Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Seychelles

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

Background

Britain assumed control of the Seychelles upon the surrender of Mauritius in 1810, formalised in 1814 at the Treaty of Paris. The Seychelles became a crown colony separate from Mauritius in 1903. The Seychelles became independent on 29 June 1976.

The Seychelles has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 26 April 2015, as well as various other international treaties.[1]

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the "Copyright Act, 2014 (Act No. 5 of 2014)" as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of the Seychelles.[1] WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.[2]

This act repealed the Copyright Act (Cap 58) of 31 March 1984.[5/2014 Section 38(1)] However, any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the repealed Act shall continue to subsist.[5/2014 Section 38(2c)]

General rules

According to the earlier Copyright Act, Chapter 51, enacted 1984, amended 1991, a work first published in the Seychelles is now in the public domain if it meets one of the following criteria:

  • It is an anonymous work or pseudonymous work and 25 years have passed since the year of its publication
  • It is a sound recording and 50 years have passed since the date of its creation
  • It is a photographic work or film and 25 years have passed since the year of its publication
  • It is literary, musical or artistic work other than photograph and 25 years have passed since the year of death of the author (or last-surviving author)
  • It is a government work and 25 years have passed since the year of its publication

According to the more recent Copyright Act, 2014, which does not appear to be retroactive,

  • The economic and moral rights shall be protected during the life of the author and for 50 years after his or her death.[5/2014 Section 19(1)]
  • In the case of a work of joint authorship, the economic and moral rights shall be protected during the life of the last surviving author and for fifty years after his or her death.[5/2014 Section 19.(2)]
  • In the case of an audio-visual work, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 50 years from the date on which the work was made or first made available to the public by publication or by any other means, whichever date is the latest.[5/2014 Section 19.(3)]
  • In the case of a work published anonymously or under a pseudonym, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 50 years from the date on which the work was made or first made available to the public, by publication or by any other means whichever date is the latest.[5/2014 Section 19.(4)]
  • In the case of a work of applied art, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 25 years from the making of the work.[5/2014 Section 19.(5)]

The period provided for·under subsections (1) to (5) shall run to the end of the calendar year in which it would otherwise expire.[5/2014 Section 19.(6)]

Shortcut

See also: Commons:Copyright tags

a) photographs and films 25 years after first publication;
b) sound recordings 25 years after creation;
c) literary, musical or artistic works other than photographs 25 years after the author's death.

Freedom of panorama

See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama

  •  Not OK for depictions (like photos and videos) of artistic works published on Wikimedia Commons on or after August 1, 2014. {{NoFoP-Seychelles}}
  • OK for depictions of artistic works published on Wikimedia Commons until July 31, 2014. {{FoP-Seychelles}}

The Seychelles Copyright Act of 1991 sets forth that "4. The reproduction, distribution of copies or inclusion in a film or broadcast of an artistic work permanently on view to the public" are "acts not controlled by copyright." (Schedule 1; Sections 10, 11 12 (sic) and 13).

There is no comparable provision in the 2014 act, as well as the original 1991 term seems removed by this revision. The 2014 act took effect on August 1, 2014. However, a transitional clause exists at 38(2)(b): "the licences or authorisation granted under the repealed Act shall continue to operate as licences or authorisation, as the case may be, for the purposes of this Act, until the expiration or revocation of such licence or authorisation." This indicates the freedom of panorama licence granted by the old copyright act is still in effect for representations made before the aforementioned date, and images that were uploaded on Wikimedia Commons before the aforementioned date are still permitted.

Recent discussion/s: Commons:Village pump/Copyright/Archive/2021/09#Clarification on Seychellois FOP.

Stamps

See also: Commons:Stamps

Before June 1976

Public domain use {{PD-UKGov}} Seychelles was a British colony until June 1976; its stamps of the colonial era are covered by the "Crown Copyright", which expires after 50 years and puts the stamps in the public domain (see Crown copyright and {{PD-UKGov}}).

Before 1999

Public domain use {{PD-Seychelles}}.

After 1999

Copyrighted Postage stamps first published 25 years ago or later are not in the public domain, and should not be uploaded.

See also

Citations

  1. a b Seychelles Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-03.
  2. Copyright Act, 2014 (Act No. 5 of 2014). Seychelles (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-03.
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