Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Consolidated list N

Copyright rules by territory

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
P Q R Sa-Sl So-Sy T U V W X Y Z

This page gives overviews of copyright rules in different countries or territories. It is "transcluded" from individual pages giving the rules for each territory.

Text transcluded from
COM:Namibia

Namibia

Copyright rules: Namibia Shortcut: COM:NAMIBIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Photograph	Publish + 50 years
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Government	Publish + 50 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Namibia}} {{PD-NamibiaGov}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NAM
Treaties
Berne convention	21 March 1990
WTO member	1 January 1995
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 Namibia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Namibia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Namibia 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 Namibia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

In 1884 Germany established rule over Southwest Africa as a protectorate. In 1920 the United Kingdom gained a mandate over the country, which was administered by South Africa. Namibia became independent of South Africa on 21 March 1990.

Namibia has been a member of the Berne Convention since 21 March 1990 and the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Protection Act, 1994 (Act No. 6 of 1994) as the main IP law for general copyright enacted by the legislature of Namibia. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

The 1994 law is not retroactive. "Subject to subsection (2), this Act shall apply in relation to works before the commencement of this Act as it applies in relation to works made thereafter" ^{[6/1994 Section 65(1)]}. However, "Nothing in this Act contained shall (a) affect the ownership, duration or existence of a copyright which subsists under the Copyright Act, 1965 (Act 63 of 1965); or (b) be construed as creating a copyright which did not subsist prior to 11 September 1965" ^{[6/1994 Section 65(2)]}.

The 1994 law is amended by Schedule II of the Business and Intellectual Property Authority Act, 2016 (Act No. 8 of 2016). The amendments did not affect the definitions of copyrighted works or durations of protection.

General rules

Under the 1994 law,

• Copyright in a literary or musical work or an artistic work, other than a photograph, endures during the life of the author and for a period of 50 years from the end of the year in which the author dies.^{[6/1994 Section 6(1a)]}
• If a work has not been made available to the public during the author's life, copyright lasts for 50 years from the end of the year when it is made available to the public.^{[6/1994 Section 6(1a)]}
• Copyright in a cinematograph film, photograph or computer program endures for a period of 50 years either from the end of the year in which it is made available to the public or if it was not so made available to the public within 50 years of its making, the end of the year in which it was made.^{[6/1994 Section 6(1b)]}
• For anonymous or pseudonymous works copyright endures for 50 years from the end of the year in which the work is first made available to the public or from the end of the year in which it is reasonable to presume that the author died, whichever is first.^{[6/1994 Section 6(2)]}
• For a work of joint authorship the reference to the death of the author shall be taken to refer to the author who dies last.^{[6/1994 Section 6(4)]}
• A literary or musical work or an artistic work, other than a photograph, made by or under the direction of the state is protected for a period of 50 years after it is first published.^{[6/1994 Section 6(5)]}

Not protected

According to the 1994 law, no copyright subsists in:

• the official text of any work of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or an official translation
• a speech of a political nature or a speech delivered in the course of judicial proceedings
• publications or broadcasts of news of the day

However, the author of political speeches shall have the exclusive right of making or publishing a collection thereof.^{[6/1994 Section 15(8)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Namibia}} – photos, films and computer programs 50 years after publication, starting from the end of the publication year. Other works 50 years after the author's death.

Currency

 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. "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.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK The copyright in an artistic work shall not be infringed by its inclusion in a cinematograph film or television broadcast or its transmission in a diffusion service, if (a) such inclusion is merely by way of background to the principal matters represented in the film, broadcast or transmission or incidental thereto; (b) such work is permanently situated in a street, square or a similar public place.^{[6/1994 Section 18(1)]}

Stamps

According to the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Protection Act 6 of 1994, copyright of government-produced work is held by the state, and lasts for a period of 50 years after publication ^{[6/1994 Section 6(5)]}. The Namibian post was originally a department of the government's Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication, and became Namibia Post Ltd, or NamPost, in 1992. Before its independence in 12 June 1968 {{PD-SAGov}} may apply.

See also

• Namibia
• Category:Namibian FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of Namibia

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Nauru

Nauru

Copyright rules: Nauru Shortcut: COM:NAURU
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Collective	Publish + 50 years
Government	Create + 100 years
Applied art	Create + 25 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Nauru}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NRU
Treaties
Berne convention	11 May 2020
URAA restoration date‌*	11 May 2020
WIPO treaty	11 August 2020
*‌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 Nauru relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Nauru must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Nauru 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 Nauru, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Nauru was claimed as a colony by Germany in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. After World War II the country entered into United Nations trusteeship. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, did not show Nauru as a member of the World Trade Organization. However, Nauru became a member of the Berne Convention as of 11 May 2020.

Nauru joined the WIPO Copyright Treaty as of 11 August 2020.

As of 2022, WIPO listed the Copyright Act 2019 (Act No. 17 of 2019) as the main copyright-related IP law enacted by the legislature of Nauru. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. This apparently replaces the Copyright Act 1956 (United Kingdom), which was in force in the island republic from 1968 in accordance with Section 4(1) of the Custom and Adopted Laws Act 1971 (Act No. 11 of 1971), in which common laws and statutes in force in England on 31 January 1968 were adopted as laws of Nauru.^{[Act1971 Sec.4(1)]}

It is unclear if the Copyright Act 2019 is retroactive or not, since the law does not provide an explicit transitionary provision. Nevertheless both the Copyright Act 2019 and the now-replaced Copyright Act 1956 have identical provisions on posthumous copyright durations for most works, providing a post mortem auctoris of 50 years, with the exception of government works. Also, freedom of panorama was apparently removed.

General rules

Under the Copyright Act 2019,

• Copyright subsists in a work for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author died.^{[2019 Sec.18(1)]}
• Copyright subsists in a work of joint authorship for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last-surviving author died.^{[2019 Sec.18(2)]}
• Copyright in a collective work or a film subsists for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is made, is first made available to public, or is first published.^{[2019 Sec.18(3)]}
• Copyright in an applied art or a collective work of applied art subsists for 25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first made.^{[2019 Sec.18(4)]}
• Copyright subsists for 25 years in a typographical arrangement of a published edition of the whole or any part of a literary work, dramatic work or musical work including a collective work, from the end of the calendar year in which this edition is first published.^{[2019 Sec.18(5)]}
• In case the work is anonymous, "(a) the publisher, whose name appears on the work, shall be presumed to represent the author and shall be entitled to exercise and enforce the moral and economic rights of the author; and (b) where the author reveals his or her identity, the presumption shall cease to apply."^{[2019 Sec.10(3)]}

Not protected

• Any idea, procedure, system, method of operation, concept, principle, mere data, discovery or date expressed, described, explained, illustrated or otherwise embodied in the work.^{[2019 Sec.19(a)]}
• Any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof.^{[2019 Sec.19(b)]}
• News of the day or miscellaneous facts having the character of mere items of press information.^{[2019 Sec.19(c)]}
• Political speeches and speeches delivered in the course of legal proceedings.^{[2019 Sec.19(d)]}
• Judgments of a court of law or tribunal.^{[2019 Sec.19(e)]}

==Government works==Under the Copyright Act 2019,

• Copyright in a typographical arrangement of a published edition subsists for 25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[2019 Sec.15(3)(a)]}
• Copyright in any other work subsists for 100 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[2019 Sec.15(3)(b)]}

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK: The 2019 Copyright Act repealed the Copyright Act 1956 of England. The repealed 1956 law provided freedom of panorama for works of architecture and artistic works in public spaces.^{[1956 Sec.9(3 and 4)]}

None of the exceptions or limitations to copyright in the current law contain such freedom of panorama provision.^{[2019 Sec.27–40]}

See also

• Naoero / Nauru

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Nepal

Nepal

Copyright rules: Nepal Shortcut: COM:NEPAL
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Photograph	Create + 25 years
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Collective	Publish + 50 years
Applied art	Create + 25 years
Other
Common licence tags	{{PD-Nepal}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NPL
Treaties
Berne convention	11 January 2006
WTO member	23 April 2004
URAA restoration date‌*	23 April 2004
*‌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 Nepal relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Nepal must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Nepal 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 Nepal, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Nepal was never colonised but during the 19th century and first half of the 20th century served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India.

Nepal has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 23 April 2004 and the Berne Convention since 11 January 2006.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act 8 of 2002 as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Nepal. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

Under the the Copyright Act 8 of 2002,

• The economic and moral rights available to the author under this Act shall be protected throughout the life of the author and in the case of his/her death until 50 years computed from the year of his death.^{[8/2002 Section 14.1]}
• The economic and moral rights over the work prepared jointly shall be protected for 50 years computed from the year of death of the last surviving author.^{[8/2002 Section 14.2]}
• The economic and moral right of a collective work or work for hire shall be protected until 50 years from the date of first publication of such work or the date on which the work is made public, whichever is earlier.^{[8/2002 Section 14.3]}
• The economic and moral right of the work published anonymously or with pseudonym name shall be protected until 50 years from the date of first publication of such work or the date on which the work is made public, whichever is earlier.^{[8/2002 Section 14.4]}
• The economic and moral right of a work relating to applied art and photographic work shall be protected until 25 years from the year of preparation of such work.^{[8/2002 Section 14.5]}

Not protected

Copyright protection under this Act shall not be extended to any thought, religion, news, method of operation, concept, principle, court judgment, administrative decision, folksong, folktale, proverb and general data despite the fact that such matters are expressed or explained or interpreted or included in any work.^{[8/2002 Section 4]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Nepal}} – for following types of works:

a) anonymous work or pseudonymous work – after 50 years from the date of its publication;

b) work created on payment of remuneration at the initiation or direction of any person or organization – 50 years from the date of its publication;

c) photographic work or work of applied art – 25 years from the year of its creation;

d) other work – 50 years from the year of death of the author (or last-surviving author)

As per the Nepal Copyright Act, 2002, any thought, religion, process, concept, principle, court judgement, administrative decision, methods of operation, folk song, folk tale, proverb and general data is not protected.^{[8/2002 Section 4]}

Currency

 Not OK: Banknote and coin designs are copyrighted. According to the Copyright Act, 2059 (2002), "Government of Nepal shall have the copyright over the work prepared by Government of Nepal."^{[8/2002 Section 40]}

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK. There is no freedom of panorama in Nepal.^{[8/2002 Section 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

Text transcluded from
COM:Netherlands

Netherlands

Copyright rules: the Netherlands Shortcut: COM:Netherlands
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-EU-no author disclosure}} {{FoP-Netherlands}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NLD
Treaties
Berne convention	1 November 1912
Univ. Copyright Convention	22 June 1967
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	14 March 2010
*‌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 the Netherlands relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the Netherlands must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the Netherlands 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 the Netherlands, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

The Netherlands has been a member of the Berne Convention since 1 November 1912, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 14 March 2010.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Act of September 23, 1912, containing New Regulation for Copyright (Copyright Act 1912, as amended up to September 1, 2017) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of the Netherlands. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. Wikisource holds a version of the 1912 law as valid on 1 January 2005.

Official Dutch sources also provide the text of the Copyright Act and Related Rights Act in Dutch and English.

Standard terms

Under the Act of September 23, 1912 as amended up to September 1, 2017),

• Works of individual authors enjoy copyright protection until 70 years after the 1st January following the author's death.^{[1912-2017 Art. 37(1)]}
• Posthumously published works before 1995 have a copyright until 50 years after publication (pre-1995 law's term), or 70 years after the death of the author (post-1995 law's term), whatever duration is the longest.^{[1912-2017 Art. 37, 51]} This clause was used to restore the copyright on until 1984 unpublished portions of Anne Frank's diary.
• The duration of the copyright belonging jointly to two or more persons in their capacity as co-authors of a work shall be calculated from 1 January of the year following the year of the death of the last surviving co-author.^{[1912-2017 Art. 37(2)]}
• The copyright in a work of which the author has not been indicated or has not been indicated in such a way that his identity is beyond doubt expires 70 years after 1 January of the year following that in which the work was first lawfully communicated to the public.^{[1912-2017 Art. 38(1)]}
• This also applies to the works of a public institution, association, foundation or corporation that is regarded as the creator, unless the natural person who created the work is indicated as such on or in copies of the work which are made public.^{[1912-2017 Art. 38(2)]}
• For works whose term of copyright is not calculated according to the provisions of Article 37, copyright expires within 70 years after creation if not lawfully disclosed in this period.^{[1912-2017 Art. 39]}
• Copyright in a cinematographic work expires 70 years from 1 January of the year following the year of death of the last of the following persons: the principal director, the screenplay, the author of the dialogue and the author of music made for the film.^{[1912-2017 Art. 40]}
• If in a musical composition with words the copyrights on the music and on the words are held by different individuals, copyright expires 70 years from 1 January of the year of death of the last survivor.^{[1912-2017 Art. 40a]}

Outside Europe

Before World War II the Netherlands colonies in the Caribbean were administered as the Netherlands Antilles, which included Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba. Copyright laws were defined by the auteursverordening 1913. In 1948 the Netherlands Antilles was given considerable autonomy, and on 15 December 1954 it became an equal partner to the Netherlands in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 1 January 1986 Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles and became a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In 2010 the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became special municipalities of the Netherlands, while Curaçao and Sint Maarten became countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. According to Article 39 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, "civil and commercial law, the law of civil procedure, criminal law, the law of criminal procedure, copyright, industrial property, the office of notary, and provisions concerning weights and measures shall be regulated as far as possible in a similar manner in the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten".

• The relevant law in Aruba is the 2003 Auteursverordening (Aruba).
• For Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, the operative law is the Auteurswet BES, with a copyright duration of 50 years after the death of the author. This law is based on the corresponding law of the Netherlands Antilles.
• In Curaçao the law is similar.
• The law in Sint Maarten is Auteursverordening.

Not protected

Dutch laws and legal judgments are completely free of copyright (Article 11 of Dutch copyright law of 1912).

In principle all works communicated to the public by or on behalf of the public authorities (government) may be freely distributed (this includes modifications and derivatives) in the Netherlands unless the copyright has been reserved explicitly, either in a general manner by law, decree or ordinance, or in a specific case by a notice on the work itself or at the communication to the public. This is regulated in (Article 15b of Dutch copyright law of 1912). Entities like the Silicose Oud-mijnwerkers foundation can also be regarded as public authorities (AbRS 30 November 1995, JB 1995/337). This might imply that their publications are not automatically copyright protected. This arrest does not contain references to the copyright of such organizations and is in addition in general critized by prof. mr. SE Zijlstra in a note to the arrest.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-NL-gemeentewapen}} – for coats of arms of (no longer existing) municipalities, provinces and the country itself
• {{PD-NL-gemeentevlag}} – for flags of (no longer existing) municipalities, provinces and the country itself
• {{PD-NL-Gov}} (deprecated) – for all works communicated to the public by or on behalf of the public authorities (government), unless the copyright has been reserved explicitly, either in a general manner by law, decree or ordinance, or in a specific case by a notice on the work itself or at the communication to the public

Currency

 Not OK: Guilder banknotes are subject to copyright 70 years after the first publication. De Nederlandsche Bank has been contacted and they state that the introduction of the Euro does not change this.

 Question Guilder coins may be OK to reproduce, since they are subject to Article 15b of the Auteurswet. Works published by or on behalf of the government can be reproduced, unless copyright has been reserved explicitly by the government at the time of publication. However, even if no reservation was made, only the author has the right to have those works published in a collection.

 Not OK National sides of the Euro coins are subject to copyright as well. Although they are subject to Article 15b, an express reservation of rights has been made by the Dutch government.

De minimis

The law of the Netherlands includes an article devoted to a situation where the copyright is not or barely relevant. This is called de minimus or bagatel. Based on this article, it is allowed to include work of other persons in an own work, but only if it is incidental or of minor significance. "Incidental" means that the presence of the copyrighted work is more or less by chance. Of minor significance means the copyrighted work is a small part of the work.

Translated text from Art.18 of the Auteurswet of the Netherlands:

The incidental processing of a copyrighted work as a part of minor significance in another work is not considered an infringement of the copyright of the first mentioned work.

Sources

• Auteurswet art. 18a
• Lexology.com
• Understanding intellectual property (In Dutch)

Freedom of panorama

OK for buildings and most 2D and 3D artwork {{FoP-Nederland}}
 Not OK for photographs, maps, applied art, industrial design, and models

Article 18 of the Dutch copyright act states that:

• it is not an infringement of copyright to reproduce and publish pictures of a work, as meant in article 10, first paragraph, under 6°[1] or of an architectural work as meant in article 10, first paragraph, under 8°[2], which are made to be permanently located in public places, as long as the work is depicted as it is located in the public space. Where incorporation of a work in a compilation is concerned, not more than a few of the works of the same author may be included
• [1] drawings, paintings, works of architecture and sculpture, lithographs, engravings and the like
• [2] drafts, sketches and three-dimensional works relating to architecture, geography, topography or other sciences.

Article 18 limits this explicitly to "works relating to architecture", i.e., geography, topography, and other sciences are not included in article 18. Photographs are not included in Item 6. They are separately listed in Item 9 and therefore are not included in FOP. Also separately listed and therefore not included are maps, applied art and industrial design, and models.

Public place in article 18 of the Dutch copyright law not only includes open-air spaces such as public roads and squares, but also the interior of public buildings. What exactly is a public building is not defined in the Dutch law, but there are some guidelines that can be taken from the published literature and from the parliamentary debates about this article when it was introduced in this version in 2004. Among the criteria to decide whether the interior of a building is a "public place" in the sense of article 18, parliament said that the building must be freely accessible by the general public and then mentioned two negative criteria: whether an entrance fee was charged, and whether access may be denied on private law grounds. (Other criteria may exist; these two were just mentioned as examples.)

Parliament and the literature explicitly mention that schools, opera buildings, entrance halls of businesses, and museums are not public places for the purpose of article 18, but that railway stations are. Case law in the Netherlands on "freedom of panorama" issues is scarce. In one case, the interior of the Johan Cruijff ArenA was deemed to not be a public place. In a second case, a photo of a building in a private holiday resort was considered covered by article 18 because the building was visible from public ground.

Taking these guidelines and the few court cases into consideration, we interpret "public place" (openbare plaats) in article 18 to cover works on open-air roads and squares as well as works visible from there, as long as they are outside. It also includes works in the interiors of only those buildings that primarily serve a transit purpose for the general public: railway stations are explicitly mentioned by the lawmakers, but arguably this would also apply to airports, underpasses, (covered) parking lots. Article 18 also seems to apply in shopping malls. It probably does not apply within the shops in such a mall. In all likelihood it does not apply to other indoors non-private places, such as hotels, cafés, or shops. It certainly does not apply in the locations specifically excluded by the lawmakers: schools, operas, entrance halls of businesses, and museums.

Article 18 is limited to works that were originally made for being placed permanently in public places. The literature mentions that this would also apply to graffiti, even if these normally are removed rather quickly. This is consistent with the interpretation of "permanent" e.g. in Germany as explained here; the "natural lifetime" of a graffito is considered to end with its removal. Furthermore, the picture must show the work as it appears in the public place. A photograph showing a sculpture in its surroundings is OK. Cutting out the sculpture and using only the image of the sculpture is not covered by article 18. Dutch legislature seems to favor a strict interpretation of the Berne three-step test. Parliament mentioned that creating and selling a postcard from a close-up photo of a copyrighted sculpture (i.e., without the surroundings, not showing the sculpture in context) was not allowed.

Lacking evidence of original authorship/ creative input of any kind

Images without evidence of original authorship can be used with a public domain license.

The most common example are photo's intended for use in a passport or ID-card. These have been made in a prescribed manner by a photographer or even in automatic photo machine. From 1 October 2006 the Regeling eisen pasfoto’s and the Paspoortuitvoeringsregeling Nederland 2001 exactly prescribes the requirements for these photos. The main requirements are:

• Complete view of the face, centered on the image
• Front view of the face
• Head and shoulders straight
• Neutral expression, mouth closed
• Both eyes visible; also in case of glasses
• No shadows or reflections in face or background
• Plain background
• Colour image

Previous to these regulations, other requirements were valid for ID photo's. Especially the photo should be made in a 3/4 view, while one of the ears should be visible and the photo should be black and white. This is described here.

These images are according to legal interpretations, such as 1 or 2 not elegible for copyright.

Threshold of originality

Simple logos are okay in the Netherlands but not all logos are. Whether something is above the threshold of originality in the Netherlands is defined in the Supreme Court judgment "'Van Dale/Romme'". In this judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that:

• In assessing the ground of cassation it should be noted that, for a product to be considered a work of literature, science or art as meant in article 1 in conjunction with article 10 of the Copyright law (Auteurswet), it is required that it has an own, original character and bears the personal mark of the maker.

This was further specified in the Supreme Court judgment ''Endstra-tapes':

• The product has to bear an own, original character. In short, this means the shape may not be based on that of another work. (cf. article 13 Aw.) The demand that the product has to bear the personal mark of the maker means that there has to be a shape that is the result of creative human labor and thus creative choices, which therefore is a product of the human mind. In any case, excluded from this is everything that has a shape that is so trivial or banal, that one cannot show any creative labor behind it of any kind whatsoever.

Later the Supreme Court determined in judgment on Stokke v. Fikszo that:

• For a work to be eligible for copyright, it is necessary that the work has an own original character and bears the personal mark of the maker ... The Court of Justice of the European Union has has formulated the benchmark in such a way that it must concern "an intellectual creation of the author of the work".

Stamps

See nl:Wikipedia:Beleid voor gebruik van media/Postzegels (In Dutch).

Prior to 1 January 1989, the government-owned corporation PTT considered Dutch stamps as being created by the PTT company and as such was considered their author. In The Netherlands copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author. With stamps issued prior to 1989, copyright expires 70 years after publication.

From 1 January 1989 onwards, the PTT became the private company TNT Post. The rules are sometimes different compared to the period before 01-01-1989; for example, when there is more than one author of a stamp.

As of 2024 Dutch stamps created in the period 1852–1953 are considered to be Public Domain.

See also

• Nederland
• Category:Dutch FOP cases
• Category:License tags of the Netherlands
• Category:PD-Netherlands
• Category:Stamps of the Netherlands
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Aruba
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Curaçao
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Dutch Caribbean
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Sint Maarten
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/European Union#Currency
• Archived discussion on Freedom of panorama from August 2014

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

Text transcluded from
COM:New Zealand

New Zealand

Copyright rules: New Zealand Shortcut: COM:NEW ZEALAND
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish + 50 years
Government	Create/publish + 100 years
Applied art	Create + 25 years
Other
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-New Zealand}} {{PD-NZ-exempt}} {{PD-Cook Islands}} {{PD-Niue}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NZL
Treaties
Berne convention	24 April 1928
WTO member	1 January 1995
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 New Zealand relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in New Zealand must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both New Zealand 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 New Zealand, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

New Zealand has been a member of the Berne Convention since 24 April 1928 and the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995, as well as a signatory to various other international treaties.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed various acts including the Copyright Act 1994 (reprint as at 1 March 2017) as the main IP laws enacted by the legislature of New Zealand. WIPO holds the text of the 1994 act in their WIPO Lex database. The New Zealand Legislation holds a copy of the 1994 Act as of 30 December 2018, with a warning that some amendments have not yet been incorporated.

The Copyright Act 1962 of New Zealand may apply on the Cook Islands and Niue, two self-governing states in free association with New Zealand.

General rules

Under the New Zealand Copyright Act of 1994 as of 30 December 2018,

• Subject to the following provisions of this section, copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.^{[1994-2018 Sec.22(1)]}
• If the work is computer-generated, copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work is made.^{[1994-2018 Sec.22(2)]}
• If the work is of unknown authorship, copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first made available to the public by an authorised act.^{[1994-2018 Sec.22(3)]}
• In relation to a work of joint authorship, the reference in subsection (1) to the death of the author shall be construed ... as a reference to the death of the last of the authors whose identity is known.^{[1994-2018 Sec.22(6)]}
• Copyright in a sound recording or film expires (a) at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work is made; or (b) if it is made available to the public by an authorised act before the end of that period, 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is so made available.^{[1994-2018 Sec.23(1)]}
• Copyright in a communication work expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the communication work is first communicated to the public.^{[1994-2018 Sec.24(1)]}
• Copyright in a typographical arrangement of a published edition expires at the end of the period of 25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the edition is first published.^{[1994-2018 Sec.25]}

Government works

Under the New Zealand Copyright Act of 1994 as of 30 December 2018,

• Where a work is made by a person employed or engaged by the Crown ... the Crown is the first owner of any copyright in the work.^{[1994-2018 Sec.26(1)]}
• Crown copyright shall expire ... at the end of the period of 100 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work is made.^{[1994-2018 Sec.26(3b)]}
• Some government publications are not subject to copyright, including bills, acts, regulations, court judgments, royal commission and select committee reports, etc.^{[1994-2018 Sec.27]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-New Zealand}} – copyright has expired or it is not subject to copyright
• {{NZTA-Sign-Spec}} – for traffic signs used by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA)

Currency

 Not OK New Zealand coins and notes are copyrighted by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. They note that "the Reserve Bank has no objection to reproducing our notes and coins as complete on-screen or printed images, typically for design, educational or illustrative purposes" but that "for intellectual property reasons we cannot grant permission to reproduce detail parts of these designs, and in particular that: (1) The ‘Pukaki’ image on the 20 cent coin is owned by Ngati Whakaue, used with permission by the Reserve Bank; (2) The image of H.M. The Queen on the obverse of our coins is owned by The Crown." This amounts to a restriction on derivative works, making the designs not appropriate for Commons.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand provides guidelines on using images of currency.

Freedom of panorama

OK for 3D works {{FoP-New Zealand}}

OK for 2D "works of artistic craftsmanship" {{FoP-New Zealand}}

 Not OK for 2D "graphic works". For image files such works, please file deletion requests and tag the resulting case pages with <noinclude>[[Category:New Zealand FOP cases/pending]]</noinclude>.

Under the Copyright Act 1994 as of December 2018, Section 73,

• This section applies to the following works: (a) buildings (b) works (being sculptures, models for buildings, or works of artistic craftsmanship) that are permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public.^{[1994-2018 Sec.73(1)]}
• Copyright in a work to which this section applies is not infringed by (a) copying the work by making a graphic work representing it; or (b) copying the work by making a photograph or film of it; or (c) communicating to the public a visual image of the work.^{[1994-2018 Sec.73(21)]}
• Copyright is not infringed by the issue to the public of copies, or the communication to the public, of anything the making of which was, under this section, not an infringement of copyright.^{[1994-2018 Sec.73(3)]}

Copyright legislation in New Zealand also follows that of the United Kingdom. In the absence of any specific case law to the contrary it is reasonable to assume that the rules will be identical. See Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom for more details.

Real life New Zealander FOP cases

Murals by Xoë Hall

• Artist Xoë Hall outraged over work featured on calendar's cover (by Charlotte Cook of Radio New Zealand, 30 December 2019)
• Yes, street art is on public display - but that doesn’t mean we should share it without credit (by Mike Dickison and Bruce White of Stuff.co.nz, 10 July 2020)

Stamps

In New Zealand, the Crown Copyright is defined by Sections 2(1), 26 et 27 of the 1994 Copyright Act. It lasts 100 years, with exceptions. It protects the work created by a person employed or engaged by the Crown, Ministers of the Crown, offices of Parliament and government departments. See Wikipedia:Crown copyright.

According to this law, images of New Zealand stamps are in the public domain :

• 50 years after issue for stamps issued before 31 December 1944 (Template:PD-NZ-50-years on the Wikipedia in English). Use {{PD-NZ-50-years}}. All stamps from 1944 and before are thus in the Public Domain.
• 100 years after issue for stamps issued between 1 January 1945 and the 31 March 1987 by the New Zealand Post Office as a Department of the Government. No stamps from 1945 onward will therefore become public domain before 1 January 2045.

Threshold of originality

As stated in the New Zealand government's NZGOAL copyright guide (January 2015),

• As the Court of Appeal has stated, the “threshold test for originality is not high”, the determining factor being “whether sufficient time, skill, labour, or judgment has been expended in producing the work”. The Court has also reiterated the axiom, or principle, that copyright is not concerned with the originality of ideas but with the form of their expression. A work is not original, however, if (a) it is, or to the extent that it is, a copy of another work; or (b) it infringes the copyright in, or to the extent that it infringes the copyright in, another work.

See also

• New Zealand / Aotearoa
• Category:License tags of New Zealand
• Category:Postage stamps of New Zealand
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Cook Islands
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Niue
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Tokelau
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom
• Category:New Zealand FOP cases

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Copyright rules: Nicaragua Shortcut: COM:NICARAGUA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Disclose + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NIC
Treaties
Berne convention	23 August 2000
Univ. Copyright Convention	16 August 1961
WTO member	3 September 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	6 March 2003
*‌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 Nicaragua relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Nicaragua must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821.

Nicaragua has been a member of the Universal Copyright Convention since 16 August 1961, the World Trade Organization since 3 September 1995, the Berne Convention since 23 August 2000 and the WIPO treaty since 6 March 2003.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 312 of 1999 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights (consolidated version as of February 2001) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Nicaragua. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. This law was amended by Law No. 577 of 2006 on Amendments and Additions to Law No. 312 of 1999 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights. The amendment generally did not affect definitions of works or durations of protection.

General rules

Based on the 2001 version of Law No. 312,

• Economic rights will last the whole life of the author and 70 years after his death.^{[312/1999 Article 27]}
• With pseudonymous or anonymous and collective works, economic rights shall last 70 years from disclosure.^{[312/1999 Article 28]}
• In the case of a collaborative work, the term of the rights shall be computed from the death of the last surviving co-author.^{[312/1999 Article 29]}

The expiry dates in this section will be computed from the first day of January of the year following the death of the author, or where appropriate, the disclosure, publication or completion of the work.^{[312/1999 Article 29]}

The 1904 Civil Code protected copyright for 30 years after the author's death. ^{[1904 Civil Code Article 766, 769]}. Posthumous works were protected for 20 years from publication ^{[1904 Civil Code Article 779]} and anonymous and pseudonymous works were protected for 30 years from publication ^{[1904 Civil Code Article 780]}. Government works were protected for 10 years from publication ^{[1904 Civil Code Article 855]}.

The 1999 copyright law was not retroactive: "The provisions of this Law shall also apply to the works that have been created, to the interpretations or executions that have taken place or that have been fixed, to the phonograms that have been fixed and to the broadcasts that have taken place, before the date of entry into force of this Law, provided that those works, interpretations or executions, phonograms and broadcasting broadcasts are not yet in the public domain due to the expiration of the duration of the protection to which they were subject in the preceding legislation"^{[312/1999 Article 132]}.

Not protected

Laws, governmental provisions, bills, minutes, agreements, deliberations and opinions of public bodies and agencies and official translations of the previous texts are not subject to protection. The judgments of the courts can be reproduced by anyone, after they have been officially certified as the authentic text.^{[312/1999 Article 16]}

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK {{NoFoP-Nicaragua}} As per Nicaragua Law No. 577 on Amendments and Additions to Law No. 312 on Copyright and Related Rights, "Works located permanently in parks, streets, squares or other thoroughfares may be reproduced, without the author’s authorization, by means of painting, sketching, photographs and audiovisual recordings for personal use. In respect of works of architecture, the previous article shall only apply to their external aspect.^{[77/2006 Article 43]}

This article had previously read, "Works permanently located in parks, streets, squares or other public roads can be reproduced, without the author's authorization, by means of painting, drawing, photography and audiovisual recordings. As for architectural works, the previous article will only apply to its external appearance.^{[312/1999 Article 43]}

Stamps

Stamps are not mentioned among the works not subject to copyright.^{[312/1999 Article 16]} The 1904 Civil Code protected government works for 10 years after publication and the 1999 copyright law was not retroactive, so stamps issued prior to 1989 are in the public domain.

See also

• Nicaragua
• Category:Stamps of Nicaragua

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Nigeria

Nigeria

Copyright rules: Nigeria Shortcut: COM:NIGERIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Photograph	Publish + 50 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Publish + 50 years
Government	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Nigeria}} {{PD-old-70}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NGA
Treaties
Berne convention	14 September 1993
WTO member	1 January 1995
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	4 January 2018
*‌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 Nigeria relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Nigeria must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Nigeria 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 Nigeria, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Nigeria state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and took its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on 1 October 1960.

Nigeria has been a member of the Berne Convention since 14 September 1993, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 4 January 2018.

As of 2023 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act, 2022 (Act No.8 of 2022 as the most recent main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Nigeria. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. This law repeals the Copyright Act of 1988 (Chapter C.28, as codified 2004), a copy of which is also available at WIPO Lex database.

Retroactivity

The 2004 act repealed the Copyright Act 1970.^{[C.28/2004 Art.52]} It applies retroactively.^{[C.28/2004 5th Schedule]}

The 2022 act is apparently not retroactive: "The Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 is repealed."^{[No.8/2022 Sec. 106(1)]} And, "Without prejudice to section 6 of the Interpretation Act, the repeal of the enactment specified in subsection (1), shall not affect anything doneunder the enactment."^{[No.8/2022 Sec. 106(3)]} The act became effective on 17 March 2023.

Durations

Under the Copyright Act of 1988 (Chapter C.28, as codified 2004), the terms of protection are:

• Anonymous or pseudonymous works are protected until 70 years after the end of the year of publication.^{[C.28/2004 Art.2(3)]}
• Literary, musical or artistic works other than photographs: 70 years after the end of the year in which the author dies.^{[C.28/2004 1st Sched/1]}
• In the case of government or a body corporate, 70 years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.^{[C.28/2004 1st Sched/1]}
• Cinematograph films and photographs. 50 years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.^{[C.28/2004 1st Sched/2]}
• Sound recordings. 50 years after the end of the year in which the recording was first made.^{[C.28/2004 1st Sched/3]}
• Broadcasts. 50 years after the end of the year in which the broadcasting first took place.^{[C.28/2004 1st Sched/4]}

Notice there is no exception for government works – quite the opposite, they are very broadly covered: " Copyright shall be conferred by this section on every work, which is eligible for copyright and is made by or under the direction or control of the Government, a State authority or prescribed international body."

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Nigeria}} – for following types of works:

a) cinematograph films or photographs 50 years after first publication;

b) sound recordings 50 years after creation;

c) broadcasts 50 years after first taking place;

d) other works 70 years after author's death or in case of governmental or corporative authorship – 70 years after first publication.

Currency

 Not OK. There is no copyright exemption for government works. (discussion)

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK, no longer applicable for new uploads (of photos) starting 17 March 2023. Under the Copyright Act, 2022 (Act No.8 of 2022), "The rights conferred in respect of a work under sections 9-13 of this Act, do not include the right to control any of the acts specified in those sections by way of fair dealing for purposes such as ... the inclusion in an audiovisual work or a broadcast of an artistic work situated in a place where it can be viewed by the public."^{[No.8/2022 Sec. 20(1)(e)]}

Under the repealed Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, "The right conferred in respect of a work by section 5 of this Act does not include the right to control ... the reproduction and distribution of copies of any artistic work permanently situated in a place where it can be viewed by the public".^{[C.28/2004 2nd Sched/d]}

Threshold of originality

Under the Copyright Act of 1988 (Chapter C.28, as codified 2004), A literary, musical or artistic work shall not be eligible for copyright unless (a) sufficient effort has been expended on making the work to give it an original character;...^{[C28/2004 Section 1(2)]}

See also

• Category:Nigerian FOP cases

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Niger

Niger

Copyright rules: Niger Shortcut: COM:NIGER
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Anonymous	Publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish + 50 years
Collective	Create/publish + 50 years
Applied art	Create + 25 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Incidental, non-commercial use only
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Niger}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NER
Treaties
Berne convention	2 May 1962
Bangui Agreement	8 February 1982
WTO member	13 December 1996
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 Niger relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Niger must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Niger 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 Niger, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

The French began colonization efforts in what is now Niger in the late 19th century, and had eliminated all resistance by 1922. Niger became an autonomous state in 1958 and acquired full independence on 3 August 1960.

Niger has been a member of the Berne Convention since 2 May 1962, the Bangui Agreement since 8 February 1982 and the World Trade Organization since 13 December 1996.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Decree No. 93-027 of March 30, 1993, on Copyright, Neighbouring Rights and Folklore as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Niger. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

Under the the Decree No. 93-027 of March 30, 1993 on Copyright, Neighbouring Rights and Folklore,

• Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the economic rights in a work shall be protected during the lifetime of the author and for 50 years after his death.^{[93-027/1993 Article 22(1)]}
• The economic rights in a work of joint authorship shall be protected during the lifetime of the last surviving author and for 50 years after his death.^{[93-027/1993 Article 23]}
• The economic rights in a work published anonymously or under a pseudonym shall be protected until the expiry of a period of 50 years as from the date on which such work has been lawfully published for the first time.^{[93-027/1993 Article 24]}
• The economic rights in a collective work or in an audiovisual work shall be protected until the expiry of a period of 50 years after such a work has been lawfully made accessible to the public or, failing such an event occurring during the period of 50 years as from the making of the work, 50 years as from its making.^{[93-027/1993 Article 25]}
• The economic rights in a work of applied art shall be protected until the expiry of a period of 25 years as from the making of such work.^{[93-027/1993 Article 26]}

In the above, each time limit shall expire at the end of the calendar year during which it would normally lapse.^{[93-027/1993 Article 27]}

Expressions of folklore: not free

See also: Commons:Paying public domain

"Folklore" means any productions created within the national territory by national ethnic communities, handed down from generation to generation, and constituting one of the fundamental elements of the traditional cultural heritage of a nation.^{[93-027/1993 Article 54(1)]} "Expressions of folklore" means any productions consisting of characteristic elements of the traditional artistic heritage developed and maintained by a community or by individuals reflecting the traditional artistic expectations of such a community, in particular verbal expressions, such as folk tales, folk poetry and riddles; musical expressions, such as folk songs and instrumental music; expressions by actions, such as folk dances, plays and artistic forms of rituals; tangible expressions, such as productions of folk art, in particular, drawings, paintings, carvings, sculptures, pottery, terracotta, mosaic, woodwork, metalware, jewelry, basket weaving, needlework, textiles, carpets, costumes; musical instruments; architectural forms.^{[93-027/1993 Article 54(2)]}

The expressions of folklore developed and maintained in Niger shall be protected against unlawful exploitation and other prejudicial actions.^{[93-027/1993 Article 55]} The following utilizations of the expressions of folklore shall be subject to authorization by the Copyright Office of Niger when they are made both with gainful intent and outside their traditional or customary context: any publication, reproduction and any distribution of copies of expressions of folklore; any public recitation or performance, any transmission by wireless means or by wire, and any other form of communication to the public, of expressions of folklore.^{[93-027/1993 Article 56]} Where the Copyright Office of Niger grants authorization, it shall fix the amount of and collect fees. The fees collected shall be used for the purpose of promoting or safeguarding Nigerien culture.^{[93-027/1993 Article 57 (2)]}

The law permits utilization of objects containing the expressions of folklore which are permanently located in a place where they can be viewed by the public, if the utilization consists in including their image in a photograph, a film or television broadcast.^{[93-027/1993 Article 58(ii)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Niger}} – for works made in Niger whose copyright has expired
• {{PD-NigerienGov}} – for works created by the Nigerien government that do not fall under copyright protection.

Currency

 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, but it is not known if it also applies to West African CFA franc.

See also: COM:CUR France

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK: incidental, non-commercial use only.

The 1993 law permits, without the consent of the author, "to reproduce or make available to the public, for the purposes of reporting on current events by means of photography, cinematography, or through broadcasting or such communication to the public by cable, a work seen or heard during such an event, to the extent justified by the intended informatory purpose.^{[93-027/1993 Article 14(ii)]} The 1993 law also permits, "to reproduce, broadcast or communicate to the public by cable an image of a work of architecture, a work of fine art, a photographic work or a work of applied art that is permanently located in a place open to the public, except if the image of the work is the main subject of such reproduction, broadcast or communication and if it is used for profit-making purposes.^{[93-027/1993 Article 15]}

The law permits utilization of any expression of folklore that can be seen or heard in the course of a current event for the purposes of reporting on that event by means of photography, broadcasting, or sound or visual recording, provided that the extent of such utilization is justified by the informatory purpose.^{[93-027/1993 Article 58 (i)]} It also permits utilization of objects containing the expressions of folklore which are permanently located in a place where they can be viewed by the public, if the utilization consists in including their image in a photograph, a film or television broadcast.^{[93-027/1993 Article 58(ii)]}

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

Text transcluded from
COM:North Korea

North Korea

Copyright rules: North Korea Shortcut: COM:DPRK
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Collective	Publish + 50 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-North Korea}} {{PD-DPRKOld}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	PRK
Treaties
Berne convention	28 April 2003
URAA restoration date‌*	28 April 2003
*‌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 North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in North Korea must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both North Korea 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 North Korea, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan in 1910. After World War II ended in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones, with the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south occupied by the United States. In 1948, separate governments were formed in North Korea and South Korea.

North Korea has been a member of the Berne Convention since 28 April 2003.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (as amended by Decree No. 1532 of February 1, 2006, of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of North Korea. WIPO holds an English language version of the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. A Korean language version is held on WikiSource. Korea.gnu.org holds the Korean language version of the 2001 Copyright Law.

Dr. Deming Liu provides an analysis on the North Korean copyright law in a 2018 scholarly essay.

Applicability

As listed by Article 9,^{[1532/2006 Article 9]} North Korean works eligible for copyright are:

• works of scientific treatises, novels and poems
• works of music
• works of theatrical art such as opera, drama, acrobatics and dance
• works of visual art such as film and television program
• works of fine arts such as painting, sculpture, industrial art, calligraphy and design
• works of photography
• works of graphic art such as map, chart, blueprint, sketch and model
• computer programs

Buildings are not specifically mentioned as applicable works. However, according to Liu (2018), "it is possible that buildings are protected as works of fine arts on the ground that they are analogous to sculpture as specifically provided for in the copyright act."

General rules

Under the Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (as amended by Decree No. 1532 of February 1, 2006),

• The property right to a copyrighted work shall be protected from the moment of its publication to the 50th year after the death of its author. The property right to a joint copyrighted work shall be protected from the moment of its publication to the 50th year after the death of the last survivor of the co-authors.^{[1532/2006 Article 23]}
• The property right 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]}
• The term of copyright protection shall be calculated from 1 of January of the year following the publication of the work or the death of its author.^{[1532/2006 Article 25]}

Not protected

• Documents for state management, current news or information data shall not be the object of copyright unless commercial purpose is pursued.^{[1532/2006 Article 12]}
• A "work whose publication, issuance, performance, broadcasting, show and exhibition is prohibited" is not protected by copyright.^{[1532/2006 Article 6]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-North Korea}} – Public domain work whose copyright has expired
• {{PD-KPGov}} – Government or other work in the public domain
• {{PD-Korea-1910-1945}} – Work made while Korea was under Japanese occupation
• {{PD-Korea-1910-1945-photo}} – Photograph made while Korea was under Japanese occupation
• {{PD-Korea-1910-1945-film}} – Film made while Korea was under Japanese occupation

Currency

 Not OK. According to the North Korean copyright act, documents for state management, current news or information data shall not be the object of copyright unless commercial purpose is pursued.^{[1532/2006 Article 12]} However, currencies are for commercial purposes, so currencies are not included here.

• See also: Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Banknotes of North Korea and Commons:Deletion_requests/Files_in_Category:Money_of_North_Korea

Freedom of panorama

OK: {{FoP-North Korea}}

Under the Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (as amended by Decree No. 1532 of February 1, 2006), A copyrighted work may be used without the permission ... when a copyrighted work in public places is copied.^{[1532/2006 Article 32.8]}

Stamps

. 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

• 조선민주주의인민공화국
• Category:North Korean FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of North Korea
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/South Korea

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

Text transcluded from
COM:North Macedonia

North Macedonia

Copyright rules: North Macedonia Shortcut: COM:NORTH MACEDONIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Other
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	MKD
Treaties
Berne convention	7 September 1991
WTO member	4 April 2003
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	4 February 2004
*‌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 North Macedonia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in North Macedonia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both North Macedonia 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 North Macedonia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

The region of the present North Macedonia was under Ottoman rule until the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, when it came under Serbian rule. After World War I (1914–1918), it became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which became a republic in 1945 and then a federation of socialist republics. Macedonia declared independence on 8 September 1991 during the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and was renamed North Macedonia in 2019.

North Macedonia has been a member of the Berne Convention since independence by virtue of succession of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and formally confirmed on 23 July 1993 that it was party to the treaty. North Macedonia has belonged to the World Trade Organization since 4 April 2003 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 4 February 2004.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (2010) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of North Macedonia. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

Grammatical changes were made to the law in October 2010. Several further changes were made between 2011 and 2015, but these were mainly to do with broadcasting and collective rights management and apparently did not affect definitions of protected works or of durations of protection.

Copyright works

A copyright work is an intellectual and individual creation in the field of literature, science and art, expressed in any manner and form.^{[2010 Art.12(1)]} This includes, among other things, a written, spoken, musical, dramatic, photographic, audiovisual, fine art, architectural, applied art, or a cartographic work.^{[2010 Art.12(2)]}

Durations

Under the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (2010),

• Economic rights run for the life of the author and for 70 years after his death, unless otherwise provided.^{[2010 Art.55]}
• Where the work has been created by a number of co-authors, the term of duration is calculated from the death of the last surviving author.^{[2010 Art.56(1)]}
• For an audiovisual work, the duration is calculated from the death of the last survivor of the principal director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogues and the composer of the music created specially for use in the audiovisual work.^{[2010 Art.56(2)]}
• Copyright of anonymous and pseudonymous works runs for 70 years after the lawful disclosure of the work, unless the identity of the author becomes known during this period.^{[2010 Art.57]}
• Where the term does not run from the death of the author or authors, and the work has not been lawfully disclosed, copyright runs for 70 years after its creation.^{[2010 Art.58]}
• The terms of duration of copyright protection run from 1 January of the year following the event which is the basis for calculation of the terms.^{[2010 Art.60]}

Not protected

The following are not considered to be copyright works: 1. Ideas, theories, concepts, operation methodologies, or mathematical concepts, regardless of the manner of explanation or expression; 2. Official texts of a political, legislative, administrative and judicial nature and their official translations; 3. Daily and other news having the character of mere media information, miscellaneous facts and data; and 4. Ideas and concepts which underlie any element of a computer program, including the program components that enable connection and interaction between the elements of the software and of the hardware equipment (interfaces).^{[2010 Art.16]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-North Macedonia}} – for works of the following types:

a) works of folk literature and folk art

b) a work of known authorship and the author died before January 1, 1946

c) an anonymous work and it was published before January 1, 1946

d) a photograph or a work of applied art published before January 1, 1971

Currency

 Not OK According to the law for the National Bank of Macedonia, for each reproduction of the banknotes and coins that are in official use in Macedonia there should be an official written permission from the Bank itself. The Council of the Bank decides the ways and the procedures for publication of photos of the currency.

Freedom of panorama

OK for 3D works {{FoP-North Macedonia}}  Not OK for 2D works (like maps and murals still under artists' copyright)

Under the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (2010),

• The use of a copyright work without payment of remuneration shall apply to the following cases: ... Use of architectural or sculptural works permanently located in public places (streets, squares, parks, etc.);^{[2010 Art.52.1.11]}

See also

• Северна Македонија
• Category:North Macedonian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of North Macedonia
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Yugoslavia

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Norway

Norway

Copyright rules: Norway Shortcut: COM:NORWAY
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For buildings
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-Norway50}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	NOR
Treaties
Berne convention	13 April 1896
Univ. Copyright Convention	23 January 1962
WTO member	1 January 1995
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 Norway relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Norway must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Norway 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 Norway, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Norway has been a member of the Berne Convention since 13 April 1896 and the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995.

As of 2020 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act (Act No. 40 of June 15, 2018, Relating to Copyright in Literary, Scientific and Artistic Works) (consolidated version, status as at December 20, 2018) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Norway. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. Minor adjustments were made by Act No. 120 of December 22, 2018, on Amendments to the Copyright Act, etc. (Portability of Online Content Services, etc.)

This act superseded the 1961 law the Copyright Act (Act No. 2 of May 12, 1961, relating to Copyright in Literary, Scientific and Artistic Works) (consolidated version of 2015).

General rules

Under the Act No. 40 of June 15, 2018,

• Copyright lasts for the author's life and 70 years after the expiry of his death.^{[2018 §11(a)]}
• For the co-authored works, copyright lasts for 70 years from the death of the last surviving author.^{[2018 §11(b)]}
• Copyright in cinematographic works lasts for 70 years from the end of the year of death of which the last survivor of the main director, author of the screenplay, dialogue writer and composer of the music that is created for use in filming.^{[2018 §11(c)]}
• For work in which both words and music are provided for the purpose of the work, copyright last for 70 years from the end of the year of death of the last survivor of the lyricist and the composer.^{[2018 §11(d)]}
• For anonymous works, copyright shall subsist for 70 years after the end of the year when the work was first published.^{[2018 §12]}
• When someone for the first time lawfully makes available to the public a work which has not been made public by the end of the copyright protection period, they have the same rights as a copyright holder for 25 years after the end of the year the work was first made available to the public.^{[2018 §13]}
• The exclusive right to photographic images that are not intellectual property lasts for the life of the photographer and 15 years after the end of the photographer's year of death, but still at least 50 years from the end of the year the photo was created.^{[2018 §23]}

The distinction between work of art ("fotografiske verk") and other photos ("fotografiske bilder") is not clearly described, but it is believed that the photographer should add something to the mere depiction to make it a work of art. Under the former photo law, protection ended 25 years after creation, provided that more than 15 years had passed since the photographer's death or the photographer is unknown. The image is in the public domain if this older term already had expired as of 29 June 1995.

• The author of a commissioned portrait (including a photograph) cannot exercise their copyright without the consent of the customer.^{[2018 §105]}
• Photographs that depict a person cannot be reproduced or displayed publicly without the consent of the person depicted, except when

a) the image has a current and general interest

b) the image of the person is less important than the main content of the image

c) the image depicts congregations, public trains in the open air or conditions or events of general interest

d) copies of the image in the usual way are displayed as advertisements for the photographer's business and the image is not prohibited, or

e) the image is used as referred to in section 33 second paragraph or section 37 third paragraph.

Protection applies during the life of the depicted person and 15 years after the expiry of the depicted year of death.^{[2018 §104]}

• Recordings of performances are copy-protected for 50 years.^{[2018 §16]}

Not protected

Under the Act No. 40 of June 15, 2018,

• Laws, regulations, judicial decisions and other decisions by public authorities are without protection under this Act. The same applies to proposals, reports, statements and the like that apply to the exercise of public authority, and is issued by a public authority, a publicly appointed council or committee, or published by the public. Similarly, official translations of such texts are without protection under this Act.^{[2018 §14]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Statens vegvesen}} – for Norwegian road signs from the website of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen)
• {{PD-Norway50}} – Norwegian photos not considered to be "works of art" 50 years after they were created, provided that the author died more than 15 years ago or is unknown
• {{PD-Norway70}} – Images considered to be "works of art" become public domain 70 years after the author's death or publication if the author is unknown.
• {{Norwegian coat of arms}} – Norwegian coats of arms
• {{Kirkeinfo}} – photos from the media database of the Church of Norway.
• {{PD-NorwayGov}} – part of a decision or a statement by an authority or a public body of Norway
• {{Met.no}} – images without a byline from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute
• {{NLOD}} - a licensing agreement public authorities can use when making public data available

Currency

 Not OK. Norwegian currency is protected by copyright. The Bank of Norway, which administers the rights of the artists, states: "Use of illustrations of Norwegian coins and banknotes must not violate the rights of the authors". This means, among other things, that the original pattern may not be manipulated. As they are non-derivative, images of Norwegian currency may not be used unless it is in the public domain due to age (70 years after end of year of author's death). When using images of Norwegian currency under fair use rules on other projects, see the Norges Bank Guidelines for the use of Norwegian banknote and coin designs for other conditions that apply, such as size regulations, maximum resolution etc.

Freedom of panorama

OK for buildings {{FoP-Norway}}.  Not OK, non-commercial use only for other works like sculptures.

Under the Act No. 40 of June 15, 2018,

• A work can be depicted when it is permanently placed on or near a public space or road or similar publicly accessible place. However, this does not apply when the work is clearly the main subject, and the reproduction is used commercially. Buildings can be depicted freely.^{[2018 §31]}

This seems to imply that photographs of artistic works in public places are allowed if the depiction of the works is de minimis.

Threshold of originality

Not protected

Two-minute theatre play.

Protected

• A specific chair design (Tripp Trapp)
• The logo for the TV series Jul i Blåfjell.

See also

• Norway
• Category:License tags of Norway
• Category:Norwegian FOP cases

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

Copyright rules by territory

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