Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Belize
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Copyright rules of Belize Shortcut: COM:BELIZE | |
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| Durations | |
|---|---|
| Standard | Life + 50 years |
| Anonymous | Publish + 50 years |
| Audiovisual | Publish + 50 years |
| Other | |
| Terms run to year end | Yes |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | BLZ |
| Treaties | |
| Berne convention | 17 June 2000 |
| WTO member | 1 January 1995 |
| URAA restoration date | 1 January 1996 |
| WIPO treaty | 9 February 2019 |
This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Belize relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Belize must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Belize 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 Belize, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.
Contents
Background
The Belize region became a British colony in 1840, known as British Honduras, and a Crown colony in 1862. Belize became independent on 21 September 1981.
Belize has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995, the Berne Convention since 17 June 2000 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty effective 9 February 2019.[1]
As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act (Cap. 252, Revised Edition 2000) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Belize.[1] WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.[2]
General rules
According to the Belize Copyright Act of 2000,
- Literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic works are protected for 50 years after the death of the author.[Cap.252/2000 Section 10(1)]
- If the author is unknown, the works are protected for 50 years after publication unless the author becomes known during that period, in which case the works are protected for 50 years after the death of the author.[Cap.252/2000 Section 10(2)]
- A work of joint authorship is protected for 50 years after the death of the last surviving known author, or 50 years after publication if none of the authors is known.[Cap.252/2000 Section 10(5)]
- Copyright in a sound recording or film expires 50 years after it was made, or 50 years after it was made available to the public.[Cap.252/2000 Section 11]
Protection ceases at the end of the last calendar year.
License tags
- {{PD-Belize}} for works in the public domain under Belize copyright law
- For stamps issued before Belizean independence (in the territory of British Honduras), crown copyright applies (See {{PD-UKGov}}).
Freedom of panorama
COM:FOP Belize
See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama
OK {{FoP-Belize}}
The Belize Copyright Act of 2000 states that photographs, films, or graphic works depicting a building, sculpture, or work of artistic craftsmanship, if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public, do not infringe the copyright of the original work.[Cap.252/2000 Section 78]
Stamps
See also: Commons:Stamps/Public domain
According Belize's Copyright Act of 2000], where a protected work has been made by or under the direction or control of the Government and, apart from this subsection no copyright would subsist in the work, then copyright shall subsist therein by virtue of this subsection and shall initially belong to the State.[Cap.252/2000 Section 25(4)]
No special terms are specified for stamps or other government works, so standard copyright rules apply.
See also
Citations
- ↑ a b Belize Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-08.
- ↑ Copyright Act (Cap. 252, Revised Edition 2000). Belize (2000). Retrieved on 2018-11-08.
