National cases
Germany
According to German law, documents are in the public domain (gemeinfrei) if they have been published as part of a law or an official decree or edict, or if they have been published as an official announcement or public information.
The relevant law is section 5 of the UrhG.[18] The first and most important provision states: "Gesetze, Verordnungen, amtliche Erlasse und Bekanntmachungen sowie Entscheidungen und amtlich verfaßte Leitsätze zu Entscheidungen genießen keinen urheberrechtlichen Schutz" ("Laws, regulations, official decrees and proclamations, as well as officially written decisions and principles as a guide to decision-making do not enjoy copyright protection.
Former Soviet Union
Works published by the USSR before May 27, 1973 are not protected by the International Copyright Conventions and therefore remain in the public domain.
Argentina
In Argentina, copyright is framed, in principle, by article 17 of the Constitution, which states that "Every author or inventor is the exclusive owner of his work, invention or discovery, for the term assigned to him by law." Law 11723[19] regulates the Legal Regime of Intellectual Property in Argentina.
Article 5 of said law establishes that “Intellectual property over their works corresponds to the authors during their life and to their heirs or successors for up to seventy years from January 1 of the year following the author's death.”[20] Special cases are those of photography and films. Article 34 of the law clarifies that photographs are protected only for twenty years from their first publication, even if their author is alive. Meanwhile, film works are protected for fifty years from the death of the last of their collaborators.[21].
In the case of works carried out in collaboration, the period is counted from January 1 of the year following the death of the last of the authors. If the author does not leave heirs, the rights pass directly to the Argentine State for the same period stipulated by law.[21].
Even with the existence of the National Directorate of Copyright (DNDA), where a work can be registered, the law clarifies that the registration of a work is not necessary for it to have legal protection. The work is recognized as such from the moment of its creation.[21].
Bolivia
In Bolivia, Law 1322 on copyright[22] title IV, chapter III, article 18 establishes that "The duration of the protection granted by this Law will be for the entire life of the author and for 50 years after his death, in favor of his heirs, legatees and assigns."
In the case of works carried out in collaboration, article 19 of said law states:
Said period of 50 years "will be computed from the first day of January of the year following the year of death or the year of publication, exhibition, fixation, transmission, use or creation, as appropriate."
Brazil
In Brazil, this matter is currently regulated by Law No. 9,610,[23] of February 19, 1998. Brazilian law contains, under the name copyright, copyright itself, as well as related rights. In the case of Brazil, the successors of the author of the work lose the acquired rights seventy years after his death, as indicated in article 41 of Law No. 9,610,[23] of February 19, 1998.
Canada
According to the Copyright Law,[24] copyright is in force for the life of the author plus 50 years after the end of the year of his death (section 6). If the work is anonymous or pseudonymous then the copyright extends either 50 years after publication or 75 years after the creation of the work, whichever occurs first (section 6.1).
Colombia
In Colombia there is the National Copyright Directorate (DNDA),[25] as an agency of the Colombian State that has the legal structure of a Special Administrative Unit attached to the Ministry of the Interior and is the institutional body that is responsible for the design, direction, administration and execution of government policies on copyright and related rights. As such, it has the institutional call to strengthen the due and adequate protection of the various owners of copyright and related rights, contributing to the formation, development and maintenance of a national culture of respect for the rights of the various authors and owners of literary and artistic works.
Within this environment, the institutional action of the DNDA involves the study and issuance process of Colombia's author regulations, as well as adherence to the main international conventions on the protection of copyright and related rights.
Likewise, the National Directorate of Copyright actively participates in all the commercial negotiation processes carried out by Colombia at a bilateral and multilateral level, and in which the issues of copyright and related rights are discussed.
Likewise, it is responsible for the administration of the National Copyright Registry, which has the purpose of registering all types of works in the literary and artistic field, as well as acts and contracts related to the alienation or change of ownership of these; all in order to grant a title of publicity and legal security to the various holders in this special field of law.
Costa Rica
Copyright of Intellectual Property National Legislation - Costa Rica. Law No. 6683
Copyright and Related Rights Law.
Also called intellectual property law, this protects the works of Costa Rican authors, whether or not domiciled in the national territory, and those of foreign authors domiciled in the country.
Any person can freely use, in any way, intellectual works that are in the public domain; but if they belong to a known author, their name cannot be used in the publications or reproductions.
In the radio and commentary part, auditions or public shows will not be allowed without the user displaying the program indicating the works that will be seen and with the name of their authors.
In the cinematographic part, the film producer can practice all matters related to its circulation and exploitation, unless he agrees to express it in a contract with his co-authors.
Chili
In Chile, copyright is regulated by the Political Constitution of the Republic (Article 19 No. 25) and specifically by Law No. 17,336 of 1970, on Intellectual Property "Intellectual Property Law (Chile)") and its modifications, among which Law No. 19,166 of 1992, 19,912 and 19,234 of 2018 and the latest reform corresponding to Law No. 20,435 of May 2010. In accordance with this law, by the mere fact of the creation of a work, the Chilean creator or creator of foreigners domiciled in Chile, acquires a series of rights, patrimonial and moral, that protect the use, paternity and integrity of the work. The effective date of these rights was 50 years after the death of the author of the work until 2004, where as a result of the Free Trade Agreement signed with the United States it was increased to 70 years after the death of the author of the work.[26].
The type of work that is protected is literary, artistic and literary-scientific, in a broad sense. For example, books, illustrations, films and computer programs are protected under this law.
The rights of foreign authors who are not domiciled in the country are protected in accordance with the provisions of international conventions signed and ratified by Chile, especially the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which Chile signed and ratified in 1970, but was completed in 1992.
Denmark
Under Danish law, Consolidated Copyright Act 2003, copyright on photographic images expires 50 years after the creation of the image. However, for photographic works copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author. The difference between work and image is not well defined.
It is generally considered that a work has to show some type of originality or other artistic properties. Mere photographs are not considered works but images. Interpretation is very subjective. There is some debate about whether photographs taken by a professional photographer constitute works and not simply images.
Ecuador
The Political Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, issued and approved in 2008, at the height of its Second Chapter of the Rights of Good Living, Fourth Section, articles 21 to 25, recognizes the citizens of Ecuador, as well as foreign citizens in the terms of the same constitutional body and other applicable International Treaties, rights over cultural and scientific creations.
More specifically, article 22 of the same constitutional body recognizes the right that all people have to develop their creative capacity, as well as to the dignified and sustained exercise of cultural and artistic activities, as well as to benefit from the moral and patrimonial rights that correspond to them for the scientific, literary or artistic productions of their authorship.[27]
Article 322 of the aforementioned Constitution,[27] also recognizes intellectual property and, within this, that derived from the creations inherent to Copyright, as a form of legitimate property in the terms contemplated in the Law, in this case, the Intellectual Property Law, codification 2006-013, published in the Official Registry Supplement number 426 of December 28, 2006. Additionally, this article introduces some prohibitions on intellectual property such as:
Regarding the regulatory evolution that has been verified in the country, it must be taken into account that said regulations appear with the following laws:
These laws were repealed by the Codification of the Intellectual Property Law No. 2006-013, published in the Supplement to the Official Registry No. 426 of December 28, 2006, made up of the following regulations:.
Finally, Codification number 2006-013 or simply the Intellectual Property Law, in force in the country, was modified by the following regulatory bodies:
Additionally, it should be noted that the Regulations to the Intellectual Property Law have been prepared based on said codification, through Decree No. 508, published in the Official Registry No. 120 of February 1, 1999.
In accordance with the framed regulations, Author is the Natural Person who carries out the intellectual creation, excluding Legal Entities from holding such status. However, it must be made clear that, in these cases, the same Legal Entities can be Owners of the Copyright, whether moral or patrimonial. From this it follows that the holders of the Copyright can be people other than the Author and, consequently, that just because they are the holder of the Copyright, one cannot be an Author or hold said quality.
The eighth article of the Intellectual Property Law in force in the country indicates as the object of copyright, “the works of genius, in the literary or artistic field, whatever their genre, form of expression, merit or purpose.”[37]
The referred article also develops the independence of the material support that the work incorporates, because they are different levels of the work itself (traditional difference between and ). Finally, it includes a fundamental principle in copyright matters, that is, that the enjoyment or exercise of these rights is not subject to the registration requirement or compliance with any other formality.
El Salvador
The law for intellectual protection came into force on April 7, 1989, and was in force until July 16, 2002, when it was repealed by the new law on trademarks and distinctive signs that came into force on July 17, 2002. For member countries of the Berma Convention, the general rule provides that protection must be granted, at least, until a period of 50 years from the death of the author ends; However, in some countries the term may be longer, as in the case of El Salvador where the intellectual property law establishes a protection term of 70 years from the day of the author's death, and even his heirs can enjoy this right.
Spain
In Spain, what legal systems call copyright is known as the Intellectual Property Law. The Intellectual Property Law (LPI) dates from November 11, 1987. After some reforms and the approval of several special laws, in 1996 a recast was carried out by Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, which has already been subject to subsequent modifications by Law 5/1998 and Laws 19 and 23/2006. A fundamental characteristic of said system is that copyright is configured as unique, but made up of several powers; thus: reproduction, communication, distribution, transformation... An essential property of copyright in Spain is that its object is an intangible asset: the work.
The Royal Legislative Decree consists of four books that deal with intellectual property rights and are the key center of the application of these rights. The first book clarifies concisely what is meant by copyright, what works it protects and under what characteristics. Furthermore, as has already been explained previously, it deals with the moral and exploitation rights, that is, the patrimonial rights of the works. However, it focuses mostly on addressing the object of the legislation. In the second book, however, greater emphasis is placed on the authors and entities that produce the works and sui generis protection. The third book deals with how the protection of these rights should be carried out: compensation, registration of works, indications, technological protections, etc. Finally, the fourth book establishes the scope of application of this legislation.
Currently, and as established by the LPI, it can be generally said that, in the simplest and most frequent case of a single author, the exploitation rights of the work last the entire life of the author and 70 years after his death or declaration of death. In the case of works with several authors (collaborative works), the 70 years count from the death of the last author to die. In the cases of works with several authors, but edited and disseminated under a single name (collective works), pseudonymous works and anonymous works, the 70 years count from the date of publication.
However, it must be considered that the 1879 law established a term of protection for works of 80 years from the death of the author, which has been respected in the 1987 LPI through several transitional provisions. This means that the effective term of most of the works close to expiration is 80 years (this will be the case until 2057).
The application of these laws is carried out through intellectual property rights management entities: SGAE, CEDRO, VEGAP, DAMA, AIE, AISGE, AGEDI and EGEDA. These entities function as an instrument that has the laws already mentioned as central regulations. These function as companies that cooperate with artists to ensure the protection of their rights. In addition, they collaborate with the government to establish rates, taxes or the configuration of compensation.
In Spanish legislation, Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, of April 12, which approves the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Law, regulates in its art. 146 symbols or indications of reservation of rights:.
Guatemala
Law on Copyright and Related Rights - (Decree No. 33-98, and modifications introduced by Decree No. 56-2000 and by Decree No. 11-2006).
Decree No. 56-2000 of the Congress of the Republic, in addition to approving reforms to the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, in its article 43 expressly modified article 274 of the Penal Code, and entered into force on November 1, 2000.
Honduras
Copyright and Related Rights Law[40] came into force on January 15, 2000, and was approved by Decree No. 4-99-E.
India
Under Indian copyright law, all images that were published in India more than 60 years ago are in the public domain.
Mexico
The Royal Order of October 20, 1764, issued by Carlos III, is the first precedent of copyright in Mexico. It mentioned, among other things, that said privilege was not extinguished with death, in addition to establishing for the first time the term public domain.[41]
In 1846 a decree on property was issued, which increased the right of heirs to thirty years.
Subsequently, on December 30, 1947, the first autonomous law governing copyright was issued in Mexico, which was published under the name "Federal Copyright Law"); later, starting in 1971, article 28 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States contemplates the protection of the privileges granted to authors and artists for the reproduction of their works, and to those who, for the exclusive use of their inventions, grant the inventors and perfecters some improvement, from this date until 1991 when the law was reformed to adapt it to the regulations of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it underwent minimal changes and modifications.
Finally, as Carrillo Toral mentions")[42] on December 22, 1993, several provisions were modified, and such reforms and additions were maintained until March 25, 1997, the date on which the current Federal Copyright Law, inscribed in article 28 of the Constitution, came into force.
The National Institute of Copyright") (Indautor"), which depended on the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) and which in 2015 became part of the Ministry of Culture of the federal government; It is the administrative body whose mission is to “safeguard copyright, promote knowledge of it in the various sectors of society, promote creativity and cultural development, and promote international cooperation and exchange with institutions in charge of the registration and protection of copyright and related rights.”[43].
Mexico, like the rest of the world, faces the greatest challenge, globalization, digitalization and rapid access to all types of information, a reason that has led it to sign international treaties, from the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (September 9, 1886), through the North American Free Trade Agreement[44] of the WTO to the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union"),[45] in order to protect human rights. of moral and patrimonial authorship. All of these treaties have the status of supreme law, as established in article 133 of the Constitution; therefore, they are mandatory within Mexican territory.
A bill that, despite having been proposed by the House of Representatives of the United States of America") by Representative Lamar S. Smith on October 26, 2011 and that involves organizations and companies in the United States, is of interest to all countries and users in the world, since, if approved, the consequences and repercussions will be international in nature. This law, called SOPA for its acronym in English (Stop Online Piracy Act), seeks to end all illegal activities on the Internet, expand the capabilities of the US law to combat the trafficking of copyrighted content and its violation, blocking infringing sites as well as the results that lead to the site through search engines and the possibility of forcing Internet providers to block access to infringing domains. In Mexico, this law has its simile, it is called the Döring law and is an initiative by the senator, member of parliament of the National Action Party, Federico Döring Casar, presented on December 15, 2010. 2011, which proposes that any reproduction, including the illegal downloading of copyrighted material, be considered an infringement as well as the modification of federal copyright law (*1).
Nicaragua
Copyright Law and related rights Published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette, No.166 and 167 of August 31 and September 1, 1999. Reformed by Art.21, Law 394 – Legal Deposit Law of the Republic of Nicaragua, published in the Gaceta D.O. No.136, July 18, 2001.
According to the following articles of the Nicaraguan constitution, the duration of copyright changes according to the following conditions.
Panama
The Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama provides that every author, artist or inventor enjoys exclusive ownership of his or her work or invention, during the time and in the manner established by the Law.[57] The current copyright legislation in Panama is Law No. 64 of October 10, 2012 on Copyright and Related Rights,[58] which states that it is inspired by social well-being and the public interest, and protects the rights of authors over their literary, didactic, artistic or scientific works, whatever their genre, form of expression, merit or purpose, as well as their related rights.
The following provisions are observed in the Copyright Law:.
Translations, adaptations, transformations or arrangements of works of expressions of folklore are also subject to protection, as well as anthologies or complications of various works and databases that, due to the selection or arrangement of the materials, constitute personal creations. The economic right lasts for the life of the author and seventy years after the death of the author, and is transferred by cause of death in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code (Article 59 of the Copyright Law). In collaborative works, the duration will be counted from the death of the last co-author.
The protection recognized by the Law does not extend to the texts of laws, decrees, official regulations, public treaties, judicial decisions and other official acts; neither to the generic expressions of folklore, news of the day, nor to simple facts and data.[59].
Peru
In Peru, Legislative Decree 822 - Copyright Law, of April 23, 1996, regulates intellectual property.[60] Regarding the duration of copyright protection, it provides the following:
Likewise, regarding the limits of intellectual property, the aforementioned Legislative Decree provides that:
Uruguay
Law 9,739 on literary and artistic property in force in Uruguay, approved on December 17, 1937, with the corresponding modifications sanctioned in law 17,616 on copyright and related rights, approved on January 10, 2003, establishes in its article 14 that (…) the author retains his property right throughout his life, and his heirs or legatees for a period of fifty years from the death of the author. causing. In turn, it adds in article 40 that (…) once the aforementioned period of fifty years has expired, the work enters the public domain. In 2021, the period was extended to 70 years.
Dominican Republic
The Constitution of the Dominican Republic establishes the protection of exclusive property for the time and in the manner determined by law, of inventions and discoveries, as well as scientific, artistic and literary productions (Art. 8, No. 14). For these purposes and for many years, the rights of authors were protected by Law 32-86 of July 4, 1986, which was repealed and replaced by Law 65-00 of July 21, 2000 on Copyright.
Copyright is protected for a period that covers the duration of the author's entire life, and fifty (50) years from his death, with respect to his spouse, heirs and assigns. However, some works are protected for a certain number of years expressly indicated by the Law. In the case of photographs, collective works and computer programs, the protection granted is for a period of fifty (50) years.
Although the Law establishes a procedure for the registration of copyright in the National Copyright Registry, the law itself protects authors regardless of any formality and, consequently, the omission of registration does not prejudice the rights that are recognized.[61][62].
Venezuela
The Law on Copyright was published according to Official Gazette No. 4,638 Extraordinary dated October 1, 1993.[63] It covers regulations related, among other things, to the protected rights, content and limits of exploitation rights of the work by third parties, rights related to copyright, registration and deposit of intellectual production, civil and administrative actions, and criminal sanctions. It has not been subject to reforms or updates since its promulgation. For this law “copyright lasts the entire life of the copyright holder and expires after sixty years from January 1 of the year following the year of his death, even with respect to works not disclosed during his life”.
Non-Spanish-speaking countries
Regulation in non-Spanish-speaking countries is also a topic of general interest, since some administrations, such as the United States, regulate a large part of the content that is distributed worldwide. In this specific case, the regulation is given by registration with the United States Copyright Office.
European Union
Although the establishment of intellectual property regulations corresponds to nations, the European Union also develops treaties and regulations that defend and protect these rights. In this way, good cooperation between countries is guaranteed in terms of intellectual property rights, since this union is mainly concerned with economic and trade issues. For this reason, we find in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union two articles that function as a basis for establishing different ordinary copyright laws to unify and coordinate national laws (art. 114 and art. 118).
Although the term intellectual property or copyright is frequently used to refer to all these rights, the European Union considers the separation of these two rights into two large groups: industrial property and copyright. On the one hand, copyright corresponds to literary and artistic works, that is, the most cultural content. Protection used to be 50 years, after the death of the author or the publication,[64] and was extended to 70 years. On the other hand, industrial property rights correspond to patents, industrial models, trademarks, drawings, etc. And, as said above, since the EU is more concerned with trade, it is more concerned with industrial property rights.") Thus, it ensures greater protection of rights that relate to industrial production to protect the nascent industry of the member countries, on the one hand, from unfair internal competition within the union, and, on the other hand, from international competition.
However, copyright (in reference to artistic content) is not left unprotected, since, like Spain, collective management organizations that function in the same way are regulated and promoted. But in this case, the Parliament of the European Union also participates in the organization and regulation of management organizations to establish requirements and thus guarantee their high administrative, financial, administrative and informational level.