Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Consolidated list Northern Europe

This page gives overviews of copyright rules in different countries of Northern Europe, as defined in the United Nations geoscheme for Europe. It is "transcluded" from individual pages giving the rules for each country. The list may be used for comparison or maintenance.

Text transcluded from
COM:Denmark

Denmark

Copyright rules: Denmark Shortcut: COM:DENMARK
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For buildings
Common licence tags	{{PD-Denmark}} {{PD-Denmark50}} {{PD-DenmarkGov}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	DNK
Treaties
Berne convention	1 July 1903
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 Denmark relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Denmark must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Denmark 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 Denmark, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Denmark has been a member of the Berne Convention since 1 July 1903, 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 the Consolidated Act on Copyright (Consolidated Act No. 1144 of October 23, 2014) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Denmark. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

This Act does not extend to the Faeroe Islands but may by Royal Ordinance be brought into full or partial operation in the Faeroe Islands, subject to such modifications as required by the special conditions obtaining in the Faeroe Islands.^{[1144/2014 Art.93]} The act does apply to Greenland with minor modifications. The Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends provides a commentary on Danish copyright law.

General rules

Under the Consolidated Act No. 1144 of 23 October 2014,

• The copyright in a work lasts for 70 years after the year of the author’s death, or with joint works for 70 years after the year of death of the last surviving author.^{[1144/2014 Art.63(1)]}
• With cinematographic works, copyright lasts for 70 years after the year of death of the last survivor of the principal director; the author of the script; the author of the dialogue; and the composer of music specifically created for use in the cinematographic work.^{[1144/2014 Art.63(1)]}
• Copyright of a musical work with lyrics where both lyrics and musical work have been created specifically for the work in question lasts until 70 years have passed from the year of death of the longest-living of the author and the composer.^{[1144/2014 Art.63(2)]}
• Where a work is made public without indication of the author’s name, generally known pseudonym or signature, copyright lasts for 70 years after the year in which the work was made public.^{[1144/2014 Art.63(3)]}
• Copyright in a work of unknown authorship that has not been made public lasts 70 years after the end of the year in which the work was created.^{[1144/2014 Art.63(5)]}

Photographs

Under the Consolidated Act No. 1144 of 23 October 2014,

• The person creating a literary or artistic work shall have copyright therein, be it ... a cinematographic or photographic work ...^{[1144/2014 Art.1(1)]}
• The rights in a photographic picture shall last until 50 years have elapsed from the end of the year in which the picture was taken.^{[1144/2014 Art.70(2)]}
• If a photographic picture is subject to copyright according to section 1, this right may also be exercised.^{[1144/2014 Art.70(3)]}
• The provision of this law (Section 70) shall not apply to photographic pictures made before 1 January 1970,^{[1144/2014 Art.89(5)]} that is, such pictures are covered by the previous law from 1993, which specifies protection tern of 25 years after the end of the year in which the image was produced.[9]

The definition of a photographic work, as opposed to image is not precisely defined. However Peter Schønning, a Danish copyright lawyer, states that for a photograph to be a photographic work it must display "the author's own intellectual creation and reflects his personality". Lacking actual court decisions however, interpretation is still subjective.

• On Commons Commons:Deletion requests/File:Aage Bohr.jpg concluded, that it was too simple to be considered photographic work.
• The same was decided in Commons:Deletion requests/File:Peter Martin Madsen (Halsted) by Julius Folkmann.jpg
• Commons:Deletion requests/File:HOLange2.jpg on a portrait photo of a man sitting with a book in a certain stance was concluded being a photographic work.

Maps

Certain maps produced by the Danish government in 1814 or later are subject to perpetual copyright. This is covered by section 92 of the Danish copyright law. Currently, all maps made by da:Det Kongelige Søkort-Arkiv in 1814 or later, all maps made by da:Generalstabens topografiske Afdeling in 1831 or later and all maps made by their successors remain copyrighted in Denmark. The rights currently belong to da:Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Effektivisering.

Not protected

Under the Consolidated Act No. 1144 of 23 October 2014: Acts, administrative orders, legal decisions and similar official documents are not subject to copyright. This does not apply to works appearing as independent contributions in these documents, but such works may be reproduced in connection with the documents.^{[1144/2014 Art.9]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Denmark}} – for "photographic works of art" in the public domain according to Danish law.
• {{PD-Denmark50}} – for "photographic images not considered to display artistic merit or originality" that were created before 1 January 1970.
• {{PD-DenmarkGov}} – for "acts, administrative orders, legal decisions and similar official documents," but not "works appearing as independent contributions in the [aforementioned] documents."
• {{DGA map}} – for media in either full extent or partially based in Danish Geodata Agency open public geographic data. This tag does not preclude use of other copyright tags.
• {{Statistics Denmark}} – for media in either full extent or partially based on information from Statistics Denmark. This tag does not preclude use of other copyright tags.
• {{PD-DK-expired}} – for works where all authors have been dead for 70 years, which is the maximum amount of copyright allowed according to the 2023 law.

Currency

 Not OK. The National Bank of Denmark states:

• Danmarks Nationalbank regularly receives requests from firms and private individuals about reproduction of banknotes and coins. Any reproduction of money should always be considered carefully since it is a criminal offence to imitate and/or copy money in such a way they can be mistaken for genuine money. Moreover, Danmarks Nationalbank's copyright to the banknote and coin designs must be respected.

Freedom of panorama

The Little Mermaid

• OK for buildings only: {{FoP-Denmark}}
•  Not OK for any public art still in copyright: {{NoFoP-Denmark}} (category-only template)

Under the Consolidated Act No. 1144 of 23 October 2014,

• Buildings may be freely reproduced in pictorial form and then made available to the public."^{[1144/2014 Art.24(3)]}
• Works of art may be reproduced in pictorial form and then made available to the public if they are permanently situated in a public place or road. The provision of the first sentence shall not apply if the work of art is the chief motif and its reproduction is used for commercial purposes."^{[1144/2014 Art.24(2)]}

The famous statue of The Little Mermaid by sculptor Edvard Eriksen (1876–1959) is protected by copyright until 2029, and pictures where it is the main motif cannot be used for commercial purposes.

Stamps

There appears to be no specific provision in the law for stamps and there are no special rules for works created by the government. So stamps are copyrighted following the normal terms of Life + 70 years after the death of the artist or Create/Publish + 70 years if they are created anonymously.

Threshold of originality

Status	Example	Notes
OK		Three fonts not eligible for copyright protection (Supreme Court 30 June 2006, U2006.2697H). Two other fonts were found eligible for copyright.
OK		Sketches of windows and doors not eligible for copyright protection (The Maritime and Commercial Court 8 August 2003.)
OK		The WWF panda logo is not protected by copyright
Not OK		The GLOBAL knife design is copyright protected in Denmark.
Not OK		A specific chair design (Tripp Trapp).

See also

• Danmark
• Category:Danish FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Denmark
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Faroe Islands
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Greenland

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:Estonia

Estonia

Copyright rules: Estonia Shortcut: COM:ESTONIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Collective	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-EE-exempt}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	EST
Treaties
Berne convention	26 October 1994
WTO member	13 November 1999
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 Estonia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Estonia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Estonia 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 Estonia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Estonia declared independence from Russia on 24 February 1918.

• In 1940, the country was annexed and occupied by the Soviet Union, which "incorporated" into the USSR as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic on 21 July 1940.
• Estonia was occupied by Germany between 1941 and 1944.
• For a few days after the German forces left, Estonia was free.
• The country was then reoccupied by the Soviet Union until 1991. The Soviet occupation was not recognised by the United States and a number of other Western countries.

Estonia restored its independence on 20 August 1991.

Estonia has been a member of the Berne Convention since 26 October 1994, the World Trade Organization since 13 November 1999 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 the Copyright Act of 11 November 1992 (consolidated text of February 1, 2017) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Estonia. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. The Estonian Ministry of Justice provides the current consolidated text in Estonian. They also provide a consolidated English translation.

General rules

Under the Copyright Act of 11 November 1992 (consolidated text of February 1, 2017),

• The term of protection of copyright is the life of the author and 70 years after his or her death except in the cases prescribed in §§39–42 of this Act.^{[1992/2017 §38(1)]}
• The term of protection of copyright in a work created by two or more persons as a result of their joint creative activity is the life of the last surviving author and 70 years after his or her death.^{[1992/2017 §39]}
• In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works where the author does not become known, the term of protection of copyright shall run for 70 years after the work is lawfully made available to the public.^{[1992/2017 §40]}
• The term of protection of copyright in a collective work or work created in the execution of duties runs for 70 years after the work is lawfully made available to the public.^{[1992/2017 §41(1)]}
• The term of protection of copyright in an audiovisual work expires 70 years after the death of the last surviving author (director, script writer, author of dialogue, author of a musical work specifically created for use in the audiovisual work).^{[1992/2017 §41(1.1)]}
• If a collective work, work created in the execution of duties or audiovisual work is not made available to the public 50 years after creation, the term of protection of copyright expires 70 years after the creation of the work.^{[1992/2017 §41(2)]}

The above terms begin on 1 January of the year following the year of the death of the author, year when the work was lawfully made available to the public or year of creation of the work, as applicable.^{[1992/2017 §43]}

Collective works

A collective work is a work which consists of contributions of different authors which are united into an integral whole by a natural or a legal person on the initiative and under the management of this person and which is published under the name of this natural or legal person (works of reference, collections of scientific works, newspapers, journals and other periodicals or serials, etc.).^{[1992/2017 §31(1)]} Copyright in a collective work shall belong to the person on whose initiative and under whose management the work was created and under whose name it was published unless otherwise prescribed by contract.^{[1992/2017 §31(2)]} The authors of the works included in a collective work (contributions) shall enjoy copyright in their works and they may use their works independently unless otherwise determined by contract. Authors of contributions are not deemed to be joint authors or co-authors.^{[1992/2017 §31(3)]}

Not protected

Under the Copyright Act of 11 November 1992 (consolidated text of February 1, 2017), copyright does not apply to ideas, images, notions, theories, processes, systems, methods, concepts, principles, discoveries, inventions, and other results of intellectual activities which are described, explained or expressed in any other manner in a work; works of folklore; legislation and administrative documents (acts, decrees, regulations, statutes, instructions, directives) and official translations thereof; court decisions and official translations thereof; official symbols of the state and insignia of organisations (flags, coats of arms, orders, medals, badges, etc.); news of the day; facts and data; ideas and principles which underlie any element of a computer program, including those which underlie its user interfaces.^{[1992/2017 §5]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-EE-exempt}} – copyright does not apply to works of folklore, legislation and administrative documents, court decisions and official translations thereof; official symbols of the state and insignia of organizations. Freedom of panorama in Estonia is restricted to non-commercial uses only, or to overview photos.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK, only non-commercial use allowed if the work is the main subject. {{NoFoP-Estonia}}

Under the Copyright Act of 11 November 1992 (consolidated text of February 1, 2017): It is permitted to reproduce works of architecture, works of visual art, works of applied art or photographic works which are permanently located in places open to the public, without the authorisation of the author and without payment of remuneration, by any means except for mechanical contact copying, and to communicate such reproductions of works to the public except if the work is the main subject of the reproduction and it is intended to be used for direct commercial purposes. If the work specified in this section carries the name of its author, it shall be indicated in communicating the reproduction to the public.^{[1992/2017 §20¹]}

An obviously unsuitable freedom of panorama for architecture exists, in which architecture can be freely used, but for purpose of "real estate advertisements" only.^{[1992/2017 §20²]}

Currency

OK. Estonian currency was removed from the public domain in 2000. However, Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank), which holds the copyright to the design of the currency, has allowed reproduction under certain terms:

• Banknotes: As long as reproductions in advertising or illustrations cannot be mistaken for genuine banknotes they can be used without prior authorisation of the Bank of Estonia. Same kind of restrictions apply to reproductions of Estonian kroon banknotes as do to euro banknotes.
• Coins: Reproduction in a non-relief (drawings, paintings, films) format is authorised, provided they are not detrimental to the image of the Estonian kroon.

Please use {{EEK banknote}} or {{EEK coin}} for Estonian currency images.

See also

• Eesti
• Category:Estonian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Estonia
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/European Union
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Soviet Union

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:Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

Other region, e.g. dependency, union, former country

Copyright rules: the Faroe Islands Shortcut: COM:Faroe Islands
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Photograph	Create + 50 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Other
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{Anonymous-EU}} {{Faroe stamps}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	FRO
Treaties

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

Background

The Faroe Islands is an autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

The Danish copyright law, Consolidated Act on Copyright (Consolidated Act No. 1144 of October 23, 2014), does not extend to the Faroe Islands but may by Royal Ordinance be brought into full or partial operation in the Faroe Islands, subject to such modifications as required by the special conditions obtaining in the Faroe Islands.^{[1144/2014 Art.93]}

The prevailing copyright law in the islands is Løgtingslóg nr. 30 frá 30. apríl 2015 um upphavsrætt.

General rules

According to the Faroese law of 2013, since amended:

• Works are protected for the term of life of the author plus 70 years (= {{PD-old-70}}) (§ 53, 1)
• Anonymous works are protected with a copyright term of 70 years after the work was made available to the public if the author never disclosed their identity (= {{Anonymous-EU}}) (§ 53, 2)
• Photographic images are protected for the rest of the year they were created + 50 full years. (§ 58)

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Faroe stamps}} – for stamps by the Faroe post office in the public domain.

Freedom of panorama

• OK architecture only.
•  Not OK public art. Restricted to non-commercial and/or de minimis (or not-the-main-subject) use, but non-commercial content is not allowed on Wikimedia Commons.

According to Løgtingslóg nr. 30 frá 30. apríl 2015 um upphavsrætt (in Faroese text):

• "Tá listaverk varandi er sett upp við veg ella á plássi, har atkomuligt er hjá almenninginum, kann listaverkið verða avmyndað. Ásetingin í 1. pkt. er tó ikki galdandi, um listaverkið er høvuðsevnið í myndini, og myndin verður tikin við vinningi fyri eyga."^{[30/2015 §24.2.]}
• "Bygningar kunnu frítt avmyndast."^{[30/2015 §24.3.]}

Listaverk - work/s of art. Bygningar - building/s.

Stamps

use {{PD-Faroe stamps}}

See also

• Føroyar
• Category:Faroese FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of the Faroe Islands
• Template talk:Faroe stamps
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Denmark

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:Finland

Finland

Copyright rules: Finland Shortcut: COM:FINLAND
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For buildings
Terms run to year end	No
Common licence tags	{{PD-Finland50}} {{PD-Finland}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	FIN
Treaties
Berne convention	1 April 1928
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 Finland relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Finland must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Finland 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 Finland, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Finland has been a member of the Berne Convention since 1 April 1928, 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 the Copyright Act (Act No. 404/1961 of July 8, 1961, as amended up to Act No. 972/2016 of November 18, 2016) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Finland. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. The Finnish Ministry of Justice website holds an English translation of the Copyright Act 404/1961, with amendments up to 608/2015 on its website. Finlex holds up-to-date Finnish and Swedish versions of the act.

General rules

Under the Copyright Act 404/1961, with amendments up to 608/2015,

• Copyright subsists until 70 years have elapsed from the year of the author's death or, in the case of a work of joint authorship, from the year of death of the last surviving author.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.43(1)]}
• Copyright in a cinematographic work subsists until 70 years have elapsed from the year of the death of the last of the following to survive: the principal director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue and the composer of music specifically created for use in the cinematographic work.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.43(1)]}
• Copyright in a musical work with lyrics, when the lyrics and music have been specifically created for the work, subsists until 70 years have elapsed from the death of the last surviving lyricist or composer, whether or not they have been appointed as the authors of the musical work with lyrics.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.43(2)]}
• Copyright in a work made public without mention of the author's name or generally known pseudonym or pen name shall subsist until 70 years have elapsed from the year in which it was made public.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.44(1)]}
  • If the identity of the author is disclosed during the period referred to in subsection 1, the provisions of section 43 shall apply.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.44(2)]}
  • The copyright in a work not made public, whose author is unknown, shall subsist until 70 years have elapsed from the year in which the work was created.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.44(3)]}
• Anyone who for the first time publishes or makes public a previously unpublished work for which the protection has expired obtains a right that subsists until 25 years have elapsed from the year in which the work was published.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.44a]}

Photographs that are not works of art

The right to a photographic picture [that does not qualify as a "work of art"] shall be in force until 50 years have elapsed from the end of the year during which the photographic picture was made.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.49a]}

Photographs considered to be "works of art" are protected normally for 70 years after the death of the work's creator.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.43]} The difference between a photograph and a photographic work of art is not precisely defined. To qualify as a work of art, the photograph must express personal vision such that no other person can be expected to have produced a similar image. As an example, the (legally not binding) statement by the Finnish Copyright Council states that this photograph of Paavo Nurmi "— is, despite its historical importance, a regular photograph of contemporary events. The photograph does not demonstrate original and personal contribution on the part of the photographer and so it cannot be regarded as a photographic work (of art)."

An amendment to the Copyright Act (1991) extended the copyright time from 25 years (according to the 1961 copyright law) to 50 years. However, material already released to public domain according to the 1961 law remain in public domain and therefore all photographs (but not photographic works of art) released before 1966 are in the public domain (and were in the public domain at the URAA date).

Photographs featuring works of art exhibited in public spaces can only be used for non-commercial purposes other than in certain contexts (similar to "fair use"), unless it is clear that the work is not the main subject in the photo (freedom of panorama). Taking photographs of buildings (works of architecture) is explicitly allowed, but photographing single, private homes or yards may be illegal based on privacy laws.

Photographs of people

The law regarding images of living people is unclear and the advice below is mostly deduced from recommendations, case law and legal literature. Possible consequences of the Data Protection Directive of the EU and related domestic legislation have not been considered below.

Domestic privacy (kotirauha, hemfrid): people in private yards, homes or similar places (which includes temporary overnighting facilities, such as tents) may not be observed by technical means, nor photographed, other than rightfully (which may open for de minimis defence in some cases).

Photos of people who are of public interest (famous politicians, artists, sportsmen) and who are carrying out their public duties or going about their usual work may be published without consent. In case of politicians, public officials and important persons in economical life, photos of private life may also be published in certain cases, where the information is important for their role and for public interest.

Photos of regular people in public places may only be published without their consent if the person is clearly not the main subject of the image and the picture does not cause damage, suffering or despise to the person in the picture. Photographs of public events or regular life in the streets should be unproblematic, unless some individual people are shown prominently or somebody is doing something stupid. In the latter case, whether showing the incident is unimportant, and whether the person did not intend the action to be public, should be considered.

However, if the person can be identified, the image may not be used in advertisement (commercially or non-commercially) without consent. Even when a person is not clearly identifiable, using a picture with the person as the main subject may require their consent. The images should be marked with {{Personality rights}} as the uploader may be held responsible for allowing such use.

Not protected

Under the Copyright Act 404/1961, with amendments up to 608/2015, there shall be no copyright:^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.9(1)]}

• In laws and decrees;
• In resolutions, stipulations and other documents which are published under the Act on the Statutes of Finland (188/2000) and the Act on the Regulations of Ministries and other Government Authorities (189/2000);
• Treaties, conventions and other corresponding documents containing international obligations;
• Decisions and statements issued by public authorities or other public bodies;
• Translations of documents referred to above made by or commissioned by public authorities or other public bodies.

As of the 2005 revision, copyright protection continues to apply to independent works contained in the documents referred to in the list above.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.9(1)]} A work that is part of or attached to a decision or something similar is often such that it was not produced specifically as a part of the decision or as an attachment to it. In such a case, it is not reasonable that the attached work should also automatically lose copyright protection. An example is a work of fine art included in currency. This applies to independent works included in both the text of the document and its appendices. These independent works could be reproduced in connection with the document in question and used separately from the document for the purpose to which the document is related, but due to these restrictions the document or the protected independent work it contains cannot be uploaded to Commons.

The textual, and in many cases the graphical, representations of Finnish coat of arms of municipalities, regions and provinces are considered to be part of decisions of public bodies and therefore they are not protected by copyright. According to the opinions of the Finnish Copyright Council even the graphical representation is thought (at least in these cases) not to be protected by copyright.

Either the graphical representations were part of the decisions of the municipalities (whether they could be considered works of art was thought to be irrelevant), or the alterations made did not meet the requirements for an original work of art. The coats of arms of historical provinces and other historical coats of arms are not protected by copyright: if there has been any copyright, it has expired.

Coats of arms of new entities should be analysed on a case-by-case basis. Usually they are based on old coats of arms and not eligible, but there is no guarantee unless they are included in public decisions. Some unofficial coats of arms, e.g. for former municipalities, which never had official coats of arms, are private creations under copyright, provided they reach the threshold of originality.

Reproductions of out-of-copyright works

National recommendations (JHS 189) for open licensing in Finland is CC-BY and most of the open digital archives are following it. A digitised work (particularly of a three-dimensional object) could lead to protection by a related right as a non original photograph. The Copyright council has stated that the start time of copyright protection of a photograph is when the photograph is taken. Reproductions of out of copyright photographs are copies and do not get new copyright protection.

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Finland50}} – for photographic simple images in the public domain according to Finnish law.
• {{PD-Finland}} – for works of art (photographic included) in the public domain according to Finnish law. Same as {{PD-old-70}} for Finnish works.
• {{PD-FinlandGov}} – for laws, statements and decisions of Finnish officials.
• {{PD-Coa-Finland}} – for Finnish coats of arms of municipalities, districts or administrative or historical provinces.
• {{PD-FinlandStamp}} – for postage stamps published before January 1, 1990.
• {{PD-Kansallisarkisto}} – for archives material from the digital database of Finnish National Archives Service
• {{PD-Raita}} – for records from the Raita database.

Currency

 Not OK. Some exceptions do apply. The Bank of Finland claims that using images of banknotes and Euro coins is subject to permission. For Euro banknotes and the shared side of Euro coins: see COM:CRT/European Union:Currency. For markka banknotes, permission has been granted given provided certain guidelines are followed, see below. There is a statement from the Finnish Copyright Council (a semi-official body giving advice on copyright) that the use of an image on a markka coin is not subject to copyright, as the designs of coins were part of decrees. The statement could apply more broadly.

Decisions by governmental institutions are excepted from copyright. This includes images that are part of the decisions (see e.g. statement 1989:13 of the Finnish Copyright Council, on using the image of a coin), unless those are separate works, which is thought to apply only in unusual cases. In the old law on money there was no mention of copyright. Thus the images on markka banknotes and coins should be in the public domain, and likewise the images on the national side of euro coins.

There might be copyright issues, independent of the copyright by governmental bodies, if a design element is a derived work of a pre-existing work. The last 20 mark and 100 mark banknotes are known to be encumbered by this.

Counterfeit legislation does apply: it is criminal to publish images that are confusingly similar to legal tender (chapter 37, article 7 of the penal code). For instructions about Euro notes and coins see above.

The Bank of Finland claims it has copyright on Finnish (i.e. mark) banknotes and states that illegal reproduction of banknotes is punishable as counterfeit or fraud according to chapter 33 and 36 of the Penal Code (these seem not to apply to good faith use), or as breach of copyright.

Sources:

• On copyright protection of the common face design of the euro coins.
• Bank of Finland 2015 guide how to use pictures of the notes.
• Decision of the European central bank of 19 April 2013 on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes (recast)
• The penal code chapter 37, article 7, and chapter 33 and 36.
• Statement of the Finnish Copyright Council on using an image of the markka coin
• Statement of the Finnish Copyright Council on using an image of the Finnish flag, about coins is summarized
• Statement of the Finnish Copyright Council on coats of arms of municipalities, where the applicability of article 9 of the copyright law is discussed
• Old law on money

De minimis

Under the Copyright Act 404/1961, with amendments up to 608/2015,

• Works of art made public may be reproduced in pictorial form in material connection with the text: 1) in a critical or scientific presentation; and 2) in a newspaper or a periodical when reporting on a current event, provided that the work has not been created in order to be reproduced in a newspaper or a periodical.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.25(1)]}
• When a copy of a work of art has, with the consent of the author, been sold or otherwise permanently transferred, the work of art may be incorporated into a photograph, a film, or a television programme if the reproduction is of a subordinate nature in the photograph, film or programme.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.25(2)]}

Freedom of panorama

• OK for buildings only: {{FoP-Finland}}
•  Not OK for other works of art, including sculptures (non-commercial only): {{NoFoP-Finland}} (category-only template)

Under the Copyright Act 404/1961, with amendments up to 608/2015,

• A work of art may be reproduced in pictorial form ... if the work is permanently placed at, or in the immediate vicinity of, a public place. If the work of art is the leading motive of the picture, the picture may not be used for the purpose of gain. A picture having a material connection to the text may, however, be included in a newspaper or a periodical.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.25a(3)]}
• A building may be freely reproduced in pictorial form.^{[404/1961–2015 Sec.25a(4)]}

Buildings (works of architecture) are the only copyrighted works in public space from Finland that can be hosted on Wikimedia Commons. Non-commercial licensing is not accepted on Commons as per Commons:Licensing (which is backed by the Definition of Free Cultural Works). Images of works of art permanently located in public places in Finland can only be used non-commercially or as illustrations to texts in newspapers and periodicals. Published works of art may also be used as illustrations to scientific texts or criticism, according to Article 25.

Stamps

Åland has its own laws on postal matters; the discussion below does not concern stamps of Åland.

Stamps issued before 1990

Before 1990 stamps were issued by a public body whose decisions and statements are not protected by copyright. See #Not protected (above). If an image of a stamp was included in a public body's decision or statement and the stamp is not an independent work, the image would be free of copyright as part of the document, the document can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and the image can be cropped from this document. Use {{PD-FinlandStamp}} in these cases.

It is uncertain how the above affects the copyright of stamps depicted in other places. The precautionary principle is that we assume a stamp is copyrighted unless proven otherwise. A copyrighted stamp will lose copyright protection 70 years after the author's death or 70 years after publication if the author is anonymous. Information on the author of a stamp will often be available at Postimuseo's Postimerkkiselain, and should be included in the stamp description where available. Use {{PD-old-70}} or {{PD-anon-70}} in these cases.

Stamps issued from 1990

Posts and Telecommunications of Finland became a state-owned enterprise known as Posti-Tele in 1990. It is not clear whether this entity and its successors retained the status of public bodies. The precautionary principle is that we assume it did not, and any new stamps issued from 1990 onward remain copyrighted.

Threshold of originality

For works of visual art, the threshold of originality is relatively low. Simple logos, however, are generally below the threshold of originality. In particular, the threshold is high when only basic colors and shapes (such as triangles, squares and circles or capital letters) are used.

OK		Simple photograph with limited copyright period – not a photographic work of art. (TN 2003:6)
OK		Differences compared to the coat of arms of the historic region did not meet threshold of originality. (TN 1998:5)
Not OK	Commons:Deletion_requests/Aalto_vases	"The wave-like forms of the [original Aalto vases] do not... result from the intended use of the object but the creative mental effort of the author. [Therefore the original vases] are independent and original enough to be considered works of art as meant in 1 § of [the Finnish Copyright law]" (p. 4). (TN 2010:10)
OK	A specific house type	(Eurohouse S 2, court ruling)
OK		The logo is below the threshold of originality because it is "ordinary and [does] not express an independent and original result of a creative process of its author. Somebody else in undertaking a comparable task could have contrived a similar ... logo". (TN 2000:1)
Not OK	Save the Children Fund logo	The logo is above the threshold of originality, because its "visual manifestation is the creative work of its author, whereby the ideological basis of the fund has been successfully conformed with in an independent and original manner... [N]o one else undertaking a comparable task could have reached a similar outcome". (TN 2010:3)
OK	and	The logos are "in their literary and visual manifestation simple and ordinary to the degree that they are not to be regarded as original works in their own regard." (TN 2009:2)
OK		The logo is "is not original and independent in such a way that it would be protected ... by copyright". (TN 2011:7)
OK		The logo is below the threshold of originality because "its central elements and the way in which they have been combined are commonly used in logos and are thus ordinary". (TN 2000:1)
Not OK	"Silmu" logo	Although the logo consists of a "stylized, albeit fairly simple, red tulip", it is above the threshold of originality for works of visual art. (TN 2001:12)

See also

• Finland
• Category:Finnish FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Finland
• Category:Stamps of Finland

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:Bailiwick of Guernsey

Guernsey

Other region, e.g. dependency, union, former country

Copyright rules: Guernsey Shortcut: COM:Guernsey
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	GGY
Treaties

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

Governing laws

Guernsey is a "territory for which the United Kingdom is responsible" rather than a sovereign state. It is not a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Copyright laws are defined by the Copyright (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2005. The extent of law covers the whole Bailiwick, and therefore covers Guernsey, Sark, and Alderney (and for the avoidance of doubt, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, Burhou and any other territories of the Bailiwick).

General rules

Under the Copyright (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2005,

• Copyright in literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.^{[2005 Section 13 (1)]}
• If the work is of unknown authorship, copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made, or if during that period the work is made available to the public, at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first so made available.^{[2005 Section 13 (3)]}
• 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 was made.^{[ Section 13 (7)]}
• For a work of joint authorship, copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last surviving known author dies.^{[2005 Section 13 (8)]}
• For sound recordings, copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the recording is made, published or communicated to the public, whichever is later.^{[2005 Section 14]}
• For films, copyright expires as with a work of joint authorship, where the co-authors are considered to be the principal director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue, and the composer of music specially created for and used in the film.^{[2005 Section 15]}

Freedom of panorama

OK: for buildings, sculptures and works of artistic craftsmanship.  Not OK: for photographs, paintings etc.

Under the Copyright (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2005, 82: representation of certain artistic works on public display",

• This section applies to (a) buildings, and (b) sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship, if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public.^{[2005 Section 82(1)]}
• The copyright in any of those works is not infringed by (a) making a graphic work representing it (b) making a photograph or film of it, or (c) making a broadcast of a visual image of it.^{[2005 Section 82(2)]}
• Nor is the copyright infringed by the issue to the public of copies, or the communication to the public, of anything whose making was, by virtue of this section, not an infringement of the copyright.^{[2005 Section 82(3)]}

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:Iceland

Iceland

Copyright rules: Iceland Shortcut: COM:ICELAND
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	ISL
Treaties
Berne convention	7 September 1947
Univ. Copyright Convention	18 December 1956
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 Iceland relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Iceland must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Iceland 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 Iceland, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Iceland has been a member of the Berne Convention since 7 September 1947 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 Act (Act No. 73/1972 of May 29, 1972, as amended up to Act No. 90/2018 of June 27, 2018) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Iceland. WIPO holds the text of this law in Icelandic with an automated translation tool, in their WIPO Lex database. The Patent Office holds an English-language translation up to 2010.

General rules

As of 2018 the rules were:

• Copyright lasts until 70 years have elapsed from the start of the year after the author's death.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.43]}
• For works of joint authorship, copyright lasts until 70 years have elapsed from the last surviving author's death.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.43]}
• Copyright for musical compositions with words, where the words and music were written specifically for the work, lasts for 70 years from the start of the year after the death of the last survivor of the lyricist and the composer.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.43]}
• Copyright for cinematographic works lasts until 70 years from the start of the year after the death of the last survivor of the principal director, writers, including the dialogues, composers of the music composed especially for use in the cinematographic works.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.43]}
• Copyright in an anonymous work expires 70 years after the end of the year in which it was presented. However, if the author becomes known within that period, Article 43 applies.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.44]}
• If an anonymous work is not presented, the copyright in it expires 70 years after the end of the year in which it was created.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.44]}
• When a work has not been publicly presented within the period of protection mentioned in Article 43 or 44, the person who first presents the work after the period of protection may exercise a right to commercial exploitation of the work equivalent to that enjoyed by the author for 25 years from the end of the year of the presentation.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.44a]}
• A performer's right in a performance expires 50 years from the end of the year in which the performance occurred, or, if a recording of the performance has been distributed to the public, 50 years from the end of the year in which the recording was first distributed.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.45]}
• Audio and video recordings may not be reproduced or publicly distributed without the producer's consent unless 50 years from the end of the year in which the original recording was made, or, if a recording has been distributed to the public, 50 years from the end of the year in which the recording was first distributed.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.46]}
• The copyright in a photograph that is not an artistic work expires 50 years after the end of the year in which it was taken.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.49]}

Government works

• Acts, regulations, administrative provisions, court rulings and similar official documents, as well as official translation of such documents, are not copyrighted.^{[73/1972-2018 Art.9]}
• In addition, unless prohibited by court order, it is permissible to print, make an audio recording, or otherwise copy and present proceedings of public meetings of official representatives and documents publicly submitted during such meetings which concern such representatives, and "debates on questions concerning the public good which take place at gatherings to which the public has access or are broadcast".^{[73/1972-2018 Art.22]}

Currency

Coins designed after December 31, 1953 (current year minus 71 years)

 Not OK Copyrights for coins designed after December 31, 1953 are held by the Central Bank of Iceland.

Coins designed before January 1, 1954 (current year minus 70 years)

OK Iceland Currency becomes public domain because the Icelandic Copyright law (§49) specifies that images considered to be "works of art" become public domain 70 years after creation. Please use {{Icelandic currency}} for currency designed before January 1, 1954.

De minimis

An unofficial translation of Article 10a of the Icelandic copyright act reads:

• Authors’ exclusive rights under Article 3 (cf. Article 2), shall not apply to the making of reproductions (copies) that are transient or incidental...^{[73/1972-2018 Art.10a(1)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Iceland50}} – for Icelandic photos not considered to be "works of art" 50 years after they were created.
• {{PD-Iceland}} – for Icelandic photos not considered to be "works of art" 50 years after they were created.
• {{PD-IcelandGov}} – for official documents of Iceland or their translations.
• {{PD-IS-exempt}} – for works covered under {{IcelandGov}}, certain debates, and legal proceedings except collections of a single author's works.
• {{PD-Vegagerdin}} – for depictions of Icelandic road signs by Vegagerðin.
• {{PD-old-70}}
  • {{PD-anon-70-IS}} – for works of art first published over 70 years ago where the author is unknown.
  • {{PD-IS-currency}} – for Icelandic currency designed over 70 years ago.
  • {{Icelandic stamp}} – for images of Icelandic stamps more than 70 years old.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK {{NoFoP-Iceland}}

In regard to the freedom of panorama, the unofficial translation of Article 16 reads:

• Photographs may be taken and presented of buildings, as well as works of art, which have been situated permanently out-of-doors in a public location. Should a building, which enjoys protection under the rules concerning works of architecture, or a work of art as previously referred to, comprise the principal motif in a photograph which is exploited for marketing purposes, the author shall be entitled to remuneration, unless the pictures are intended for use by a newspaper or in television broadcasting."^{[73/1972-2018 Art.16]}

In essence, Icelandic "freedom of panorama" images are free only for non-commercial uses. Overview photos in which no single copyrighted work is the main subject of the image should be fine.

Threshold for artistic work in photography

Article 1, subsection 2, of the copyright act includes "photographic art" as one of the art forms that merit protection as works of art, meaning that the work is copyrighted for 70 years beyond the death of the author. Photographic work that does not meet the threshold of being considered artistic work is however protected according to article 49 which grants the creator of non-artistic photographs exclusive rights to reproduction for 50 years from the date of publication. It is clear from explanatory supplement (pdf) that accompanied the bill that became the Copyright Act of 1972 that most photography was not intended to be protected as "artistic work" and that regular phography done by photographers as tradesmen would not qualify.

Two known court cases in Iceland have grappled with the distinction between artistic and non-artistic photography. In Supreme Court case no 178/2013, it was found that a landscape photograph from Jökulsárlón that had been used for commercial purposes without permission from the photographer did constitute enough original and independent thought from the photographer to be counted as "artistic work". This was supported by the technical complexity of the photograph that had been achieved with particular skills on part of the photographer. The ruling also states that (in unofficial translation): "For a work to enjoy this protection [as "artistic work"] it needs to result from the mental creativity of the author, meaning that it demonstrates a particular level of originilaty and uniqueness. Photographs will generally not be defined as artistic work in this sense but photographs that do not demonstrate this level of artistic creativity are still protected to a degree according to article 49 of the Copyright Act."

In the ruling of the Reykjavík District Court in case E-6726/2008 it was found that two photographs that a magazine published without permission from the photographers did not demonstrate the level of creativity and originality that would categorize them as "artistic work". It was however accepted in this case that article 49 protections applied to the photographs. One of the photographs in this case was a portrait of the photographer himself that had been taken with a timer and a tripod in his own studio, the other was a candid shot of a woman.

From the above court cases and the explanatory supplement with the original bill of the Copyright Act it is clear that photographs need to pass a fairly high bar to be considered "artistic work" and that most photographs published in Iceland fall under article 49, and thus become public domain 50 years after publication.

See also

• Ísland
• Category:Icelandic 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:Ireland

Ireland

Copyright rules: Ireland Shortcut: COM:IRELAND
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works and "works of artistic craftsmanship"
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-IrishGov}}
Treaties
Berne convention	5 October 1927
Univ. Copyright Convention	20 January 1959
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 Ireland relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Ireland must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Ireland 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 Ireland, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Ireland has been a member of the Berne Convention since 5 October 1927, 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 the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (No. 28 of 2000) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Ireland. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. This act was amended by the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Act 2004, which made it clear that a work could be displayed in public without violating copyright. It was further amended by the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Act 2007, which clarified the position on lending by public libraries.

General rules

Under the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (No. 28 of 2000),

• The copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or an original database expires 70 years after the death of the author, irrespective of the date on which the work is first lawfully made available to the public.^{[28/2000 Sec.24(1)]}
• The copyright in a work specified in subsection (1) which is anonymous or pseudonymous expires 70 years after the date on which the work is first lawfully made available to the public.^{[28/2000 Sec.24(2)]}
  • In respect of an anonymous or pseudonymous work (a) where the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his or her identity, (b) where the author discloses his or her identity, or (c) where his or her identity becomes known during the 70 years from the date on which the work is first lawfully made available to the public, the copyright in that work expires 70 years after the death of that author.^{[28/2000 Sec.24(3)]}
• Subject to subsection 25(2), the copyright in a film expires 70 years after the last of the following persons dies, namely: (a) the principal director of the film; (b) the author of the screenplay of the film; (c) the author of the dialogue of the film; (d) the author of music specifically composed for use in the film.^{[28/2000 Sec.25(1)]}
  • Where a film is first lawfully made available to the public during the period of 70 years following the death of the last of the persons specified in subsection (1), the copyright in that film expires 70 years after the date of such making available.^{[28/2000 Sec.25(2)]}
• The copyright in a sound recording expires (a) 50 years after the sound recording is made, or (b) where it is first lawfully made available to the public during the period specified in paragraph (a), 50 years after the date of such making available.^{[28/2000 Sec.26]}
• The copyright in a broadcast expires 50 years after the broadcast is first lawfully transmitted.^{[28/2000 Sec.27(1)]}
• The copyright in a cable programme expires 50 years after the cable programme is first lawfully included in a cable programme service.^{[28/2000 Sec.28(1)]}
• The copyright in a typographical arrangement of a published edition expires 50 years after the date on which it is first lawfully made available to the public.^{[28/2000 Sec.29]}
• Where a term of copyright is provided for in this Act, the term shall be calculated from the first day of January of the year following the event that gives rise to that term.^{[28/2000 Sec.35]}

Government copyright

• Where a work is made by an officer or employee of the Government or of the State, in the course of his or her duties, the work qualifies for copyright protection.^{[28/2000 Sec.191(1)]}
• The Government shall be the first owner of the copyright in a work to which subsection (1) applies.^{[28/2000 Sec.191(2)]}
• Government copyright in a work shall expire 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[28/2000 Sec.191(4)]}
• Where a work is made by or under the direction or control of either or both of the Houses of the Oireachtas, the work qualifies for copyright protection.^{[28/2000 Sec.193(1)]}
• Oireachtas copyright in a work shall expire 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[28/2000 Sec.193(3)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-IrishGov}} – Irish government works are generally released to the public domain 50 years after creation.
• {{PD-Ireland-anon}} – For works whose author remains unknown and at least 70 years have passed since it was available to the public.

Currency

 Not OK Irish pre-euro money and the Irish side of euro coins are copyrighted. According to the Copyright Law of 2000, Chapter 24: Copyright: Legal Tender; Irish coins and bank notes are copyrighted, even if issued before that provision became effective.^{[28/2000 Sec.200(3)]} That is, older coins and bank notes are retroactively placed under copyright. The copyright on legal tender is perpetual, i.e. does not expire at all. The act applies to all coins and banknotes issued since 1926.^{[28/2000 Sec.200(9)]}

Euro banknotes are, however, free to use; see {{Money-EU}}.

De minimis

Under the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (No. 28 of 2000),

• The copyright in a work is not infringed by its inclusion in an incidental manner in another work.^{[28/2000 Sec.52(1)]}
• A work shall not be regarded as included in an incidental manner in another work where it is included in a manner where the interests of the owner of the copyright are unreasonably prejudiced.^{[28/2000 Sec.52(3)]}

According to Pascal Kamina, the Irish legislation is similar to the legislation in the United Kingdom from 1988.

Freedom of panorama

OK for 3D works {{FoP-Ireland}}

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

 Not OK for other types of artistic works

Under the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (No. 28 of 2000), Section 93,

• This section applies to the copyright in (a) buildings, and (b) sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship, where permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public.^{[28/2000 Sec.93(1)]}
• The copyright in a work to which this section applies is not infringed by (a) making a painting, drawing, diagram, map, chart, plan, engraving, etching, lithograph, woodcut, print or similar thing representing it, (b) making a photograph or film of it, or (c) broadcasting or including in a cable programme service, an image of it.^{[28/2000 Sec.93(2)]}
• The copyright in a work to which this section applies is not infringed by the making available to the public of copies of anything the making of which is not, by virtue of this section, an infringement of the copyright in the work.^{[28/2000 Sec.93(3)]}

The Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Act 2004 clarified the position:

• For the avoidance of doubt, no infringement of any right created by this Part in relation to an artistic or literary work occurs by reason of the placing on display the work, or a copy thereof, in a place or premises to which members of the public have access.^{[28/2000-2004 Sec.40(7(a))]} This does not, however, allow distribution of copies of artistic works.

Irish law is in this respect 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 identical. See COM:FOP UK for more details.

Threshold of originality

 Unknown

Despite uncertainty on the required level of originality needed to qualify for copyright protection, images that have been retained on Commons include:

Image	Description	Discussion
	ISPCA official logo	Commons:Deletion requests/File:ISPCA official logo.png

Stamps

Irish stamps issued by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs before 1984 are official works and those over 50 years old are in the public domain (published before 1 January 1974). Use {{PD-IrishGov}} to tag them. Since 1 January 1984, when An Post was established Irish stamps are copyright to the company.

See also

• Ireland
• Category:Irish FOP cases
• Category:License tags of the Republic of Ireland
• Category:Postage stamps of Ireland

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:Isle of Man

Isle of Man

Other region, e.g. dependency, union, former country

Copyright rules: Isle of Man Shortcut: COM:ISLE OF MAN
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	IMN
Treaties
URAA restoration date‌*	See COM:CRT/United Kingdom
*‌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 Isle of Man relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the Isle of Man must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the Isle of Man 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 Isle of Man, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland.

The relevant copyright law is The Copyright Act 1991, as amended up to the Copyright (Amendment) Regulations 2013. This act replaced the United Kingdom's Copyright Act 1956. The Copyright Act 1991 was largely based on the United Kingdom's Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (Part I) Subsequent amendments have extended the duration of copyright and covered electronic transmission of works.

A copy of The Copyright Act 1991 is held on the Isle of Man legislation website. The Tynwald website holds the Copyright (Amendment) Regulations 2013, effective 1 April 2013, which give changes that are not reflected in the text of th 1991 act.

Durations

Under The Copyright Act 1991, as amended up to 2013,

• Copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work expires 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.^{[1991-2013 Sec.12(2)]}
• If the work is of unknown authorship, copyright expires (a) 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made, or (b) if during that period the work is made available to the public, 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first so made available.^{[1991-2013 Sec.12(3)]}
• If the work is computer-generated the above provisions do not apply and copyright expires 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[1991-2013 Sec.12(7)]}
• The above (Section 12) does not apply to Crown copyright or Tynwald copyright (see sections 156 to 159).^{[1991-2013 Sec.12(9)]}
• The copyright in a sound recording expires at the later of (a) 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the recording is made, or (b) 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first published, or made available to the public.^{[1991-2013 Sec.13(2)]}
• Copyright in a film expires 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the death occurs of the last to die of the following persons (a) the principal director, (b) the author of the screenplay, (c) the author of the dialogue, or (d) the composer of music specially created for and used in the film.^{[1991-2013 Sec.13A(2)]}

Crown copyright

Under The Copyright Act 1991,

• Where a work is made by Her Majesty or by an officer or servant of the Crown in the course of his duties (a) the work qualifies for copyright protection notwithstanding section 148(l) (ordinary requirement as to qualification for copyright protection), and (b) Her Majesty is the first owner of any copyright in the work.^{[1991-2013 Sec.156(1)]}
• Copyright in such a work is referred to in this Act as “Crown copyright”, notwithstanding that it may be, or have been, assigned to another person.^{[1991-2013 Sec.156(2)]}
• A map prepared in pursuance of the Isle of Man Survey Act 1991 shall be deemed to be such a work as is mentioned in subsection (1).^{[1991-2013 Sec.156(2A)]}
• Crown copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work continues to subsist (a) until the end of the period of 125 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made, or (b) if the work is published commercially before the end of the period of 75 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made, until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was first so published.^{[1991-2013 Sec.156(3)]}

Freedom of panorama

OK For buildings, sculptures and works of artistic craftsmanship. Under The Copyright Act 1991,

• This section applies to (a) buildings, and (b) sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship, if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public.^{[1991-2013 Sec.62(1)]}
• The copyright in such a work is not infringed by (a) making a graphic work representing it, (b) making a photograph or film of it, or (c) making a broadcast of a visual image of it.^{[1991-2013 Sec.62(2)]}
• Nor is the copyright infringed by the issue to the public of copies, or the communication to the public, of anything whose making was, by virtue of this section, not an infringement of the copyright.^{[1991-2013 Sec.62(31)]}

See also

• Isle of Man - Ellan Vannin
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom

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:Jersey

Jersey

Other region, e.g. dependency, union, former country

Copyright rules: Jersey Shortcut: COM:JERSEY
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Other
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	JEY
Treaties
Berne convention	31 January 2014
Univ. Copyright Convention	See COM:CRT/United Kingdom

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

Governing laws

Jersey is a "territory for which the United Kingdom is responsible" rather than a sovereign state. It is not a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). However, the United Kingdom's ratification of the Berne Convention extended to the territory of the Bailiwick of Jersey as of 31 January 2014. Copyright laws are defined by the Intellectual Property (Unregistered Rights) (Jersey) Law 2011.

General rules

Under the Intellectual Property (Unregistered Rights) (Jersey) Law 2011,

• Copyright in literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.^{[2011 Section 25 (2)]}
• If the work is unknown authorship, copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made; or if during that period the work is made available to the public, at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first so made available.^{[2011 Section 25 (3)]}
• 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 was made.^{[2011 Section 25 (6)]}
• With a work of joint authorship, copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last surviving known author dies.^{[2011 Section 25 (2)]}
• For sound recordings, copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the recording is made, published or communicated to the public, whichever is later.^{[2011 Section 26]}
• For films, Copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the death occurs of the last to die of the the principal director; the author of the screenplay; the author of the dialogue; the composer of music specially created for and used in the film.^{[2011 Section 27]}

Freedom of panorama

OK {{FoP-Jersey}} for buildings, sculptures, works of artistic craftsmanship.  Not OK for other types of artistic work

According to the Intellectual Property (Unregistered Rights) (Jersey) Law 2011, Section 90: Representation of certain artistic works on public display,

• This Article applies to (a) buildings; and (b) sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship, if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public.^{[2011 Section 90(1)]}
• The copyright in such a work is not infringed by making a graphic work representing it; making a photograph or film of it; or making a broadcast of a visual image of it.^{[2011 Section 90(2)]}
• Nor is the copyright infringed by anything done in relation to copies of, or the communication to the public of, anything whose making was, by virtue of this Article, not an infringement of the copyright.^{[2011 Section 90(3)]}

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:Latvia

Latvia

Copyright rules: Latvia Shortcut: COM:LATVIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-LV-exempt}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	LVA
Treaties
Berne convention	11 August 1995
WTO member	10 February 1999
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	6 March 2002
*‌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 Latvia relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Latvia must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Latvia 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 Latvia, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Latvia was incorporated in the Russian Empire in 1795. On 18 November 1918 Latvia declared independence. On 5 October 1939 Latvia was forced to accept a "mutual assistance" pact with the Soviet Union. After being occupied by Germany during World War II, Latvia was reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944-45. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Latvia regained independence on 21 August 1991.

Latvia has been a member of the Berne Convention since 11 August 1995, the World Trade Organization since 10 February 1999 and and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 6 March 2002.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Law (as amended up to June 14, 2017) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Latvia. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. Likumi.lv holds a copy of the former 11 May 1993 Law on copyright and related rights.

General rules

Under the Copyright Law of 2000 (as amended up to June 14, 2017),

• Copyright is in effect for the lifetime of an author and for 70 years after their death, except as specified below.^{[2000-2017 Sec.36(1)]}
• Copyright to audio-visual works is in effect for 70 years after the death of the last of: the director; the author of the script; the author of the dialogue; the author of a musical work created for an audio-visual work.^{[2000-2017 Sec.37(1)]}
• Copyright to a work that has legally become available to the public anonymously or under a pseudonym is in effect for 70 years from the time when it has legally become available to the public. If during that time the author reveals his or her identity, or if there is no doubt about the identity, Section 36, Paragraph one of this Law shall apply.^{[2000-2017 Sec.37(2)]}
• Copyright to a work created by co-authors is in effect for the duration of the lives of all the co-authors and for 70 years after the death of the last surviving co-author.^{[2000-2017 Sec.37(3)]}
• With authors whose works were prohibited in Latvia or the use of which was restricted from June 1940 to May 1990, the years of prohibition or restriction are excluded from the term of the copyright.^{[2000-2017 Sec.37(4)]}
• A work, the term of protection of which is not calculated from the moment of the death of the author or authors, protection expires if within 70 years after the creation of such a work it has not lawfully become accessible to the public.^{[2000-2017 Sec.37(6)]}
• Any person, who after expiration of a copyright lawfully publishes or communicates to the public a previously unpublished work, acquires rights which are equivalent to the economic rights of an author, in effect for 25 years from the first publication or the communicating to the public of the work.^{[2000-2017 Sec.37(7)]}
• The copyright terms begin on 1 January of the year following the moment of the creation of rights (legal fact) and expire on 31 December of the year in which the terms referred to above expire.^{[2000-2017 Sec.38]}
• The rights of performers last for 50 years from the first performance. If during this time a fixation of the performance in a phonogram is lawfully published or communicated to the public, the term of protection is 70 years from the day of such publication or communication to the public of the phonogram, depending on which action was the first.^{[2000-2017 Sec.55(1)]}

The law protected works for 50 years after the author's death until 6 April 2000, so that works made by people who died on or before December 31, 1945 were public domain on the URAA date, January 1, 1996.

Not protected

Under the Copyright Law of 2000 (as amended up to June 14, 2017), the following are not protected by copyright:

• laws and regulations and administrative rulings, other documents issued by State and local government institutions and court adjudications (laws, court judgements, decisions and other official documents), as well as official translations of such texts and official consolidated versions;^{[2000-2017 Sec.6(1)]}
• State approved, as well as internationally recognised official symbols and signs (flags, coats of arms, anthems, and awards), the use of which is subject to specific laws and regulations;^{[2000-2017 Sec.6(2)]}
• maps, the preparation and use of which are determined by laws and regulations;^{[2000-2017 Sec.6(3)]}
• information provided in the press, radio or television broadcasts or other information media concerning news of the day and various facts and events;^{[2000-2017 Sec.6(4)]}
• ideas, methods, processes and mathematical concepts.^{[2000-2017 Sec.6(5)]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-LV-exempt}} – for official Latvian State symbols and insignia (flags, coats of arms, anthems, and awards).

Currency

OK: Under the Copyright Law of 2000 (as amended up to June 14, 2017),

• The Bank of Latvia holds the copyright of lat banknotes. The Bank of Latvia copyright does not affect the right of the author of the images used on the banknotes to be recognised as the author thereof.^{[2000-2017 Sec.17'(1)]}
• It is prohibited to reproduce banknotes in any way, except in the case, where the Bank of Latvia, the European Central Bank, the central bank or state which has emitted such banknotes has provided written permission or the requirements of the Bank of Latvia, the European Central Bank or the relevant state for the reproduction of banknotes. Restrictions on the economic rights of authors shall not apply to banknotes.^{[2000-2017 Sec.17'(2)]}

Copyright for euro banknotes and common side of euro coins is determined by the European Central Bank (see COM:CRT/European Union:Currency), but copyright of national sides of euro coins is determined by national legislation. The Bank of Latvia suggests that the Regulation for Reproducing the Lats Banknotes and Coins must be met to reproduce lats, and ECB Reproduction rules must be met to reproduce euros. All photographic reproductions of banknotes and coins must comply those criteria. Prior to the amendments, which came into force in May 1 2004, currency was public domain in Latvia per both the unamended 2000 law and 1993 law. Therefore any coins or banknotes that were no longer in circulation by 2004 date are public domain.

Please use {{Latvian coins}} for relevant Latvian coins images and {{Latvian banknote}} for images of Latvian banknotes, as {{PD-LV}} does not apply to Latvian currency.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK: {{NoFoP-Latvia}} Under the Copyright Law of 2000 (as amended up to June 14, 2017),

• It is permitted to use images of works of architecture, photography, visual arts, design, as well as of applied arts, permanently displayed in public places, for personal use and as information in news broadcasts or reports of current events, or included in works for non-commercial purposes.^{[2000-2017 Sec.25(1)]}
• That which is referred to in this Section shall not apply to cases when the image of a work is an object for further repetition of the work, for broadcast by broadcasting organisations or for the purpose of commercial use of the image of a work.^{[2000-2017 Sec.25(2)]}

The non-commercial use restriction is not acceptable for works uploaded to Commons.

Stamps

.

The Copyright Law of 2000 (as amended up to June 14, 2017) says that official symbols and signs (flags, coats of arms, anthems, and awards) are not protected, but does not include stamps in this list. It also says that official documents and official translations of such texts are not protected, but a stamp cannot be considered to be the text of an official document. Under the precautionary principle we must assume that stamps are protected in the normal way.

See also

• Latvija
• Category:Latvian FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of Latvia
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Soviet Union

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:Lithuania

Lithuania

Copyright rules: Lithuania Shortcut: COM:LITHUANIA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Collective	Publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	No
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-LT-exempt}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	LTU
Treaties
Berne convention	14 December 1994
WTO member	31 May 2001
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
WIPO treaty	6 March 2002
*‌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 Lithuania relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Lithuania must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Lithuania 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 Lithuania, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Lithuania was annexed by the Russian empire in the late 18th century. Towards the end of World War I, Lithuania declared independence on 16 February 1918. During World War II, Lithuania was occupied in turn by the Soviet Union, Germany, and then the Soviet Union for a second time. Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union on 11 March 1990.

Lithuania has been a member of the Berne Convention since 14 December 1994, the WIPO treaty since 6 March 2002 and the World Trade Organization since 31 May 2001.

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. VIII-1185 of May 18, 1999, on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to Law No. XII-1183 of October 7, 2014) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Lithuania. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

Under Law No. VIII-1185 of 1999, as amended up to Law No. XII-1183 of 2014,

• The author’s economic rights shall run for the life of the author and for 70 years after his death, irrespective of the date when the work is lawfully made available to the public.^{[1999–2014 Art.34.1]}
• The protection of the author’s moral rights shall be of unlimited duration.^{[1999–2014 Art.34.2]}
• The duration of the authors’ economic rights in a joint work shall run for the life of co-authors and for 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.^{[1999–2014 Art.35.1]}
• In the case of anonymous and pseudonymous works, the term of protection of the authors' economic rights shall run for 70 years after the work is lawfully made available to the public. However, when the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his identity, or if the author discloses his identity during the prescribed period, the term of protection of the author's economic rights shall run for the life of the author and for 70 years after his death.^{[1999–2014 Art.35.2]}
• In the case of collective works, the term of protection of the authors’ economic rights shall run for 70 years after the work is lawfully made available to the public. In cases where the natural persons who have created the work leave no doubt as to their identity, provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply.^{[1999–2014 Art.35.5]}
• The term of protection of authors’ economic rights in an audiovisual work shall extend over the life of the principal director, author of the screenplay, author of the dialogue, art director, director of photography and the composer of music specifically created for the audiovisual work, and for 70 years after the death of the last of them to survive.^{[1999–2014 Art.35.7]}
• The economic rights of the authors of a musical composition with words shall run for the life of the authors (the composer of the musical composition and the author of the lyrics) and for 70 years after the death of the last of the authors to survive, whether or not those persons are designated as co-authors, provided that both contributions (music and words) were specifically created for the respective musical composition with words.^{[1999–2014 Art.35.8]}
• A natural or legal person who, after the expiry of copyright protection, for the first time lawfully publishes or lawfully communicates to the public a previously unpublished work, shall benefit from a protection equivalent to the exclusive economic rights in the work, laid down in paragraph 1 of Article 15 of this Law.^{[1999–2014 Art.36.1]} The duration of the rights specified in paragraph 1 of this Article shall extend over 25 years from the date of the first lawful publication of the work or the first lawful communication to the public of the work.^{[1999–2014 Art.36.3]}
• The terms laid down in Articles 34-36 shall be calculated from the first day of January of the year following the event which gives rise to them.^{[1999–2014 Art.37.1]}

Not protected

Under Law No. VIII-1185 of 1999, as amended up to Law No. XII-1183 of 2014, the following are not subject to copyright:

• ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, discoveries or mere data;^{[1999–2014 Art.5.1]}
• legal acts, official documents texts of administrative, legal or regulative nature (decisions, rulings, regulations, norms, territorial planning and other official documents), as well as their official translations;^{[1999–2014 Art.5.2]}
• official State symbols and insignia (flags, coat-of-arms, anthems, banknote designs, and other State symbols and insignia) the protection of which is regulated by other legal acts;^{[1999–2014 Art.5.3]}
• officially registered drafts of legal acts;^{[1999–2014 Art.5.4]}
• regular information reports on events;^{[1999–2014 Art.5.5]}
• folklore works.^{[1999–2014 Art.5.6]}

Copyright tags

• {{PD-LT-exempt}} – for official Lithuanian State symbols and insignia (flags, coats-of-arms, anthems, banknote designs, and other State symbols and insignia).
• {{PD-old-70}} – for works where the author died more than 70 years ago

Currency

OK The designs of Lithuanian currency, including the national sides of its Euro coins, are not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 5 of Copyright law of Lithuania. Please use {{PD-LT-exempt}} for Lithuanian currency images.

Freedom of panorama

 Not OK {{NoFoP-Lithuania}} Commercial use of reproductions of works of architecture or sculpture in public places is not allowed when the work is the main subject and it is used commercially. Under Law No. VIII-1185 of 1999, as amended up to Law No. XII-1183 of 2014, Article 28,

• It shall be permitted to carry out the following acts without the authorisation of an author or any other owner of copyright and without a remuneration, as long as the source, including the author's name, is indicated, unless this turns out to be impossible: to reproduce and make available to the public works of architecture and sculptures, made to be located permanently in public places, except for the cases where they are displayed in exhibitions and museums;^{[1999–2014 Art.28.1.1]}
• The provisions of Art.28.1.1 shall not be applied when a work of architecture or a sculpture is the main subject of representation in the reproduction, and when this is done for direct or indirect commercial advantage.^{[1999–2014 Art.28.2]}

Stamps

use {{PD-LT-exempt}}.

See also

• Lietuva
• Category:Lithuanian FOP cases
• Category:License tags of Lithuania
• Category:Stamps of Lithuania
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Soviet Union

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

Text transcluded from
COM:Sweden

Sweden

Copyright rules: Sweden Shortcut: COM:SWEDEN
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Photograph	Create + 50 years (snapshots)
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Life + 70 years
Applied art	Create + 10 years (if created before 1960)
Other
Freedom of panorama	Unsure, maybe yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-Sweden-photo}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	SWE
Treaties
Berne convention	1 August 1904
Univ. Copyright Convention	1 July 1961
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 Sweden relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Sweden must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Sweden 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 Sweden, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

Sweden has been a member of the Berne Convention since 1 August 1904, the WIPO treaty since 14 March 2010 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 the Act on Copyright in Literary and Artistic Works (1960:729) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Sweden. This has been amended many times over the years that followed. WIPO holds the text of this law with consolidated amendments up to Act (2017:323) of April 2017 in their WIPO Lex database.

General rules

Under Act 1960:729 with consolidated amendments up to Act (2017:323),

• Copyright expires at the end of the 70th year after the author's death or, for a joint work, after the last surviving author's death.^{[729/1960-2017 §43]}
• For a cinematographic work, copyright expires at the end of the 70th year after the death of the last survivor of the principal director, screenwriter, dialogue writer and composer of music specifically created for the work.^{[729/1960-2017 §43]}
• For a musical work with text, copyright lasts to the end of the 70th year after the year of death of the last surviving of the composer and lyricist, if the music and text were created specifically for the work.^{[729/1960-2017 §43]}
• For works that have been published without the author being indicated by name, or by their widely known pseudonym or signature, copyright lasts until the end of the 70th year after they were made public. If the originator reveals their identity within this period, the provisions of §43 apply.^{[729/1960-2017 §44]}
• For works that have not been published and whose author is not known, copyright lasts until the end of the 70th year after the date in which the work was created.^{[729/1960-2017 §44]}
• If a person publishes a work for the first time after its copyright has expired, they have copyright until the end of the 25th year after the year when the work was published or made public.^{[729/1960-2017 §44a]}
• Photographs published after 1994 are protected for 70 years after the author's death if they exceed the threshold of originality required for full copyright protection (in the former law, the criterion was "artistic or scientific value"). The definition of a photographic work (fotografiskt verk), as opposed to a photo (fotografisk bild), is not precisely defined. There are still no precedents on this, but in practice, "work" has come to apply only to photos with distinctive originality, not to snapshot-like photos, such as press photos. Photos that lack originality are only protected for 50 years after creation. If the photograph was published before 1994, transitional regulations apply — see {{PD-Sweden-photo}}.
• Government laws and ordinances, decisions and statements published by Swedish authorities, and official translations thereof, are not copyright protected.^{[729/1960-2017 §9]}
• Catalogs and charts containing compilations of a great amount of information, or being the result of a considerable investment, are under copyright for 15 years after the year of their creation, or if they have been published within 15 years from production — for 15 years after the year of publication.^{[729/1960-2017 §49]}
• Copyright for works of applied art created before 1960 expired 10 years after creation regardless of the time of death of the creator.^[448/1970]

Copyright tags

• {{PD-Sweden-photo}} – for images taken by unknown Swedish photographers before 1954 and for public domain photographic images, not photographic work, of Swedish origin taken before 1974
• {{PD-Transportstyrelsen}} – for Swedish road signs from the website of the Swedish Transport Agency.
• {{PD-Ugglan}} – for images from the 2nd edition of Nordisk familjebok (Sweden, 1904–1926)
• {{PD-Nordens Flora}} – for images from Nordens Flora (Sweden, Author: C. A. M. Lindman, 1917–1926).
• {{PD-SFJ}} – for images from Svenska Familj-Journalen (1864–1887)
• {{PD-Sjöfartsverket}} – for Swedish maritime fairway sign produced by the Swedish Maritime Administration.
• {{PD-Sweden-URL9}} – for reproductions of law, decision, or report issued by a Swedish public authority (svensk myndighet) or an official translation of such a text.

Currency

 Not OK. Currency may be protected by copyright in Sweden. Riksbanken advices that the original authors of the works used on banknotes and coins may decide to sue if they feel their moral rights have been violated (which may mean the economic rights are not an issue for Swedish currency). There were undecided lawsuits on the matter at the time of the deletion request. Riksbanken itself seems not to have any claims. On the issue of counterfeit Riksbanken cites the Euro instructions as probably sufficient safeguards.

• See also: Commons:Deletion requests/Image:200 kr swedish coin front white.jpg

De minimis

Article 20a of the copyright law as of 2017 says:

• It is allowed for a film or television program to include copies of works of art or public performances and transfer the artwork to the public, as long as the copy is of secondary importance with respect to the film or television program content. This may be done with artwork that appears in the background of, or otherwise forms an insignificant portion of an image.^{[729/1960-2017 §20a]}

These are  Not OK:

• Thumbnail-sized photos on a screenshot - copyvio of two of the thumbnail-sized photos (NJA 2010 p. 135[10])
• People on a scene with decorations in the background - copyvio of the background (NJA 1981 p. 313)

Freedom of panorama

Public art

 Unsure but in accordance with Wikimedia Foundation's 2017 statement, OK and do not delete photos based only on the court ruling — On 4 April 2016, the Supreme Court of Sweden ruled, that Article 24 does not extend to publication by [Wikimedia Sweden] in their online repository offentligkonst.se, regardless of commercial intent. See also: {{FoP-Sweden}}

Under Act 1960:729 with consolidated amendments up to Act (2017:323) Article 24, the first paragraph of which ('works of art...') was ruled not to apply to online publication:

23. Bestämmelsen i 24 § första stycket 1 upphovsrättslagen, där inskränkningen i upphovsmannens ensamrätt är begränsad till avbildningar, ger inte Wikimedia rätt att från sin databas med fotografier av konstverk, stadigvarande placerade på eller vid allmän plats utomhus, överföra verken via internet till allmänheten. Huruvida förfogandet sker i kommersiellt syfte saknar betydelse. De hänskjutna frågorna ska besvaras i enlighet med detta.

— Point 23 of the ruling of the Swedish Supreme Court.

Translation:

23. The provision in § 24, first paragraph, 1 of the Copyright Act, where the restriction on the author's exclusive right is limited to reproductions in pictorial form, does not give Wikimedia the right to transmit the works via the Internet to the public from its database of photographs of works of art, permanently placed in or at a public place outdoors. Whether the disposal is for commercial purposes is irrelevant.

The reason BUS chose to target the site "offentligkonst.se" and not Wikimedia Commons was (probably) the fact that it made an intrusion to a right previously negotiated between BUS and the municipalities of Sweden (owners of the public art). The supreme court also used the requisite of a database for the ruling, not the publication of the images by themselves.

21. ... Det handlar här om en avvägning i förhållande till det syfte som databasen ska tillgodose (se p. 1). Detta syfte ligger i och för sig inom ramen för vad som kan ses som ett allmänt intresse. En databas av nu aktuellt slag öppnar emellertid för en stor användning av upphovsrättsligt skyddade verk, utan att någon ersättning betalas till upphovsmännen. Det blir därmed fråga om en betydligt större inskränkning i deras ensamrätt än vad bestämmelsen syftar till.

— Point 21 of the ruling of the Swedish Supreme Court.

Translation:

21. ... This is a trade-off in relation to the purpose that the database is to serve (see p. 1). This purpose is in itself within the framework of what can be seen as a public interest. However, a database of the current type allows for a large use of copyrighted works, without any compensation being paid to the authors. It is thus a question of a much greater restriction on their exclusive right than what the provision aims at.

Before the ruling, it was widely believed that the exception in § 24 of the Swedish copyright law applied, permitting depiction of works of art. The exception reads as follows:

Works of fine art may be reproduced in pictorial form

• if they are permanently located on, or at a public outdoor location,^{[729/1960-2017 §24.1]}
• if the purpose is to advertise an exhibition and sale of works of art, but only to the extent necessary to promote the exhibition or sale,^{[729/1960-2017 §24.2]} or
• if they are part of a collective work, in a catalog, but not in digital form.^{[729/1960-2017 §24.3]}

Buildings may be freely depicted.^{[729/1960-2017 §24.3]}

Bildkonst Upphovsrätt i Sverige (BUS, a collection society for visual arts), hold the position, that Article 24 does not apply to publication online. Others, such as the Swedish Wikimedia chapter, reject this position.

The Swedish Wikimedia chapter was sued in 2014 by BUS for alleged copyright violations of outdoor sculptures by providing a website that allows users to view locations of artwork on a map with links to photographs hosted on Wikimedia Commons.

On 4 April 2016, the Supreme Court of Sweden ruled that the first paragraph of Article 24 does not extend to publication in an online repository, regardless of commercial intent.

The implications of that ruling were discussed.

On 6 July 2017, the Patent and Market Court at Stockholm District Court said it thinks that the Article 24 does not give anyone the right to publish photographs of copyrighted public art on the Internet without the consent of the depicted work's author, and ordered the Swedish Wikimedia chapter to cease from further distribution, and to pay damages and court costs. The ruling was not appealed.

Following the WMF official statement on 9 August 2017, it's strongly recommend not to submit any deletion requests just based on simple reasons like "no FOP for artworks in Sweden", and try the best to keep the de facto uploads, with {{FoP-Sweden}} template permanently tagged. If for some other reasons than FOP that the affected files must be nominated for deletion, a Swedish-speaking user must be participated in the related deletion request to explain so. See also: Commons talk:Copyright rules by territory/Sweden#Swedish FOP?

Information boards and maps

 Not OK Information boards and maps are considered works of literature and are not covered by Article 24.

Architecture

 Unsure but in accordance with Wikimedia Foundation's 2017 statement, OK and do not delete photos based only on the court ruling. Architecture is covered in the second paragraph of Article 24:

Byggnader får fritt avbildas.

The paragraph was not discussed in the BUS vs WMSE case. However, WIPO gives a different perspective. Citing the BUS case, WIPO (2022, p. 20) states that "the Supreme Court of Sweden has held that Wikimedia required a license from the relevant right holder in order to lawfully display images of copyright-protected buildings."

Security

Swedish security law (2010:305) dictates, that it is illegal to depict certain sensitive locations in any form. However, this is a non-copyright restriction, and has not been upheld by the community as a limitation of copyrights as discussed on this page.

Applied art

When the old Artist's law was passed in 1919 there was no protection for applied art. The law was amended in 1926 on initiative from the Swedish Crafts Association to include a ten year copyright protection for applied art. The ten year protection period was kept when the current copyright law (1960:729) was passed in 1960 but was extended to also include clothes and fabric. In 1970 the regulations regarding pattern and industrial design was moved to a new law (1970:485). In this law the protection period was set to 50 years just like in the copyright law, and a threshold of originality was added ("has come about through spiritual creation and is characterized by a certain degree of independence and originality").

The rights for works of appled art created before 1960 had expired before the new law came into effect in 1970 and is thus in public domain.

Stamps

Swedish stamps do not seem to have a copyright exception in Sweden, so stamps are in PD 70 years after the death of the engraver. See also: Category talk:Stamps of Sweden

Threshold of originality

"A simple general rule is that if it is unlikely that two persons would create, for example, a text identically or similarly, the text is probably sufficiently original to qualify as a protected work. (..) Often, the requirements for copyright protection are considered to be relatively low." From the court cases below it can be concluded that the threshold of originality in Sweden is significantly higher then the ditto in the United Kingdom even though it might be considered low compared to the one in the United States.

Status	Example	Notes
OK		The text itself can't be considered to fulfill the general threshold of originality considered for copyright protection. This same interpretation is made whether one sees it as Roman numerals or Latin letters. The logo itself does have some figurative design. The font must however, despite some inconsistancies along the edges, be considered as ordinary and the black rectangle in the background does not contribute to any distinctive character. – Patent- och registreringsverket (Swedish Intellectual Property Office) Invändningsärende nr 2017/00120/01, Registrering nr 540495
OK		The logo consists of an a and a 6. The round part of each character is not closed, however the characters are, besides that, made in a fairly ordinary font without any distinctive character. Between the characters is a simple, sun-feather resembelling, figure with a pointy tip which goes down between the characters. Above this figure there are four points, two to the left and two to the right. The logo is way too simple to be granted such copyright protection which can constitute an impediment for others' trademark registration. – Patent- och registreringsverket (Swedish Intellectual Property Office) Invändningsärende nr 2005/0006/0001, Registrering nr 369154. This ruling was appealed to Patentbesvärsrätten (Patent court of appeals) which settled the original ruling (Mål nr 06-304, vm.reg. 369.154), albeit with one member of the court with a dissenting opinion. Unfortunately, they did not elaborate as to why they settled the original ruling.
OK		Technical drawing. According to decision by the Swedish Supreme Court.NJA 2004 s. 149
Not OK	https://shop.textalk.se/shop/4541/files/entombed/ENT_logo_web.png	The logo has been created using a Gothic font in a way which is frequently used among bands in the genre in question [death metal]. The logotype can thus not be considered to fulfill the demands of originality and distinctive character needed for copyright protection. – Patent- och registreringsverket (Swedish Intellectual Property Office) Invändningsärende 2013/0133/0001, Registrering nr 514059. According to the court, after a comprehensive assessment, the wordmark shows such level of indivudual, distinctive character that it must be considered to possess copyright protection. The court especially values the font of choice, the individual design of the first and last letter and the fact that the first and last letter has been written in caps. – Patent- och marknadsdomstolen (Patent and Market Court) PMÄ 10796-16 This ruling was appealed to Patent- och marknadsöverdomstolen (Patent and Market Court of Appeals) which settled the previous ruling (Mål nr PMÖÄ 5441-17). Unfortunately, they did not elaborate as to why they settled the previous ruling.
Not OK	A black-and-white version of fr:File:Dunderklumpen Logo.png	Ruled above the TOO by Patent- och registreringsverket (Swedish Intellectual Property Office) (Varumärkesansökan nr 2014/00870), another part of the same ruling was appealed to the Patent- och marknadsdomstolen (Patent and Market Court) which settled the original ruling (Mål nr PMÄ 10748-16). Neither instance elaborated further as why the logo was ruled above the TOO but one can speculate that it was because it was a very obvious case.
Not OK	Michelin man lamp	Ruled above the TOO by Patent- och registreringsverket (Swedish Intellectual Property Office) (Varumärkesansökan nr 2015/03538). The office did not elaborate further as why the logo was ruled above the TOO but one can speculate that it was because it was a very obvious case.
Not OK		Mini Maglite torch (Mål: T 1421-07, Högsta domstolen)
Not OK	Porcelain [11]	"Sundborn", made by Rörstrand
Not OK	Photo illustrating a newspaper article	RH 2009:18 (removed from the website in 2004 because of copyright infringement, protected as a photographic work for 70 years after author's death)
Not OK	Knitted tunic	(NJA 1995 s. 164)
Not OK	Technical drawings	(NJA 1998 s. 563)

See also

• Sverige
• Category:License tags of Sweden
• Category:Stamps of Sweden
• Category:Swedish 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:United Kingdom

United Kingdom

Copyright rules: the United Kingdom Shortcut: COM:UK
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/Publish + 70 years
Government	Crown copyright
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works and "works of artistic craftsmanship"
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-old-auto}} {{PD-UKGov}} {{PD-UK-unknown}} {{PD-UK-posthumous-non-photo-1996}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	GBR
Treaties
Berne convention	5 December 1887
Univ. Copyright Convention	27 September 1957
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 United Kingdom relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the United Kingdom must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Governing laws

United Kingdom has been a member of the Berne Convention since 5 December 1887, 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 the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (Chapter 48, incorporating amendments up to the Digital Economy Act 2017) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of United Kingdom. WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. An up-to-date version of the Act is also available in structured form on legislation.gov.uk.

Prior to 1988, copyright was governed by the Copyright Act 1956.

A November 2023 Appeal Court judgement (THJ v Sheridan, 2023) clarified that no new copyright is created in making a photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional public domain artwork, and that this has been the case since 2009.

Summary

• Standard copyright term: Life + 70 years
• Crown copyright:
  • 50 years from first commercial publication, but
  • works except engravings created prior to 30 June 1957: 50 years from creation
• Anonymous works
  • Photographs created before 30 June 1957: 70 years after creation if unpublished, 70 years after publication if published within 70 years of creation

General

As with the European Union, the basic copyright term in the United Kingdom is life of the author plus 70 years. The author must be a natural person and cannot be a corporation. There are a number of details which must be taken into account, however. Works in the United Kingdom fall into two categories for the purposes of copyright duration: government works and non-government works. The former are covered by Crown copyright and Parliamentary copyright and their special duration rules, and the latter by ordinary copyright duration rules.

Crown copyright

Chart for determining expiry of Crown copyright

Crown copyright works have a basic term of protection of 50 years from date of commercial publication. For Crown works created before the entry into force of the Copyright Act 1956 on 30 June 1957 other rules apply. Crown copyright photographs created prior to 30 June 1957 have a copyright term of 50 years from creation. Published Crown copyright engravings created prior to 30 June 1957 have a copyright term of 50 years from commercial publication. Unpublished Crown copyright engravings of the period come out of copyright at the end of 2039. Crown artistic works other than engravings and photographs created prior to 30 June 1957 have a copyright term of 50 years from creation.

Further special rules apply to Crown artistic works created between 30 June 1957 and the entry into force of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 on 1 August 1989. Published engravings created in this period are still out of copyright 50 years after commercial publication. Unpublished engravings created in this period come out of copyright at the end of 2039 as before. Published photographs are out of copyright 50 years after publication. Unpublished photographs come out of copyright at the end of 2039. Other artistic works come out of copyright 50 years after creation.

Tim Padfield has prepared a flowchart that summarizes these durations.

Crown copyright sound recordings follow the same rules as other sound recordings below.

Ordnance Survey OpenData licence

The Ordnance Survey OpenData licence has been designed to be compatible with Creative Commons BY 3.0 and appears to be okay.

Open Government Licence

Some works published from 2010 are available under the UK Open Government Licence (OGL). The first version was meant to be compatible with the CC BY 3.0 licence, the latest version 3 with the CC-BY-4.0 licence. Three versions of the OGL exist. The following templates are available:

• {{OGL}} for OGL version 1
• {{OGL2}} for OGL version 2
• {{OGL3}} for OGL version 3.

The OGL3 licence does NOT cover personal data, logos, military insignia, patents etc. A list is found on the template.

Non-Commercial Government Licence

The government also publishes a licence called Non-Commercial Government Licence. This is unacceptable by the Wikimedia Commons as it disallows the commercial reproductions. This licence was intended for use in a small handful of extremely limited circumstances and has not been widely adopted in government. See also Commons:Deletion requests/File:Canoe Slalom - Kynan Maley.jpg.

Parliamentary copyright

Parliamentary copyright was created by the Copyright Designs & Patents Act 1988 and its duration rules are the same as for Crown copyright materials created after 30 August 1989. Some Parliamentary material is covered by the Open Parliament Licence (with exceptions). The OPL serves the same function in the system of Parliamentary copyright as the Open Government Licence (OGL) does for Crown Copyright.

Copyright on sound recordings

If the source material is out of copyright, sound recordings leave copyright after 70 years from first publication.

Sound recordings created before 1 June 1957 had a copyright duration of 50 years from creation (section 19, Copyright Act 1911), so they are all now in the public domain. Sound recordings first published between 1 June 1957 and 31 October 1963 had a copyright duration of 50 years from publication (section 12, Copyright Act 1956), so those are also in the public domain. Copyright was extended to 70 years from publication in 2013, so the next recordings to enter the public domain will do so in 2034.

Ordinary copyright

Chart for determining expiry of UK copyright

For ordinary copyright works the largest distinction is between those with a known author and those with a pseudonymous or anonymous author. There are also distinctions in copyright term between artistic works and sound recordings. The commencement dates for the Copyright Act 1957 and the Copyright Designs & Patents Act 1988 are also crucial. For a summary of these rules see the flowchart. This means that some works whose copyright expired before the 1988 act came into force were brought back into copyright.

Known author

If the work was created after 30 August 1989 and has a known author copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author. If the work is a photograph with a known author taken before 30 June 1957 then copyright also expires 70 years after the death of the author. If the work is a non-photograph artistic work with a known author which was created prior to 30 August 1989 then several scenarios can apply:

1. If the work was published during the author's lifetime then copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author.
2. If the work was published before 30 August 1989 and the author died more than 20 years before publication then copyright expires 50 years after publication.
3. If the work was published before 30 August 1989 and the author died less than 20 years before publication then copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author.
4. If the work was not published before 30 August 1989 and the author died after 1968 then copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author.
5. If the work was not published before 30 August 1989 and the author died before 1969 then copyright expires at the end of 2039.

Unknown author

Commons:Anonymous works:United_Kingdom If the author is unknown then the basic time period to bear in mind is 70 years. If the work has an unknown author and was created after 30 August 1989, copyright expires either 70 years after creation or, if during that period the work is made available to the public by being published, 70 years after publication. If the work is a photograph with an unknown author taken before 1 June 1957 then copyright expires 70 years after creation or, if during that period the work is made available to the public, 70 years after that. If the work was created before 1969 with an unknown author, then several scenarios may apply:

1. If the work was published before 30 August 1989 then copyright expires 70 years after that first publication.
2. If the work is unpublished and was first made available to the public after 1968 then copyright expires 70 years after the work was first made available to the public.
3. If the work is unpublished and has never been made available to the public then copyright expires at the end of 2039.
4. If the work is unpublished and was first made available to the public before 1969 then copyright expires at the end of 2039.

Typographical copyright

If scanning a copyright-expired work from a British publication, typographical copyright must be borne in mind. This subsists for 25 years from creation of the publication and covers the typographical arrangement of the publication. It does not exist in the United States.

Publication right

One related right to copyright that must be borne in mind in the United Kingdom is publication right. This applies to ordinary copyright works but does not apply to Crown copyright works. If the copyright of an unpublished work has expired (virtually impossible before 2040) then the first publisher of that work is entitled to publication right over that work. Publication right has the same rules as copyright but only lasts for 25 years. It does not exist in the United States.

Database right

If scanning material from a publication from 1982 or later database right must also be borne in mind. This right normally lasts 15 years from creation or substantial amendment of the database. Many books count as databases due to their systematic arrangement of information. Under transitional provisions works created from 1982-1997 are also covered by database right until the end of 2012, ie 15 years after the passage of the original legislation. It does not exist in the United States.

Commissioned works

The rule on commissioned works in the United Kingdom is provided by the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) website.

Accordingly, the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act of 1988 empowers the exclusive rights of the authors. This means, unless there is a signed agreement or deed assigning the copyright to someone else, the copyright in a commissioned work since August 1, 1989 is retained by the author or the person who created or designed the work. There may be some exceptions to this rule, however. For example, the commissioner holds the copyright if they may have "an implied licence to use the work", at least for the purposes of commission, and if the artist made the work while employed.^{[clarification needed]}

The copyrights in the commissioned works made prior to 1 August 1989 are generally held by the commissioners.

• For commissioned works created from 1 June 1957 to 31 July 1989, copyright stays with the commissioner, per the Copyright Act 1956. "Commissioning" is defined here as "the payment or agreement to pay for a work with money or something of equivalent value." This means, the copyright in a work made by an artist while employed remains with the employer (the commissioner). Works made by artists under employment by a newspaper, magazine, or periodical owner, but solely for the purpose of publishing in the said publications, are likewise covered. In cases of other uses of commissioned works, the artists retain the ownership of copyright.
• The Copyright Act 1911 applies to commissioned works made from 1 July 1912 to 31 May 1957. It had provisions identical to those at the Copyright Act 1956.
• For commissioned works made prior to 1 July 1912, the 1862 Fine Arts Copyright Act governs, stating that copyright of a painting, drawing, or photograph done for or on behalf of another person "for good and valuable consideration" belongs to the commissioner.

Copyright tags

The following are copyright tags/ templates for UK works. If you are uploading a UK-based work to Commons, please find the corresponding tag and add it to the licensing information for the item you are uploading (copy and paste, if you like). When you then save the file, these tags will expand to produce and appropriate text for that kind of license.

• {{PD-UK-unknown}} – old UK images of unknown authorship where copyright has expired
  • {{PD-Britannica}} – images from the 12th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica or earlier.
• {{PD-UKGov}} – UK Crown copyright images where copyright has expired (typically works created prior to 1974)
  • {{OldOS}} – Ordnance Survey maps published in the UK over 50 years ago.
  • {{OS OpenData}} – Ordnance Survey maps published in the UK.

The UK's Open Government Licence (OGL) is a simple set of terms and conditions that facilitates the re-use of a wide range of public sector information free of charge. Since 2010, almost all information owned by the UK Crown is offered for use and re-use under the Open Government Licence. The licence is also used by other bodies, including local government.

• {{OGL}}
• {{OGL2}}
• {{OGL3}} – The latest version

The Open Parliament License (OPL) facilitates the free use of material made available by the House of Commons or the House of Lords in which copyright or database right subsists. Almost all material produced by Parliament and its committees is governed by the Open Parliament License.

• {{OPL}}

Cheque

OK in some cases. The design of standard UK cheques is below threshold of originality. However, many cheques include logos, watermarks, and other features that are sufficiently original to be protected by copyright; these cheques can not be uploaded to Commons.

Currency

 Not OK. UK banknotes are fully protected by copyright. The Bank of England owns the copyright on its banknotes, and all banknotes carry a © notice. No images of these banknotes may be uploaded to Commons. Those that are will be deleted.

Coin designs are copyrighted by the Royal Mint.

Publishing images of coins is not prohibited by the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. Its Section 19 refers only to "imitation British coins", defined as "any thing which resembles a British coin in shape, size and the substance of which it is made". The implication here is that images cannot resemble the substance of the real coins. However, since such images may only be published with the official consent of the Royal Mint, none of these images is allowed on Commons.

The Royal Mint's copyright on coin designs is an instance of Crown Copyright. Sculptures subject to Crown Copyright which were created more than 50 years ago are now in the public domain: use {{PD-UKGov}}. Images of British coins with designs created more than 50 years ago are permissible provided that the author of the work containing the coins is willing to release his / her copyright to the reuse of the image, which is a separate copyright concern and must also be addressed.

The Bank of England is not a government department, so its banknotes follow the usual rules of copyright: usually 70 years from the death of the author ({{PD-old-70}}) or 70 years from publication where the author is unknown ({{PD-UK-unknown}}).

Scottish and Northern Irish banks will retain their own copyright on banknotes independent of the Bank of England; however, in the United Kingdom, it is a criminal offence under s18(1) of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 "to reproduce on any substance whatsoever, and whether or not on the correct scale, any British currency note or any part of a British currency note." The term "British currency note" is defined as something which "has been lawfully issued in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland", "is or has been customarily used as money in the country where it was issued", and is payable on demand" - this includes Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes, as well as those issued by the Bank of England.

De minimis

Section 31 of the UK Copyright, Designs and patents Act 1988, as subsequently amended in 2003, states that:

• Copyright in a work is not infringed by its incidental inclusion in an artistic work, sound recording, film, or broadcast.

"Artistic work", as defined within the act, includes photographs.

Freedom of panorama

OK for 3D works

OK for 2D "works of artistic craftsmanship"

 Not OK for 2D "graphic works" {{FoP-UK}}

Section 62 of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is broader than the corresponding provisions in many other countries, and allows photographers to take pictures of

• buildings, and
• sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship (if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public).

without breaching copyright. Such photographs may be published in any way.

Note that under UK law, "works of artistic craftsmanship" are defined separately from "graphic works". Graphic works are defined in Section 4 as any painting, drawing, diagram, map, chart or plan, any engraving, etching, lithograph, woodcut or similar work. The freedom provided by Section 62 does not apply to graphic works - such as a mural or poster - even if they are permanently located in a public place. These cannot be uploaded to Commons without a licence from the copyright holder.

The courts have not established a consistent test for what is meant by a "work of artistic craftsmanship", but one of the standard reference works on copyright, Copinger and Skone James, suggests that for a work to be considered as such the creator must be both a craftsman and an artist. Evidence of the intentions of the maker are relevant, and according to the House of Lords case of Hensher v Restawile [1976] AC 64, it is "relevant and important, although not a paramount or leading consideration" if the creator had the conscious purpose of creating a work of art. It is not necessary for the work to be describable as 'fine art'.

In Hensher v Restawile, some examples were given of typical articles that might be considered works of artistic craftsmanship, including hand-painted tiles, stained glass, wrought iron gates, and the products of high-class printing, bookbinding, cutlery, needlework and cabinet-making.

Other works that have been held (by courts in common law jurisdictions outside the UK) to fall under this definition include hand-knitted woollen sweaters, fabric with a highly textured surface including 3D elements, a range of pottery and items of dinnerware. The cases are, respectively, Bonz v Cooke [1994] 3 NZLR 216 (New Zealand), Coogi Australia v Hydrosport (1988) 157 ALR 247 (Australia), Walter Enterprises v Kearns (Zimbabwe) noted at [1990] 4 EntLR E-61, and Commissioner of Taxation v Murray (1990) 92 ALR 671 (Australia).

The word "building" is quite broadly defined by section 4(2), and includes "any fixed structure, and a part of a building or fixed structure".

The practical effect of the broad Freedom of Panorama provisions in the UK and in other countries with similar laws is that it is acceptable to upload to Commons not only photographs of public buildings and sculptures but also works of artistic craftsmanship which are on permanent public display in museums, galleries and exhibitions which are open to the public. According to Copinger and Skone James, the expression "open to the public" presumably extends the section to premises to which the public are admitted only on licence or on payment. Again, this is broader than 'public place', which is the wording in many countries.

The Design and Artists Copyright Society and Artquest provide further information on freedom of panorama in the United Kingdom.

Stamps

. British stamp designs published before 1st October 1969 were "Crown Copyright", which expired after 50 years and put the stamps in the public domain. (See Crown copyright.) This also applies to the stamps of the various territories of the British Empire prior to their independence.

In 1969, the Post Office was established as a non-Crown body. Since then, the copyright of new British stamps has been held by the Post Office or Royal Mail in its own right, so in general no stamp may be uploaded.

Threshold of originality

OK for Lego bricks (see w:Interlego v Tyco Industries).

 Not OK for most logos. The level of originality required for copyright protection in the United Kingdom is very low.

In determining whether a work is protected, typographical copyright, publication rights and database rights need to be considered.

These images are eligible for copyright protection:

• en:File:EDGE magazine (logo).svg (uploaded as free in the US only on en.wikipedia.org): British courts have ruled it eligible for copyright protection, with the judge finding:

[The defendants] submitted that the claimant can have no copyright in its EDGE logo because it is not original over the Franklin Gothic typeface. I do not accept this submission. The stretching of the font was combined with the distinctive slash and projection on the middle bar of the "E". What is required for artistic originality is the expenditure of more than negligible or trivial effort or relevant skill in the creation of the work: see Copinger and Skone James on Copyright 16th Ed at 3-130 and Ladbroke v. William Hill [1964] 1 WLR 273 at 287. The claimant's logo is original within this test.

— Mrs Justice Proudman, in: Future Publishing Ltd v The Edge Interactive Media Inc & Ors [2011] EWHC 1489 (Ch) at [10]

Digital copies of images

In 2014 (updated 2015) the UK's Intellectual Property Office issued an advice notice, which said, in part:

... according to established case law, the courts have said that copyright can only subsist in subject matter that is original in the sense that it is the author's own 'intellectual creation'. Given this criterion, it seems unlikely that what is merely a retouched, digitised image of an older work can be considered as 'original'. This is because there will generally be minimal scope for a creator to exercise free and creative choices if their aim is simply to make a faithful reproduction of an existing work.

Under section 6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, this decision remains generally binding on UK courts.

This was restated in a November 2023 Appeal Court judgement (THJ v Sheridan, 2023) which confirmed that no new copyright is created in making a photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional public domain artwork, and that this has been the case since 2009. According to the judgement, the previously used "skill and labour" test had been replaced by the "author’s own intellectual creation" test.

Signatures

 Not OK for a typical signature. The level of originality required for copyright protection in the United Kingdom is very low, and it is easily arguable that personal signatures are entitled to copyright protection. Under United Kingdom law, a signature may be protectable as a graphic work (a type of artistic work). Artistic works are protected regardless of artistic merit. There are various sources that point in that direction, including the following:

• The practitioners' text Copinger and Skone James on Copyright mentions, at para. 2-23, an unreported decision that a signature combined with an (apparently copyrighted) shield device can be accorded artistic copyright.
• Professor Charles Oppenheim of de Montfort University: "graphic works, photographs, sculptures and collages are protected regardless of artistic merit. Your signature is an artistic work, as you always suspected" See presentation of Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
• Sallie Spilsbury, Media Law, 2000, p. 439: An individual's signature may be protected under law as an artistic work. If so, the unauthorised reproduction of the signature will infringe copyright. The name itself will not be protected by copyright; it is the appearance of the signature which is protected.
• Alan Story LLM, in "Owning Diana: From People's Princess to Private Property" accepts it is that possible ("though debatable") that there may be copyright in Diana's signature as an original artistic work. This is of interest, in that Story accepts this even though he is writing from an anti-protectionist angle.
• The E. Chambré Hardman Archive Copyright Clinic page states that "Somebody’s signature is also thought of as an artistic work, rather than a literary work."

Unless further legal commentary or caselaw to the contrary becomes available, the UK position is that typical personal signatures are arguably entitled to protection under local law, and generally UK signatures should be deleted under the precautionary principle. However, if the signature is extremely simple (eg a scribbled line or two), it will not be copyright even in the UK.

Computer-generated works

Unlike most countries, the United Kingdom provides a special limited term of copyright protection for computer-generated works of 50 years from creation, with the author being "the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken".

See also

• United Kingdom
• Category:License tags of the United Kingdom
• Category:Stamps of the United Kingdom
• Category:United Kingdom 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