Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Pakistan

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

Background

The region that is now Pakistan came under British control in the 19th century. The modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 with the partitioning of British India. East Pakistan separated from Pakistan as Bangladesh in 1971.

Pakistan has been a member of the Berne Convention since 5 July 1948, the Universal Copyright Convention since 15 September 1955 and the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995.[1]

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the The Copyright Ordinance, 1962 (Act No. XXXIV) (as amended 29 September, 2000) as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Pakistan.[1] WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.[2]

General rules

According to the Copyright Ordinance, 1962 as amended by Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000,

  • Except as otherwise provided, copyright subsists in any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) published within the lifetime of the author until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies. In this section, the reference to the author shall, in the case of a work of joint authorship, be construed as a reference to the author who dies last.[XXXIV/2000 Section 18]
  • With a posthumously published literary, dramatic or musical work or an engraving, copyright subsists until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 19(1)]
  • With a cinematographic work, copyright subsists until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 20(1)]
  • With a record, copyright subsists until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the record is published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 20(2)]
  • With a photograph, copyright subsists until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the photograph is first published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 20(3)]
  • With a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph), which is published anonymously or pseudonymously, copyright subsists until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 21(1)] (or for 50 years from the year of creation for photographs from before independence in 1947, as per the Copyright Act 1911).
  • Copyright in a Government work shall, where Government is the first owner of the copyright therein, subsist until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 22(1)]

Shortcut

See also: Commons:Copyright tags

  • {{PD-Pakistan}} – for public domain works first published in Pakistan. According to Pakistani copyright laws, all photographs enter the public domain fifty years after they were published, and all non-photographic works enter the public domain fifty years after the death of the creator.

Currency

See also: Commons:Currency

  Not OK Although certain governments works are exempt from copyright, currency is not one of the exceptions. Copyright Ordinance, 1962 as amended by Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000 says,

  • Copyright in a Government work shall, where Government is the first owner of the copyright therein, subsist until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 22(1)]
  • The following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright, namely: ... the reproduction or publication of any matter which has been published in any official Gazette, or the report of any committee, commission, council, board or other like body appointed by the Government unless the reproduction or publication of such matter or report is prohibited by the Government.[XXXIV/2000 Section 57(q)(i)] Currency does not fall into this definition.
  • See also: Commons:Deletion requests/File:Pakistan commemorative banknote.png.

Freedom of panorama

See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama

  OK {{FoP-Pakistan}}

According to the Copyright Ordinance, 1962 as amended by Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000, "The following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright ... the making or publishing of a painting, drawing, engraving or photograph of a sculpture or other artistic work if such work is permanently situated in a public place or any premises to which the public has access.[XXXIV/2000 Section 57(s)]

Stamps

See also: Commons:Stamps

  Not OK. Use {{PD-Pakistan-stamp}} for stamps whose copyright has expired

Copyright ownership of stamps is maintained by the Government of Pakistan, as stamps in Pakistan are issued by Pakistan Post, which works under the Government of Pakistan. According to Pakistan's Copyright Ordinance, 1962, stamps can be classified as artistic:

  • "artistic" work' means: ... a painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possess artistic quality.[XXXIV/2000 Section 2(c.i)]
  • "Government work" means a work which is made or published by or under the direction or control of ... the Government or any department of the Government.[XXXIV/2000 Section 2(m)]
  • in the case of a Government work, Government shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein.[XXXIV/2000 Section 139(d)]
  • Copyright in a Government work shall, where Government is the first owner of the copyright therein, subsist until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 22(1)]

See also

Citations

  1. a b Pakistan Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-08.
  2. The Copyright Ordinance, 1962: Ordinance No. XXXIV of 1962 as amended by Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000 dated 29th September, 2000. Pakistan (2000). Retrieved on 2018-12-19.
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