List of countries' copyright lengths

Copyright is the right to copy and publish a particular work. The terms "copy" and "publish" are quite broad. They also cover copying in electronic form, the making of translated versions, the creation of a television program based on the work, and putting the work on the Internet.

Copyright protection is automatic upon creation of the work. In some countries, registration with a Copyright Office has some benefits (like the ability to sue, or to receive more money in damages).

This is a list of countries and their copyright terms, the lengths of their standard copyrights, in years. When a work's copyright term ends, the work passes into the public domain.

The list also includes entries for non-country entities: the United States, Berne Convention, and the Universal Copyright Convention, which set minimum terms for their member states or signatories. The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), though not included, requires a copyright length of at least 50 years after death.

The Berne Convention stipulates that the duration of the term for copyright protection is the life of the author plus at least 50 years after his death. For some categories of works, the minimum duration is shorter. For example, the minimum term for applied art is 25 years. Movies have a minimum term of 50 years. Countries are of course free to choose a longer term of protection. Most countries have done so.

The member states of the European Union have, following an EC directive, increased the term to life of the author and 70 years after his death. Although this was not the original intention, this extension applies retroactively. Works that had ended up in the public domain because the author was dead for 50 years now received an additional twenty years of protection.

Most European countries, on the other hand, follow the principle that copyright protection is granted automatically upon creation of the work. This principle was first laid down in the Berne Convention (1886). The Berne Convention specifically forbids (in article 5) that a member country can require any formality for getting copyright protection.

In 1989, the Berne Convention became effective in the U.S., and from that moment on also U.S. authors automatically obtained copyright on their works. However, many U.S. texts on copyright still echo the old registration principle, which can be very confusing at times.

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