Talk:List of copyright terms of countries

Table with populations

Here is the table with the population. Since the other countries didn't have them, I removed the populations when combining the lists. -- Kjkolb 22:42, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Country	Population	Duration
Afghanistan	28,513,677	None
Akrotiri	6,300	Unknown
Albania	3,544,808	Life + 50
Algeria	32,129,324	Life + 50
American Samoa	57,902	Unknown
Andorra	69,865	Life + 70
Angola	10,978,552	Life + 50
Anguilla	13,008	Unknown
Antigua and Barbuda	68,320	Unknown
Argentina	39,144,753	Life + 50
Armenia	2,991,360	Life + 50
Aruba	71,218	Unknown
Australia	19,913,144	Life + 70
Austria	8,174,762	Life + 70
Azerbaijan	7,868,385	Life + 50
The Bahamas	299,697	Unknown
Bahrain	677,886	Life + 50
Baker Island	0	Unknown
Bangladesh	141,340,476	Life + 50
Barbados	278,289	Life + 50
Bassas da India	0	Unknown
Belarus	10,310,520	Life + 50
Belgium	10,348,276	Life + 70
Belize	272,945	Life + 50
Benin	7,250,033	Life + 50
Bermuda	64,935	Unknown
Bhutan	2,185,569	Unknown
Bolivia	8,724,156	Life + 50
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4,007,608	Life + 70
Botswana	1,561,973	Unknown
Bouvet Island	0	Unknown
Brazil	184,101,109	Life + 70
British Indian Ocean Territory	3,500	Unknown
British Virgin Islands	22,187	Unknown
Brunei	365,251	Life + 50
Bulgaria	7,517,973	Life + 70
Burkina Faso	13,574,820	Life + 50
Burma	42,720,196	Unknown
Burundi	6,231,221	Life + 50
Cambodia	13,363,421	Life + 50
Cameroon	16,063,678	Life + 50
Canada	32,507,874	Life + 50
Cape Verde	415,294	Unknown
Cayman Islands	43,103	Unknown
Central African Republic	3,742,482	Unknown
Chad	9,538,544	Unknown
Chile	15,823,957	Life + 50
China	1,298,847,624	Life + 50
Total	1,985,753,662

Duration	% Countries	% Population
Unknown	42.0%	3.1%
None	2.0%	1.4%
Life + 50	44.0%	84.1%
Life + 70	12.0%	11.4%
Total	100.0%	100.0%

I do not support showing population to this list due to potential difficulty to maintain. Opening a separate population list for cross-reference should be fine.--Jusjih (talk) 03:10, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Copyright Term in Argentina

Copyright term in Argentina was extended from 50 to 70 years in 1997 (Law 24,870). I added the correction on the list.

Legal reference needed

Since this article is tagged unreferenced, we could copy Wikipedia:Non-U.S. copyrights#Dates of restoration and terms of protection here.--Jusjih 23:15, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

Good idea. Jkelly 23:20, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

Done. Further improvements could include additional information such as the copyright lengths for anonymous and organizational works as well as works ineligible for copyright.--Jusjih 11:22, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Er, what do "pma" and "pd" mean? I can guess that "pma" probably means "post mortem <latin word for author>", but not sure about "pd"... --Shreevatsa 14:25, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

p.m.a. does indeed mean "post mortem author". p.d. is short for "public domain". Jkelly 17:59, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

The internal source where I copied the table explained p.m.a. as "post mortem author", a Latin phrase meaning "(years) after the death of the author". p.d. probably means "since publication date" as I know that some countries and areas copyright photographs for limited years since their publication, such as 25 or 50 years, even if the author is still alive when the copyright expires.--Jusjih 07:05, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

p.d. is short for post divulgatio or after publication, p.r. is post realisation or after creation. Physchim62 (talk) 14:59, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Duplicated information

As I copied the table from Wikipedia:Non-U.S. copyrights, perhaps we should think how to arrange each table. As the copyright restoration dates is USA-centric, ambiguous and unexplained, perhaps we should drop them here and leave them at the linked project page.--Jusjih 16:34, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

What information do people want to see in this table? I have copies of all the references, so I can dig out some more material if there is a demand for it: it's a big job though.... I agree with the suggestion to drop the restoration dates: I included them for Wikipedia:Non-U.S. copyrights because they are important there, but the relevant information can be found in the article space (in non-U.S.-centric form) at List of parties to international copyright treaties. Physchim62 (talk) 11:27, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

OK. When I have time, I will start dropping copyright restoration dates here. In addition to copyright length, it should also be informative to list works ineligible for copyright in different jurisdictions. However, as I have more important things elsewhere, I cannot yet drop copyright restoration dates here. If no one else does it, I will come back to do it.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Jusjih (talk • contribs)

I have deleted American-centric copyright restoration dates.--Jusjih 15:41, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

page name

Plural and possesive acknowledged but I don't think the apostrophe is right. I understand them as representing omitted letters within the word, not end. It is not a separator or modifier. Just a passing comment. Fred 11:53, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

It's proper English. Our article on the apostrophe probably explains it. Jkelly 17:19, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/apostrophe

Noun

apostrophe (plural apostrophes) (orthography) The text character ’, which is used to mark the possessive case ('s) or to show omission of letters or numbers ("tho'", "they'll", "'65").

FYI only, still researching. Current position is that ~s's is derived from archaic ~ses; making all cases ommmisions Fred 18:12, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

See Apostrophe#Plurals. I recommend Eats, Shoots & Leaves as a handy, very readable guide to proper punctuation. Jkelly 18:15, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

discrepancy for NL 70 pma vs 50 pma

for NL the page says 70 pma but the linked law from wipo http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/nl/nl001en.html says 50 pma. Does anyone know wich is correct? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.27.115.74 (talk) 02:13, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

This law seems to be outdated.--Jusjih 02:16, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

70 pma is correct now, as for the rest of European Union countries, but information on the exact date of application would be welcome (as it has implications for US copyright). Physchim62 (talk) 16:27, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Copyright for magazines published in South Africa

The table indicates the following for South Africa:

• 50 pma
• 50 p.d. (cinematograph films, photographs, computer programs, sound recordings, broadcasts, programme-carrying signals, published editions, state official texts)

What does this imply for Magazine covers or the contents of a magazine? Specifically would a magazine published in South Africa in 1916 be "out of Copyright"? Laurens-af (talk) 16:43, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

50 pma doesn't sound right. {{PD-South-Africa}} and commons:Template:PD-South-Africa says that it is 50 years after publishing. Note that I've not yet looked into the S.A. law in detail, but it is something I have been meaning to do.

If it was also published in the U.S. (many magazines are published in many countries), then it also falls into "Works published in the U.S. before 1923." on {{PD-1923}}. John Vandenberg (talk) 01:49, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

{{PD-South-Africa}} is wrong. The copyright term as stated in s. 2(a) of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 (as amended by s. 3(a) of Act 54 of 1994) states that the copyright term is 50 pma or 50 years after publication in the case of posthumous publication. For a 1916 magazine, you would also have to look at the Copyright Act 1911 which was almost certainly in force in South Africa at the time. Physchim62 (talk) 11:02, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Map

If anyone wants to, they could create a world map containing the countries' copyright length, denoted with colours =) --72.230.46.168 (talk) 04:13, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I have added {{Reqmap}} to the top of this talk. Please remove it after adding a world map.--Jusjih (talk) 03:10, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

List of countries without Copyright law

I'd like to live in a country without Copyright law. This article claims that Afghanistan and the Marshal Islands currently don't have Copyright law, but that Afghanistan is drafting such laws. Are there any other such countries? Can anyone provide references to back up the claim that the Marshal Islands (or other countries) don't have Copyright law? Thanks, - Connelly (talk) 05:39, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Copyright law doesn't depend on where you live, but on where you do business. A resident of a copyrightless country can copy others' work there with impunity, but cannot produce and distribute copies in other countries without violating their laws. - JasonAQuest (talk) 12:26, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Marking year-end copyright expiration

I just tried adding "until year end" for Hong Kong copyright length, but these words make the descriptions so long. Could anyone please think of a shorter way to specify year-end copyright expiration? While modern copyright laws and regulations frequently make year-end copyright expiration, I have seen a few, such as Mexico, not doing so.--Jusjih (talk) 01:29, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure it's worthwhile to be that specific for a list such as this. It tends to clutter the chart. - JasonAQuest (talk) 02:18, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

I consider it worthwhile as not all readers readily know the commonly applied year-end copyright expiration. We should not assume that all readers know this specific rule. I just thought a shorter way not to excessively clutter the chart by adding "Until year end" after all kinds of copyright lengths in a specific country or area. Some countries and areas, like Mainland China and Hong Kong, mark this rule in each articles about copyright lengths, then I am trying "All previous references" in the reference column. Others, like Colombia and the USA, along with the Bern Convention and the European Union Directive, mark it in separate articles, then I would like to show them as well. I hope that my latest method does not excessively clutter the chart. Thanks for your comment.--Jusjih (talk) 03:10, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

There are all sorts of details about copyright laws that readers of this list won't be aware of. I'm not sure this chart can be an effective way to explain them. If the usual standard is that copyright extends through the end of the year in question but there are exceptions, why not simply explain that at the top of the list? If you wish to flag the exceptions, why not use a symbol such as an asterisk? - JasonAQuest (talk) 11:55, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

"Until year-end" copyright protection is article 7.5 of the Berne Convention: I think it's safe to assume that it's pretty universal. If anyone wants to discuss a strange special case, the thing to do would be to write an encyclopedic article about it and link it from this table, rather than cluttering this supposedly simple tool even more. Physchim62 (talk) 13:28, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

I have split this article to open a separate list of countries' copyright length based on publication and creation dates. I now find this article much easier to read while marking year-end copyright expiration does not look cluttering anymore. If anyone can think of better names for this and the new list, please discuss.--Jusjih (talk) 03:25, 2 November 2008 (UTC)

New Discussion

A discussion has been started at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries/Lists of countries which could affect the inclusion criteria and title of this and other lists of countries. Editors are invited to participate. Pfainuk talk 11:53, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Copyright term for corporate-made works

Hi.

I noticed that most of the terms are "life + XX years". But what about corporate-made works, where "author's life" is ambiguous/not applicable? I'm sure it varies from country to country but shouldn't it be listed too? mike4ty4 (talk) 00:26, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Many, if not most, countries simply don't recognize the concept of a "corporate-made works". On this thinking, every work has a human author whose natural life forms the basis for the copyright term. The topic is really too complicated to treat in this table: see Copyright law of the European Union#Duration of protection for just one example (note the difference in copyright duration between film directors and film producers, for example!) Physchim62 (talk) 08:35, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

So therefore when multiple authors are involved it gets more complicated. mike4ty4 (talk) 22:33, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Years past publication or author death?

There's both this article and List of countries' copyright length based on publication and creation dates. Consider a book published in 1925 by an author who died in 1938 (and copyright was renewed in time). Is it copyrighted until 2008 (Life+70), or until 2020 (publication+95)? According to this and this, it seems it would be the latter. Is this right? Can this be made clearer in the article? Shreevatsa (talk) 20:20, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

It varies from one country to another, but generally: if the creator is a known individual (or several individuals), expiration is based on the date of the last creator's death. If the legal creator is a corporation or the creator is unknown, it's based on date of publication. The best way to make this clearer in the article is roll that other article back into this one. - Jason A. Quest (talk) 22:11, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I see. I took a look at some of the US copyright law documents, and my impression was that (following the Copyright Term Extension Act) while for works after 1978 it's author(s)+70 as you wrote, it seems to be a fixed "95 years since publication" for works which were already in their second term in 1978. Or something like that. Anyway, I agree that merging the articles would probably make things a bit clear, muddled as copyright laws are. Shreevatsa (talk) 03:06, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

merger

List of countries' copyright length based on publication and creation dates was split off from this article, which apparently makes it less clear what the applicable rules are. It would be clearer to list them in a single article, perhaps with separate columns for corporate/anonymous works and for individual works. - Jason A. Quest (talk) 22:34, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I did try listing them together, but some others consider combined table too hard to read. If no one else supports your proposed merger for some more weeks, I would like to cancel your proposed merger.--Jusjih (talk) 01:17, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

No, I am thinking a new way to accept your proposed merger, but I will try a new layout of the table with 3 columns from left to right:

1. Countries, areas, and entities
2. Terms of copyright protection based on authors' lifetime
3. Terms of copyright protection based on publication and creation dates

Instead of a column for "References", I plan to enclose them in <ref> </ref>, then they will show under the section "Notes".

I will change the layout at List of countries' copyright length based on publication and creation dates first, then I will merge the content there back to this article.--Jusjih (talk) 02:49, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

French case

There seems to be a question whether the additional days for WW1, WW2 and maybe "mort pour la france" apply since the change from 50 to 70. Jurisprudence gives a quite complex situation. PFPillon (talk)22:18, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Here is a machine translation of the judgment in that case: 04-12138 Judgement No. 280 of February 27, 2007 Court of Cassation - First Civil Chamber It appears that adoption of the new copyright treaty invalidated the life + 50 yrs. + war length and substituted life plus 70 yrs. The 30 year bonus for death in the cause of France has not yet been tested, so far as I know, but it would seem that it would also be replaced by the newer treaty. Enon (talk) 02:21, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

This page which is a machine translation of the French Wikipedia page lined in the table section for France gives a detailed account of the intricacies of present French copyright terms: Prorogations_de_guerre / (Copyright extensions of war) I have updated the table entry for France in an effort to make it clearer that extensions beyond life plus 70 years do not apply to non-musical works of authors who did not die for France. Enon (talk) 03:31, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Haiti

Decree of January 9, 1968, relating to Copyright in Literary, Scientific and Artistic Works says life+25 years not 50. See article 24.©Geni 02:41, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Kosovo

Where is kosovo on the list? 69.181.226.238 (talk) 04:19, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Copyright law incorrectly classified as TRIPS for kuwait

it's my understanding that material must be protected for at least 60 years after the author's death in order to be in compliance with TRIPS. however, under kuwaity law 64/1999 (included as a note), the work is protected for 50 years, not 60. i've changed it to "Life + 50 years" to reflect that. سليمان عدنان مصطفى (talk • contribs) 23:42, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

Russian copyright law

Russian law concerning copyright changed a few times during last 20 or so years, which caused some confusion. You can see the current situation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Code_of_Russia. We are looking at Part 4 of Civil Code, which concerns intellectual property. Regrettably, I couldn't find translation to English specifically of this 4th part. The links 241 and 242 in this wiki article are not valid now. First one is dead, second points to the Law, preceding Civil Code, part 4 (though the text in the Law and Civil Code are the same. The correct link for Civil Code is http://www.consultant.ru/popular/gkrf4/ (article 1281) or the same source as in current link 242, but it is more difficult to find there (also you have to choose not Law, but Civil Code). I'll translate the article 1281 for you here.

--- Start of translation ---

1. Exclusive right on work is in effect during lifetime of the author plus 70 years, counting from January 1 of the year, following the year of author's death.

Exclusive right on work, created by few authors, is in effect during lifetime of the last live author plus 70 years, counting from January 1 of the year, following the year of his/her death.

2. On work, published anonymously or by the nickname, exclusive right expires after 70 years, counting from January 1 of the year, following the year of rightful publishing. If during the aforementioned period the author will open his/her identity or his identity will become undoubted, exclusive right will be in effect during the time set by point one of this article.

3. Exclusive right on work published after author's death is in effect 70 years after publication, counting from January 1, following the year of publication, provided, the work was published no more than 70 years after author's death.

4. If an author was repressed and rehabilitated post mortem, the time of exclusife right effect considered to be prolonged and 70 years counts from January 1 of the year following the year of author's rehabilitation.

5. If an author worked during the Great War (1941-1945) or took part in it, the time of exclusive right effect set by this article is prolonged by 4 years.

--- End of translation ---

So Russian Civil Code states, that there are 3 cases: 1. lifetime + 70 years 2. lifetime + 74 years (if worked during or took part in Great War 1941-45) 3. 70 years after rehabilitation (if repressed and rehabilitated post mortem)

1953 year is the year, when rehabilitations of repressed people *started*. Some people were rehabilitated in 80s and 90s and even in 00s as far as I know.

Also column 2 may be filled (1. 70 years after publication if author stays anonymous or by nickname; 2. 70 years after publication if published after author's death)

I don't quite understand column 3, but maybe change is needed too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by VadimVMog (talk • contribs) 08:10, 21 February 2011 (UTC)