Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Lebanon
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Copyright rules: Lebanon Shortcut: COM:LEBANON | |
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 | |
| Durations | |
|---|---|
| Standard | Life + 50 years |
| Anonymous | Publish + 50 years |
| Audiovisual | Create/publish + 50 years |
| Collective | Create/publish + 50 years |
| Other | |
| Terms run to year end | Yes |
| Common licence tags |
{{PD-Lebanon}} {{PD-Lebanon-Photo}} |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | LBN |
| Treaties | |
| Berne convention | 30 September 1947 |
| Univ. Copyright Convention | 17 October 1959 |
| URAA restoration date* | 1 January 1996 |
| *A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date. | |
This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Lebanon relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Lebanon must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Lebanon 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 Lebanon, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.
Background
For many years Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire. After World War I the country came under French control, formalized on 29 September 1923 under the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. Lebanon declared independence on 8 November 1943, and the last French troops withdrew in December 1946.
Lebanon has been a member of the Berne Convention since 30 September 1947 and the Universal Copyright Convention since 17 October 1959.[1]
As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 75 of 1999 on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Lebanon.[1] WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.[2]
General rules
Under Law No. 75 of 1999 on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property,
- The term of protection granted under this Law to the economic rights of the author, shall be the life of the author and 50 years after his death, to be computed from the end of the year in which the death has occurred.[75/1999 Article 49]
- In the case of a work of joint authorship, the term of protection shall be the life of the joint authors and 50 years after the death of the last joint author, to be computed from the end of the year in which the death has occurred. Should one of the authors die without leaving heirs, his share shall pass to the co-authors or to their heirs, unless stated otherwise.[75/1999 Article 50]
- In the case of collective and audiovisual works, the term of protection shall be 50 years to be computed from the end of the year in which the work has been made available to the public or, failing such event, 50 years from the making of such work, to be computed from the end of the year in which the work has been completed.[75/1999 Article 51]
- In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, the term of protection shall expire 50 years after the work has been lawfully made available to the public.[75/1999 Article 52]
- In the case of posthumous works or works published in the name of a legal person, the term of protection shall be 50 years to be computed from the end of the year in which the work was published.[75/1999 Article 52]
- All economic related rights of performers shall enjoy protection for a period of 50 years to be computed from the end of the year in which the performance has been carried out.[75/1999 Article 54]
- The term of protection granted to producers of sound recordings shall be 50 years, to be computed from the end of the year in which the first fixation of sound on tangible material has taken place.[75/1999 Article 55]
- The term of protection granted to broadcasting organizations shall be 50 years, to be computed from the end of the year in which the broadcasting of their programs has taken place.[75/1999 Article 56]
The previous copyright law of Lebanon, Law No. 2385 of January 17, 1924, had the same rules, with one notable exception: photographs were copyrighted until 50 years after their initial publication (article 153).
Not protected
See also: Commons:Unprotected works
The following shall be excluded from the protection provided by this Law: laws, legislative decrees, decrees and decisions issued by all public authorities and official translations thereof; judicial decisions of all kinds and official translations thereof; speeches delivered in public assemblies and meetings. The authors of speeches and presentations shall enjoy the sole right of collecting and publishing such lectures and presentations; ideas, data and abstract scientific facts; artistic folkloric works of all kinds. However, works inspired by folklore shall enjoy protection.[75/1999 Article 4]
Copyright tags
See also: Commons:Copyright tags
- {{PD-Lebanon}} – photos and two dimensional artistic works 50 years after publication, starting from the end of the publication year after which attribution is still required forever.
- {{PD-Lebanon-Photo}}. Use this tag only for photos first published before 1949.
Freedom of panorama
See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama
Not OK, for use by media only. {{NoFoP-Lebanon}}
Law No. 75 of 1999 on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property says:
- The media shall be permitted, without the authorization of the author and without obligation to pay him compensation, to publish pictures of architectural works, visual artistic works, photographic works or works of applied art, provided that such works are available in places open to the public.[75/1999 Article 31]
This limits freedom of panorama to the media, and so excludes other commercial use.
Note that "media" here refers to those engaged in news and information only, making Lebanese freedom of panorama insufficient for Wikimedia Commons. The French translation uses a more restrictive term that translates to English as "information agencies". See Commons talk:Freedom of panorama/Archive 1#Lebanon for a discussion on this.
Threshold of originality
See also: Commons:Threshold of originality
French law from the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon asserts that a work is copyrightable when it bears the "imprint of the personality of the author". In practice, it depends on the work in question, but this has left the bar quite low for many works where an artistic intent can be shown. For an art exhibition, a man placed the word paradis with gold lettering above the bathroom door of the old dormitory of alcoholics at a psychiatric facility, and termed it artwork; the French courts agreed with him that it was copyrightable based on the aesthetic choices made ("affixing the word 'paradise' in gold with patina effect and a special graphics on dilapidated door, the lock-shaped cross, encased in a crumbling wall with peeling paint").[3]
France has "a slightly higher threshold of originality in general, and particularly so in the context of photographic works".[4]
A decision from Supreme court (Cour de Cassation) on October 2011 agreed with appeal court decision saying that a quite artistic picture of two fish on a yellow plate about a traditional Marseille meal could not be protected by French law because of lack of originality.[5] According to this decision, level of originality required by this appeal court is very high. This decision was criticized but French supreme court does not control facts but only controls interpretation of the law. In 2017, copyright protection on this image of Jimi Hendrix was restored after a court initially denied protection.
See also
Citations
- ↑ a b Lebanon Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-08.
- ↑ Law No. 75 of 1999 on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property. Lebanon (1999). Retrieved on 2018-11-08.
- ↑ Paradis. Photobucket. Retrieved on 2019-03-25.
- ↑ Mathilde Pavis (University of Exeter) (15 July 2015). Forgive my French: copyright ‘a la carte’ for photographic works. Retrieved on 2019-01-29.
- ↑ Joëlle Verbrugge (28 October 2011). Originalité, bouillabaisse et contrefaçon. "l’originalité s’entend du reflet de la personnalité de l’auteur ou de la révélation d’un talent créateur ... l’originalité ne se confond pas avec la compétence professionnelle . En d’autres termes, la simple notoriété et compétence d’un photographe ne fait pas de chacune de ses créations une œuvre originale susceptible de protection. le photographe ne rapportait pas à suffisance la preuve d’une « activité créatrice révélant sa personnalité, nonobstant la position en arc de cercle des poissons et l’angle de prise de vue utilisé« , avant de considérer, sur le plan technique que « ce cliché n’est révélateur d’aucune recherche dans les éclairages adéquats, la tonalité des fonds, l’environnement mobilier et les angles de prise de vue. Il ne constitue ainsi qu’une prestation de services techniques ne traduisant qu’un savoir faire."
