Copyright Duration
June 24, 2009
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts
Copyright subsists for a variety of lengths of time in different jurisdictions.
The length of the term can depend on several factors, including the type of work (e.g. musical composition, novel), whether the work has been published or not, and whether the work was created by an individual or a corporation.
In most of the world, the default length of copyright is the life of the author plus either 50 or 70 years.
In the United States, the term for most existing works is a fixed number of years after the date of creation or publication.
In some countries (for example, the United States and the United Kingdom), copyright expire at the end of the calendar year in question.
| Country | Duration based on Author’s Death | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | No Copyright – law is under process | ||
| Albania | Life + 70 years | ||
| Algeria | Life + 50 years | ||
| Andorra | Life + 70 years | ||
| Angola | Life + 50 years | ||
| Anguilla | Life + 50 years | ||
| Antigua & Barbuda | Life + 50 years | ||
| Argentina | Life + 70 years | ||
| Armenia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Aruba | Life + 50 years | ||
| Australia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Austria | Life + 70 years | ||
| Azerbaijan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Bahamas | Berne |
||
| Bahrain | Life + 50 calendar years (except posthumous work) | ||
| Bangladesh | Life + 50 years | ||
| Barbados | Life + 50 years | ||
| Belarus | Life + 50 years | ||
| Belgium | Life + 70 years | ||
| Belize | Life + 50 years | ||
| Benin | Life + 50 years | ||
| Bermuda | Life + 50 years | ||
| Berne Convention | Life + 50 years | ||
| Bhutan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Bolivia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Life + 70 years | ||
| Botswana | Berne, TRIPS, WCT | ||
| Brazil | Life + 70 years | ||
| Brunei | Life + 50 years | ||
| Bulgaria | Life + 70 years | ||
| Burkina Faso | Life + 70 years | ||
| Burundi | Life + 50 years | ||
| Cambodia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Cameroon | Life + 50 years | ||
| Canada | Life + 50 years | ||
| Cape Verde | Life + 50 years | ||
| Central African Republic | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Chad | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Chile | Life + 70 years | ||
| China (Mainland only) |
Life + 50 years | ||
| Colombia | Life + 80 years | ||
| Comoros | Berne | ||
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Congo, Republic of the | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Costa Rica | Life + 70 years | ||
| Côte d’Ivoire | Life + 99 years | ||
| Croatia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Cuba | Life + 50 years | ||
| Cyprus | Life + 50 years |
||
| Czech Republic | Life + 70 years | ||
| Denmark | Life + 70 years | ||
| Djibouti | Life + 25 years | ||
| Dominica | Life + 70 years | ||
| Dominican Republic | Life + 50 years | ||
| Ecuador | Life + 70 years | ||
| Egypt | Life + 50 years | ||
| El Salvador | Life + 50 years | ||
| Equatorial Guinea | Berne | ||
| Eritrea | Unknown | ||
| Estonia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Ethiopia | Life + 50 years | ||
| European Union Members | Life + 70 years | ||
| Fiji | Life + 50 years | ||
| Finland | Life + 70 years | ||
| France | Life + 70 years | ||
| Gabon | Berne, TRIPS, WCT | ||
| Gambia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Georgia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Germany | Life + 70 years | ||
| Ghana | Life + 70 years | ||
| Greece | Life + 70 years | ||
| Grenada | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Guatemala | Life + 75 years | ||
| Guinea | TRIPS, WCT | ||
| Guinea-Bissau | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Guyana | Life + 50 years | ||
| Haiti | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Honduras | Life + 75 years | ||
| Hong Kong | Life + 50 years Life + 50 years (films) |
||
| Hungary | Life + 70 years | ||
| Iceland | Life + 70 years | ||
| India[152] | Life + 60 years | ||
| Indonesia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Iran | Life + 50 years | ||
| Iraq | Life + 50 years | ||
| Ireland | Life + 70 years | ||
| Israel | Life + 70 years | ||
| Italy | Life + 70 years | ||
| Jamaica | Life + 50 years | ||
| Japan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Jordan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Kazakhstan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Kenya | Life + 50 years | ||
| Kiribati | Life + 50 years | ||
| Korea | Life + 50 years | ||
| Korea | Life + 50 years | ||
| Kuwait | TRIPS | ||
| Kyrgyzstan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Laos | No Copyright | ||
| Latvia | Life + 70 years |
||
| Lebanon | Life + 50 years | ||
| Lesotho | Life + 50 years | ||
| Libya | Life + 25 years with 50-year minimum | ||
| Liechtenstein | Life + 70 years |
||
| Lithuania | Life + 70 years |
||
| Luxembourg | Life + 70 years |
||
| Macau | Life + 50 years | ||
| Macedonia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Madagascar | Life + 70 years | ||
| Malawi | Life + 50 years | ||
| Malaysia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Maldives | Life + 50 years | ||
| Mali | Life + 50 years | ||
| Malta | Life + 70 years | ||
| Marshall Islands | Copyright legislation is not known to exist | ||
| Mauritania | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Mauritius | Life + 50 years | ||
| Mexico | Life +100 years (effective 23 July 2003) | ||
| Micronesia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Moldova | Life + 50 years | ||
| Monaco | WCT | ||
| Mongolia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Montenegro | Life + 70 years | ||
| Morocco | Life + 50 years | ||
| Mozambique | Life + 70 years | ||
| Myanmar | TRIPS | ||
| Namibia | Life + 50 years (except posthumous works) | ||
| Nauru | Unknown | ||
| Nepal | Life + 50 years | ||
| Netherlands | Life + 70 years | ||
| New Zealand | Life + 50 years (literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work) |
||
| Nicaragua | Life + 70 years | ||
| Niger | Life + 50 years | ||
| Nigeria | Life + 70 years (literary, musical or artistic works other than photographs) |
||
| Norway | Life + 70 years | ||
| Oman | Life + 50 years | ||
| Pakistan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Palau | Life + 50 years | ||
| Panama | Life + 50 years | ||
| Papua New Guinea | Life + 50 years | ||
| Paraguay | Life + 70 years | ||
| Peru | Life + 70 years | ||
| Philippines | Life + 50 years | ||
| Poland | Life + 70 years | ||
| Portugal | Life + 70 years | ||
| Qatar | Life + 50 years | ||
| Romania | Life + 70 years | ||
| Russia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Rwanda | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| St. Kitts and Nevis | Life + 50 years | ||
| St. Lucia | Life + 50 years | ||
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Life + 75 years (literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work) |
||
| Samoa | Life + 75 years | ||
| San Marino | Unknown | ||
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Unknown | ||
| Saudi Arabia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Senegal | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Serbia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Seychelles | Life + 25 years | ||
| Singapore | Life + 70 years (except posthumous work) |
||
| Slovakia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Slovenia | Life + 70 years | ||
| Solomon Islands | Life + 50 years | ||
| Somalia | Unknown | ||
| South Africa | Life + 50 years (literary or musical works or artistic works, other than photographs) |
||
| Spain | Life + 70 years | ||
| Sri Lanka | Life + 50 years | ||
| Sudan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Suriname | Berne, TRIPS | ||
| Swaziland | Life + 50 years | ||
| Sweden | Life + 70 years | ||
| Switzerland | Life + 70 years effective 1 July 1993 non-retroactively, but Life + 50 years for computer programs | ||
| Syria | Life + 50 years | ||
| Taiwan | Life + 50 years (except posthumous works first published 40 to 50 years after death) |
||
| Tajikistan | Berne | ||
| Tanzania | Life + 50 years | ||
| Thailand | Life + 50 years | ||
| Timor Leste | Life + 50 years | ||
| Togo | Life + 50 years | ||
| Tonga | Life + 50 years | ||
| Trinidad and Tobago | Life + 50 years | ||
| Tunisia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Turkey | Life + 70 years | ||
| Turkmenistan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Tuvalu | Life + 50 years | ||
| Uganda | TRIPS | ||
| Ukraine | Life + 70 years |
||
| United Arab Emirates | Life + 50 years | ||
| United Kingdom | Life + 70 years | ||
| United States | Life + 70 years (works published since 1978 or unpublished works) |
||
| Universal Copyright Convention minimum terms | Life + 25 years (general works) | ||
| Uruguay | Life + 50 years | ||
| Uzbekistan | Life + 50 years | ||
| Vanuatu | Unknown | ||
| Vatican City | Life + 70 years | ||
| Venezuela | Life + 60 years | ||
| Vietnam | Berne | ||
| Yemen | Life + 30 years | ||
| Zambia | Life + 50 years | ||
| Zimbabwe | Life + 50 years |
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