Copyright is the right to copy and publish a particular work. The terms "copy" and "publish" are quite broad. They include copying in electronic form, making translated versions, creating a television program based on the work, and putting the work on the Internet. A work is protected by copyright if it is a literary or artistic work. This general expression covers almost all products of creative and original effort. Copyright protects only the specific expression of an idea, not the idea itself. A collection of facts may be copyrighted if there was creative activity involved in compiling the collection. Several countries provide separate protection for collections of facts that qualify as "databases", but that provision is not considered copyright. Copyright protection is automatic upon creation of the work. In some countries, registration with a copyright office has additional benefits, such as the ability to sue, or to receive more money in damages. When a work's copyright term ends, the work passes into the public domain.

Berne Convention

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 their death.Berne Convention Article 7. For some categories of works, the minimum duration is shorter: for example, the minimum term for applied art is 25 years, while movies have a minimum term of 50 years. Most countries have opted for a longer term of protection, as permitted.

Under the Convention, the duration of copyright depends on the length of the author's life. Berne specifies that copyright exists a minimum of 50 years after the author's death, while a number of countries, including members of the European Union and the United States, have extended that to 70 years after the author's death. A small number of countries have extended copyright even further, with Mexico having the longest term at 100 years after the author's death.

United States In 1989, the Berne Convention became effective in the U.S. Since that date, U.S. authors obtain copyright on their works automatically, with registration no longer required. However, many U.S. texts on copyright have not been updated and still echo the old registration principle.

Copyright registration remains available in the U.S. To initiate a lawsuit against an infringer, registration is still required. Registration offers the potential of statutory damages from the infringer, rather than only actual damages.

European Union All countries within the European Union are signatory states of the Berne Convention. Additionally, Copyright in the European Union is regulated through European Directives.

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

European countries follow the principle that copyright protection is granted automatically upon creation of the work. This principle was first established in the Berne Convention (1886), and Article 5 of the Convention expressly forbids any member country to require formal action for copyright protection.Berne Convention Article 5.

Copyright duration by country Countries and respective copyright terms, with length of standard copyright in years are listed. Entries for non-country entities are included: the European Union, 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.

Legend 0, has no copyright = Not copyrighted at all Life + xx years = Copyrighted for authors' lifetime plus xx years after their deaths xx years after publication, creation, etc. = copyrighted for xx years since publication, creation, etc., of works Until year end = Copyrighted until the end of a calendar year, i.e. 31 December, unless otherwise specified Berne = Country has signed the Berne Convention, see Berne in the "Countries, ..." column TRIPS = The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members. This also indicates that this country has at least a minimum of 50 years after the death of the creator until the copyright expires. WCT = The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty, (WIPO Copyright Treaty or WCT), is an international treaty on copyright law adopted by the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1996.

Table Countries, areas, and entities Copyright terms based on authors' deaths Copyright terms based on publication and creation dates Until year end? Afghanistan Life + 50 years 50 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) 50 years from publication (published after authors' deaths) 50 years from publication (audiovisual works) 50 years from publication (photographic, painting works) 50 years from creation (phonogram) Yes (Afghan calendar) Life + 70 years 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) 70 years from publication; 70 years from creation if unpublished (photographic or audiovisual work of joint authorship) 25 years from production (works of applied art) Yes Life + 50 years (except posthumous work) 50 years from publication; 50 years from creation if unpublished (collective work, anonymous or pseudonymous work, audiovisual work, posthumous work)

50 years from creation (photographs or the work of applied art) Yes Life + 70 years 70 years from publication; 70 years from creation if unpublished (collective work with unknown authorship)

70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) Yes Life + 70 yearsArt. 72 and 73(1), Copyright Law n° 15/14, July 2014 1990 (PDF). Life + 45 years (photographic works or applied arts) Yes Life + 50 years 50 years from the death of the author, of the last surviving author for works with more than one author. Life + 50 yearsLiterary, dramatic, musical or copyright artistic work. 50 years from publication; 50 years from creation if unpublished (anonymous or pseudonymous work, computer generated work, sound recording or film) 50 years from creation (broadcast); 50 years after programme included in a cable programme service 25 years from publication (typographical arrangement of a published edition) Yes Argentina Life + 70 years 50 years from publication (anonymous intellectual works belonging to institutions, corporations or legal persons)Phonograms: 70 years from first publication.Photographs: 20 years from first publication.Art. 34 , as amended by Law 25006 B.O. 13 August 1998.Cinematographic works: 50 years after death of the last survivor among the producer, the director, the screenplay writer or the composer (for musical comedies). Yes Life + 70 years 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous works) Yes Life + 50 years(wikisource) Australia (including external territories) Life + 70 yearsCopyright Act 1968 (Australia) 70 years from publication (sound recordings, cinematograph films) 50 years after making (television broadcasts and sound broadcasts) 25 years from publication (published editions of works) [50 years from publication (photographs, no longer applicable since 1 January 2005)]Information Sheets G023 (Duration), Australian Copyright Council Yes Life + 70 years§ 1(2), (Nr. 492, 16 December 1972) 70 years from publication; 70 years from creation if unpublished (anonymous or pseudonymous work) Yes Azerbaijan Life + 70 years (except posthumous work published at first time during 30 years) 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work; posthumous work published at first time during 30 years) Yes Berne Life + 50 calendar years (except posthumous work) 50 calendar years from publication (cinematographic films, applied arts works and photographs; anonymous or pseudonymous works; corporate works; posthumous works)

40 years from publication or 50 years from completion, whichever is shorter (computer software) Bangladesh Life + 60 years or Publication + 60 years 60 years from publication (cinematographic films, sound recordings, photographs, computer programmes or works of the Government, local authority or an international organisation) Yes Life + 50 yearsLiterary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. 50 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous works) 50 years from making (computer-generated work) 50 years from publication; 50 years from creation if unpublished (sound recordings and films) 50 years from creation (broadcast); 50 years after programme included in a cable programme service 25 years from publication (typographical arrangement of a published edition) Yes Life + 50 years 50 years from publication or if unpublished 50 years from creation (anonymous or pseudonymous works) 50 years from fixation (performance) 50 years from publication or if unpublished 50 years from fixation (phonogram) 50 years from the first broadcast or cable transmission Yes Life + 70 yearsYes Life + 50 yearss. 10, Copyright Act Ch. 252 50 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work)50 years from publication (sound recording or film)50 years from publication (computer-generated work)Yes Life + 50 years Life + 50 yearsHow long does copyright last? from Bermuda Government website. Berne Convention signatories Life + 50 yearsArt. 7, Berne Convention(1) Signatories may grant longer terms.Art. 7(6), Berne Convention(1) 50 years from publication or if not shown 50 years from creation (cinematographic works)Art. 7(2), Berne Convention(1) 50 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous works)Art. 7(3), Berne Convention(1) 25 years from creation (photographic works)Art. 7(4), Berne Convention(1) Signatories may grant longer terms. YesArt. 7(5), Berne Convention(1) Life + 50 yearss. 18, Copyright Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2001 Life + 50 yearsArt. 18, Life + 70 yearsArt. 84, Law on Copyright and Related Rights (7/02) Berne, TRIPS, WCTCopyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, Act No. 8 of 2000 Life + 70 years Publication + 70 years (audiovisual and photograpical works)

Publication + 70 years (anonymous and pseudonymous works)

Creation + 70 years (sound recordings)

Publication + 50 years, or, if unpublished, creation + 50 years (computer programs)Yes Life + 70 Years Life + 70 Years Life + 50 years Life + 70 years (EU)Art. 27, Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights, last changed in 2007 Life + 70 yearsArt. 34, Loi N°032-99AN portant protection de la propriété littéraire et artistique Life + 50 years "ACT No. 1/021 of December 30, 2005, On the Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in Burundi" . WIPO.int. 50 years from publication (phonograms) Life + 50 yearsArt. 30, Law on Copyright and Related Rights of 2003 Cameroon Life + 50 yearsArt. 37, Loi no 2000/011 du 19 décembre 2000 Canada Life + 70 years (except certain posthumous works) [Life + 50 years (death before 1972)] 75 years from publication or 100 years from creation, whichever is shorter (anonymous works). There is no revival of copyright in any work in which the copyright had expired before the coming into force in January 2023 of the extension of the term of copyright from 50 to 70 years.