamps published before 22 March 1994 are in the public domain because according to the Law for the Protection of Authors, Composers and Artist Rights, Iran stamps designed before 22 March 1994 become public domain after 30 years since, "In the following cases images fall into public domain after 30 years from the date of publication or public presentation (Article 16): In cases where the work belongs to a legal personality or rights are transferred to a legal personality." Iranian stamps are copyrighted and their copyright belong to Iran Post which is a "legal personality". In those cases use {{PD-Iran}}.
See also: Category:Stamps of Iran
: For stamps published more than 50 years ago (before 1st of January 1974) use {{PD-Iraq}}.
See also: Category:Stamps of Iraq
COM:Israel
Israel
Paragraph 51 of Israeli Postal Services Statute 1986, in its 2004 revised version stipulates that the State owns full copyrights for Israeli stamps. The Israeli copyright statute from 2007 determines that the State's copyrights expire on 1 January of the 51st year after the creation of the work. Hence, only stamps created 50 or more years ago are in the public domain. Template:PD-IsraelGov would be appropriate to indicate their copyright status.
Stamps more than 70 years old or published before 1 January 1968 are in the public domain, per {{PD-Japan}}.
See also: Category:Stamps of Japan
COM:Jordan
Jordan
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Jordan
COM:Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
use {{PD-KZ-exempt}}
Pursuant to Article 8 of Law No. 6-I of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Copyright and Associated Rights dated June 10, 1996, "official symbols and signs (flags, coats of arms, decorations, bills and coins and other official symbols and signs)" are not copyrighted.[419/2015 Article 8]
Pursuant to Article 1 of Law No. 386-II of Kazakhstan On Post dated February 8, 2003, official signs of postage include "stamps, souvenir sheets, stamped covers, postcards, postage meter marks and other signs introduced into circulation by the authorised agency, which confirm that postal operator services have been paid."
See also: Category:Stamps of Kazakhstan
COM:Kuwait
Kuwait
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Kuwait
COM:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
use {{PD-KG-exempt}}
Pursuant to Article 8 of Law No. 6 of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan On Copyright and Associated Rights, "official symbols and signs (flags, coats of arms, decorations, bills and coins and other official symbols and signs)" are not copyrighted.
Pursuant to Article 1 of Law No. 52 of Kyrgyzstan On Postal Services dated June 20, 2001, official signs of postage include "postage stamps and other signs applied to postal items and confirming payment for postal services"[3]
See also: Category:Stamps of Kyrgyzstan
. Law No. 38/NA of November 15, 2017, on Intellectual Property does not mention stamps, and nothing that could be interpreted as stamps is included in the list of unprotected works.[38/NA/2017 Article 94]
See also: Category:Stamps of Laos
COM:Lebanon
Lebanon
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Lebanon
COM:Malaysia
Malaysia
According to article 23 of The Copyright Act 1987 (act 332), works by the Government Organizations are subject to copyright until the beginning of the year following 50 years after publication, so only stamps more than 50 years old may be uploaded and they should use the template {{PD-Malaysia}}. This applies until 1992 when the Malaysian post office was corporatized as Pos Malaysia, so the normal artistic copyright term likely applies (life plus 50 years), unless as a corporate work the term of publish plus 50 years applies.
See also: Category:Stamps of Malaysia
COM:Maldives
Maldives
No information available
COM:Mongolia
Mongolia
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Mongolia
COM:မြန်မာပြည်
Template:မြန်မာပြည်
Commons:Copyright rules by territory/မြန်မာပြည်
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Nepal
COM:North Korea
North Korea
. According to North Korean copyright law as of 2006, "the property rights to a copyrighted work or a copyrighted visual art work whose author is an institution, enterprise or organization shall be protected for up to 50 years from the moment of its publication."[1532/2006 Article 24]
If published before 1 January 1974 use {{PD-DPRKOld}}.
See also: Category:Stamps of North Korea
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Oman
COM:Pakistan
Pakistan
Not OK. Use {{PD-Pakistan-stamp}} for stamps whose copyright has expired
Copyright ownership of stamps is maintained by the Government of Pakistan, as stamps in Pakistan are issued by Pakistan Post, which works under the Government of Pakistan. According to Pakistan's Copyright Ordinance, 1962, stamps can be classified as artistic:
- "artistic" work' means: ... a painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possess artistic quality.[XXXIV/2000 Section 2(c.i)]
- "Government work" means a work which is made or published by or under the direction or control of ... the Government or any department of the Government.[XXXIV/2000 Section 2(m)]
- in the case of a Government work, Government shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein.[XXXIV/2000 Section 139(d)]
- Copyright in a Government work shall, where Government is the first owner of the copyright therein, subsist until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 22(1)]
See also: Category:Stamps of Pakistan
COM:Philippines
Philippines
Works by the government of the Philippines are not protected by copyright. A prior approval of the government is necessary for exploitation of such works for profit. However, the clause for prior approval is determined to be a non-copyright restriction and can be safely ignored for the purposes of Wikimedia Commons by policy. (See discussion).
Warning while Philippine stamps are public domain as works of the Philippine government, one must also take into account the underlying derivative works that may appear in the stamps, such as photographs from non-free sources and copyrighted artworks. Section 176.3 of the copyright law provides that the copyright in a work is not invalidated by its "publication or republication by the government in a public document." See also this April 2020 deletion request and this May 2021 deletion request.
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Qatar
COM:Russia
Russia
use {{PD-RU-exempt|stamps}}
Pursuant to Article 1259.6 of Part IV of the Civil Code (No. 230-FZ) of the Russian Federation dated 8 December 2006, official symbols and signs (flags, emblems, orders, banknotes, and the like), as well as symbols and signs of municipal formations are not copyrighted. Pursuant to Article 2 of Federal Law No. 176-FZ of the Russian Federation On Postal Service dated July 17, 1999, official signs of postage include "postage stamps and other signs put on mail that give evidence that postage has been paid".
Article 1.1 of Official Postage Signs and Special Postmarks Regulations, put into force on 26 May 1994 by Order 115 of the Ministry of Communication of the Russian Federation, defines the official postage signs concretely and labels postage stamps, souvenir and miniature sheets, stamped envelopes, and postal stationery cards as the postage signs. Even works still under copyright can be used by the Russian post, without altering the copyright status of the work used.[4]
A copyrighted painting can be used on an envelope or such and {{PD-RU-exempt}} will apply, without turning the painting into a Public Domain work. Prerequisite is that the Russian post acquired permission from the copyright-holder. We can safely assume that the Russian post has come to an agreement with the copyright-holder of such work.
Tuva stamps[edit]
use {{PD-RU-exempt}}.
From 1921 to 1944, Tuva constituted a sovereign, independent nation under the name of Tannu Tuva, officially, the Tuvan People's Republic, or the People's Republic of Tannu Tuva. The independence of Tannu Tuva, however, was recognized only by its neighbors: the Soviet Union and Mongolia.[5]
Since 1944 Tuva has been part of the Russian Federation.
See also: Category:Stamps of Russia
COM:Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Saudi Arabia
COM:Singapore
Singapore
All stamps are under the copyright of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). No stamps may be reproduced without paying royalties to the IDA, if requested.
According to Singapore's copyright law, stamps become public domain 70 years after the death of the engraver or 70 years after their issuance, if governmental work. Use {{PD-SG-artisticwork}}.
The Singapore Philatelic Museum has been appointed to administer approval for reproduction.[6]
See also: Category:Stamps of Singapore
COM:South Korea
South Korea
According to Articles 39 to 44 of the Copyright Act of the Republic of Korea, copyrighted works enter the public domain 70 years after publication when made public in the name of an organization. Use {{PD-South Korea}} if published before 1 January 1963.
See also: Category:Stamps of South Korea
COM:Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
. The Intellectual Property Act No 36 of 2003 is silent on stamps, so assume copyrighted until general term of protection expires. It seems that stamps would be public domain if published before 1 January 1954, use {{PD-Sri Lanka}}.
See also: Category:Stamps of Sri Lanka
No information available
COM:Tajikistan
Tajikistan
use {{PD-TJ-exempt}}.
Pursuant to Article 7 of Law on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to 2009) of the Republic of Tajikistan, "state symbols and signs" are not copyrighted.
Pursuant to Article 1 of Law of Tajikistan On Postal Services dated June 4, 2003, "state signs of payment for postal communication [are] postal stamps, which are attached to postal correspondence and confirm the payment of postal communication services, blocks, stamped envelopes, postal cards"[7]
See also: Category:Stamps of Tajikistan
COM:Thailand
Thailand
The copyright of postage stamps is held by Thailand Post and lasts 50 years. Public domain for stamps published before 11 May 1974.[2537/1994 Sec.23]
See also: Category:Stamps of Thailand
COM:Türkiye
Turkey
Under Law No. 5846 of December 5, 1951 (as amended up to decision no 2020/29 of Constitutional Court of Turkey on July 17, 2020),
- The rights in works created by civil servants, employees and workers during the execution of their duties shall be exercised by the persons who employ or appoint them; provided that the contrary may not be deduced from a special contract between such persons or from the nature of the work.[5846/1951 Article 18]
- If the first author is a legal person, the term of protection shall be 70 years from the date on which the work was made public.[5846/1951 Article 27]
The copyright for stamps therefore belongs to the Turkish government and lasts 70 years from publication. Thus, any stamp issued 70 or more years ago (published before 1 January 1954) is public domain.
COM:Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
According to Law No. 257-IV of January 10, 2012, Article 7, state symbols and signs (flag, coat of arms, anthem, awards, banknotes and other signs) are not copyrightable; therefore the postage stamps of Turkmenistan are in public domain. Use the {{PD-TK-exempt}} tag for each image.
See also: Category:Stamps of Turkmenistan
COM:United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The 2002 UAE law states that such works as stamps are protected for 50 years starting from 1 January of the publication year. Yet the 1992 law gave a 25 years copyright protection (starting from the publication date). This means that all UAE postage stamps printed before 1977 are in public domain. Stamps issued after that year should wait 50 years.
One may tag Template:PD-United Arab Emirates stamp to any such image.
COM:Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
use {{PD-UZ-exempt}}.
See also: Category:Stamps of Uzbekistan
COM:Vietnam
Vietnam
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Vietnam
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of Yemen
Limited recognition[edit]
COM:Abkhazia
Abkhazia
use {{PD-AB-exempt}}
COM:中華民國
Template:中華民國
Commons:Copyright rules by territory/中華民國
COM:Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus
No information available
COM:فلسطين / Palestine
Template:فلسطين / Palestine
Commons:Copyright rules by territory/فلسطين / Palestine
COM:South Ossetia
South Ossetia
No information available
See also: Category:Stamps of South Ossetia
Other territories[edit]
COM:Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Cyprus#Stamps
COM:British Indian Ocean Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom#Stamps
See also: Category:Stamps of British Indian Ocean Territory
COM:Hong Kong
Hong Kong
as per talk page discussion.
The Hongkong Post, as a government department of Hong Kong, owns the intellectual property of stamps released by them.
Because Hong Kong was a territory of the United Kingdom until 1997, Hong Kong law is modeled on UK law, and in the absence of any specific case law to the contrary it is reasonable to assume that the rules will be similar. See the United Kingdom for more details.
See also: Category:Stamps of Hong Kong
No information available
partly located in Asia[edit]
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