Copyright Length by Country 2024
A copyright is a crucial part of the global protection of intellectual and creative property. A creator’s copyright allows them to retain all the rights to their own work under the law.
However, there are limits to how long a copyright lasts, and those limits can vary greatly from one country to the next. The following is an overview of how copyright lengths differ around the world as of 2023.
Countries with the Longest Copyright Duration
In most cases, copyrights last the entire life of a creator plus a set number of additional years, with the most common examples lasting the life of the author plus 50–70 years. The following are some of the countries with the longest-lasting copyrights:
- Mexico: As of 2023, Mexico is the country with the longest-lasting copyrights. Mexican copyrights last the creator’s entire life plus an additional 100 years but are non-extendable past that duration.
- Spain: In Spain, copyrights last the life of the creator plus 80 years.
- Guatemala: In Guatemala, copyrights last the life of the creator plus 75 years.
- United States: In the U.S., copyrights for works created after January 1, 1928, last the life of the creator plus 70 years. (Works created before that date lost their copyright protection in 2023.)
- Australia: Australian copyrights last the life of the creator plus 70 years.
- Japan: Japanese copyrights last the life of the creator plus 50 years.
In most cases, copyrights attached to joint works last the length of the life of the last author to pass on plus an additional 70 years.
Factors That May Influence Copyright Duration
Many countries around the world choose to coordinate their own copyright durations to international standard setters like the Berne Convention. The Berne Convention lays out the official minimum acceptable standards for copyright worldwide.
Other factors may come into play, as well. Examples include the following.
Cultural Factors
A country’s economic status and cultural values can influence copyright length, with wealthier nations sometimes choosing to lengthen or extend copyrights for the sake of their economies. In some countries, emerging technology and the ubiquity of digital media spark additional discussion about how long copyrights should last and whether approaches should be adapted. Individual countries may have differing opinions as to whether creators’ exclusive rights should trump the benefits of granting public access to certain works and to what extent.
Country | Copyright Length Based on Authors Death | Copyright Length Based on Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| 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) |
| Albania | 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) |
| Algeria | 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) |
| Andorra | 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) |
| Angola | Life + 50 years, | Life + 25 years (photographic works or applied arts) | |
| Anguilla | Life + 50 years | 50 years from the death of the author, of the last surviving author for works with more than one author |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Life + 50 years | 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) |
| 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 | Cinematographic works: 50 years after death of the last survivor among the producer, the director, the screenplay writer or the composer (for musical comedies) |
| Armenia | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous works) |
| Aruba | Life + 50 years | |
| Australia | Life + 70 years | 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) |
| Austria | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication; 70 years from creation if unpublished (anonymous or pseudonymous work) |
| 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) |
| Bahamas | At least 50 years after the author's death | |
| Bahrain | 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 earlier (computer software) |
| Bangladesh | Life + 60 years or Publication + 60 years | 60 years from publication (cinematographic films, sound recordings, photographs, computer programmes, works of the Government, local authority or an international organisation |
| Barbados | Life + 50 years | 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) |
| Belarus | 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 |
| Belgium | Life + 70 years | |
| Belize | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) | 50 years from publication (sound recording or film) | 50 years from publication (computer-generated work) |
| Benin | Life + 50 years | |
| Bermuda | Life + 50 years | |
| Bhutan | Life + 50 years | |
| Bolivia | Life + 50 years | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Life + 70 years | |
| Brazil | Life + 70 years | Economical rights | Publication+70 years(audiovisual and photograpical works) | Publication+70 years (anonymous and pseudonymous works) | Neighboring rights | Creation+70 years(phonograms,transmission for the broadcasts of broadcasting organization, and public performance in other cases.) | Publication+50 years,if unpublished creation+50 years(computer programs) |
| British Virgin Islands | Life + 70 Years | |
| Brunei | Life + 50 years | |
| Bulgaria | Life + 70 years (EU) | |
| Burkina Faso | Life + 70 years | |
| Burundi | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (phonograms) |
| Cambodia | Life + 50 years | |
| Cameroon | Life + 50 years | |
| 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 | 50 years from publication (certain posthumous works) |
| Cape Verde | Life + 50 years | |
| Central African Republic | Berne, TRIPS | |
| Chad | Berne, TRIPS | |
| Chile | Life + 70 years | |
| China | Life + 50 years (citizens' works) | 50 years from publication, or if unpublished, 50 years from creation (works of legal entities, cinematographic works, films or photographic works) |
| Colombia | Life + 80 years | 80 years from publication (cinematographic works) |
| Costa Rica | Life + 70 years | |
| Croatia | Life + 70 years | |
| Cuba | Life + 50 years | |
| Cyprus | Life + 70 years (EU, WCT) | |
| Czech Republic | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication (anonymous works) |
| Denmark | Life + 70 years | |
| Djibouti | Life + 50 years | For a cinematographic work, 50 years from the date when the work was made lawfully accessible to the public with the author's consent | For a photographic work or work of applied art, 25 years from the production of the work |
| Dominica | Life + 70 years | |
| Dominican Republic | Life + 70 years | |
| DR Congo | Life + 50 years | 25 years from publication (photograph works) | 50 years from publication (anonymous, pseudonymous or posthumous work) |
| Ecuador | Life + 70 years | |
| Egypt | Life + 50 years | |
| El Salvador | Life + 50 years | |
| Equatorial Guinea | Life + 80 years (but additional expiration rules in Article 38 of the Main Equatorial Guinea Intellectual Property Law may affect this) | |
| Eritrea | Life + 0 years but at least 50 years since publication, whichever is longer (except posthumous works) | 50 years since publication (posthumous works) |
| Estonia | Life + 70 years (EU) | 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous works) |
| Ethiopia | Life + 50 years | |
| Fiji | Life + 50 years | |
| Finland | Life + 70 years | 50 years from publication (sound recordings, television broadcasts and sound broadcasts) | 50 years from creation (photographic works) |
| France | Life + 70 years (except posthumous works published after this term) | + 6 years 152 days for musical work published through 1920 | + 8 years and 120 days for musical work published through 1947 | + 30 years for all works if the author died on active service | 70 years from publication (pseudonymous, anonymous or collective works) | 25 years from publication (posthumous works published after Art. L123-1 term) |
| Gabon | Berne, TRIPS, WCT | |
| Gambia | Life + 50 years | |
| Georgia | Life + 70 years | |
| Germany | Life + 70 years | 25 years from first publication or first public performance if copyright has expired before such publication or performance, or if the work has never been protected in Germany and the author died more than 70 years before the first publication |
| Ghana | Life + 70 years | |
| Greece | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous works) |
| Greenland | Berne, TRIPS | |
| Guatemala | Life + 75 years | 75 years from publication or if unpublished 75 years from creation (computer programs and collective works; anonymous or pseudonymous works; audiovisual works) |
| Guinea | TRIPS, WCT | |
| Guinea Bissau | Berne, TRIPS | |
| Guyana | Life + 50 years | |
| Haiti | Berne, TRIPS | |
| Honduras | Life + 75 years | |
| Hong Kong | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication or if unpublished 50 years from creation (literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works with unknown authorship) | 50 years from publication or if unpublished 50 years from creation (sound recordings) | 50 years from creation (broadcast); 50 years after programme included in a cable programme service | 25 years from publication (typographical arrangement of published editions) |
| Hungary | Life + 70 years, | If there are multiple authors, life of last surviving author + 70 years | 70 years and shall be counted from the first day of the year following the first disclosure of the work in case the person of the author is unknown. However, should the author become known during this period of time, the term of protection shall be counted from the first day of the year following the death of the author | 70 years counted from the first day of the year following the first disclosure of a collective work or a cinematographic creation | 25 years from the first day of the year following the first disclosure if copyright protection of a scope consistent with the author's economic rights shall be due to the person who, following the expiration of the term of protection or the period of time determined in the term of protection shall be counted from a date other than the first day of the year following the death of the author, the author dying last, or the joint author, discloses according to the law a work previously not disclosed to the public | |
| Iceland | Life + 70 years | |
| India | Life + 60 years (except posthumous works) | 60 years from publication (posthumous works, photographs, cinematograph films, sound recordings, works of public undertakings, and works of international organisations) |
| Indonesia | Life + 70 years | 70 years from the author's death for books, musics, etc. | 50 years after publication for cinematography, photograph, etc |
| Iran | Life + 50 years | 30 years from publication (photographic or cinematographic works) |
| Iraq | Life + 50 years | 5 years from publication (photographic works) |
| Ireland | Life + 70 years | |
| Israel | Life + 70 years | 50 years from publication (photographs created until May 2007) |
| Italy | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) | 20 years from publication (copyright of State, the provinces, the communes, the academies or public cultural organizations, or to private legal entities of a non-profit making character) |
| Ivory Coast | Life + 70 years (except posthumous works published within this period) | 70 years from publication (photographic or audiovisual works or works of applied art; anonymous or pseudonymous works; posthumous works) |
| Jamaica | Life + 95 years (for authors that died in 1962 or later) | Life + 50 years (for authors that died before 1962) | | 95 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work, work for hire | 95 years from creation (computer-generated work, broadcast, cable programme) | 95 years from publication or if unpublished 95 years from creation (sound recording or film) | 50 years from publication (typographical arrangement of a published edition) |
| Japan | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication, or if unpublished, 70 years from creation (cinematographic works) | 70 years from publication, or if unpublished, 70 years from creation (works of a legal person or other corporate body) |
| Jordan | Life + 50 years | |
| Kazakhstan | Life + 50 years | |
| Kenya | Life + 50 years (literary, musical or artistic work other than photographs) | 50 years from the latest of creation or publication (audio-visual works and photographs) |
| Kiribati | Life + 50 years | |
| Kuwait | TRIP | |
| Kyrgyzstan | Life + 50 years | |
| Laos | Life + 50 years | 50 years after making available. Also: | • Anonymous/pseudonymous work: 50 years from the date the work was made available to the public | • Cinematographic work: 50 years from making available, failing that, 50 years from making | • Applied art: 25 years from date of creation | Related: Performances, phonograms, broadcasts: 50 years since the date of performance, fixation, and broadcast, respectively |
| Latvia | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) |
| Lebanon | Life + 50 years | 50 years after lawful publication; failing publication, 50 years after work completion. Also: | • economic rights: 50 years from performance | • moral rights: perpetual | • broadcasters' rights: 20 years after first broadcasting | |
| Lesotho | Life + 50 years | |
| Liberia | Life + 50 years | |
| Libya | Life + 25 years with 50-year minimum (as of 1968; may have changed since) | |
| Lithuania | Life + 70 years | |
| Luxembourg | Life + 70 years | |
| Macau | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (anonymous works) | 50 years from publication (audiovisual works) | 25 years from completion (works of applied art) |
| Madagascar | Life + 70 years | |
| Malawi | Life + 50 years | |
| Malaysia | Life + 50 years (literary, musical and artistic works, not posthumous) | 50 years after publication (posthumous work, published edition, film, live performance) | 50 years after publication or if unpublished 50 years from creation (anonymous, pseudonymous work, sound recording, broadcast, film) | 50 years after being made (broadcast) |
| Maldives | Life + 50 years | |
| Mali | Life + 50 years | |
| Malta | Life + 70 years | |
| Marshall Islands | 0, no copyright | |
| Mauritania | Berne, TRIPS | |
| Mauritius | Life + 50 years | |
| Mexico | Life + 100 years (effective 23 July 2003 non-retroactively) | 75 years from the first fixation of the recording or the first performance/recording of the performance, respectively | 50 years from first publication of the book, the first fixation of the recording, or the first broadcast. |
| Micronesia | Life + 50 years | |
| Moldova | Life + 50 years | |
| Monaco | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (photographs) | 50 years from creation (Sound recordings) | 50 years from publication (cinematograph films, broadcasts) |
| Mongolia | Life + 50 years | |
| Montenegro | Life + 70 years | |
| Morocco | Life + 50 years | 70 years after a work's lawful publication; if no lawful publication has taken place within 50 years of the making, copyright lasts for 70 years after the work's communication to the public; if no lawful communication to the public has taken place within 50 years of the making, copyright lasts for 70 years after the work is made | 70 years for Performers' rights, if no lawful publication has taken place within 50 years of the performance, copyright lasts for 70 years after the work's first performance | 70 years for Broadcasters' rights: if no lawful publication has taken place within 50 years of the work's creation, copyright lasts for 70 years after the work's creation |
| Mozambique | Life + 70 years | |
| Myanmar | TRIPS | |
| Namibia | Life + 50 years (except posthumous works) | 50 years from publication (posthumous works) | 50 years from publication or if unpublished 50 years from creation (cinematograph films, photographs and computer programs) |
| Nepal | Life + 50 years | 25 years from creation (applied art and photographic work) |
| Netherlands | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work, corporate works with no listed natural author) | 25 years from publication (works first published more than 70 years after the death of the author) |
| New Zealand | Life + 50 years (literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work) | 50 years from creation (computer-generated work) |
| Nicaragua | Life + 70 years | |
| Niger | Life + 50 years | |
| Nigeria | Life + 70 years (literary, musical or artistic works other than photographs) | 70 years from publication (literary, musical or non-photograph artistic works in the case of government or a body corporate) | 50 years from publication (cinematograph films and photographs) | 50 years from publication (sound recordings) | 50 years from publication (broadcasts) |
| North Korea | Life + 50 years | Works authored by "an institution, enterprise or organization", 50 years from publication |
| North Macedonia | Life + 70 years | |
| Norway | Life + 70 years, | Life + 15 years, but no less than 50 years after publication ("simple" photographs that are below the threshold of originality to merit copyright protection) | 70 years |
| Oman | Life + 70 years | 90 years from the year following the publication | 120 years from the year following the completion |
| Pakistan | Life + 50 years | |
| Palau | Life + 50 years | |
| Panama | Life + 70 years | |
| Papua New Guinea | Life + 50 years | |
| Paraguay | Life + 70 years | |
| Peru | Life + 70 years | |
| Philippines | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (photographic works), or 50 years from creation if unpublished within 50 years of creation |
| Poland | Life + 70 years | |
| Portugal | Life + 70 years | |
| Qatar | Life + 50 years | |
| Republic of the Congo | Life + 50 years | 25 years from creation (photographic work and work of applied art) |
| Romania | Life + 70 years | |
| Russia | Life + 70 years, | Life + 74 years (for those who fought in or worked during the war of 1941–45), | Date of rehabilitation + 70 (74) years (for unlawfully prosecuted and posthumously rehabilitated), | Protection applies if copyright term of Life + 50 years (or Life + 54 years) did not expire by 1 January 1993 | 50 years from publication (radio and television broadcasts) | 50 years from creation if unpublished, or 50 years from publication (sound records) | 70 years from publication (anonymous works) | 70 years from publication if published within 70 years from death (posthumous publication) | 70 years from publication if published before 3 August 1993 by a corporation (cinematographic, television, radio works, print periodicals and compilations). Protection term applies to "the whole work" only, i.e. individual authors of each protectable part of the whole work retain their own copyright | All works published prior to October Revolution (7 November 1917) are believed to be uncopyrighted |
| Rwanda | Berne, TRIPS | |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Life + 50 years | |
| Saint Lucia | Life + 50 years | |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Life + 75 years (literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work) | 75 years from publication or if unpublished 50 years from creation (sound recording or film) | 50 years from creation (computer-generated work) | 50 years from creation (broadcast); 50 years after programme included in a cable programme service |
| Samoa | Life + 75 years | |
| San Marino | Life + 50 years | |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Life + 70 years | |
| Saudi Arabia | Life + 50 years | The period of copyright for the author of a work shall be for the duration of his life and for a period of fifty years following his death |
| Senegal | Life + 70 years | |
| Serbia | Life + 70 years | |
| Seychelles | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (audio-visual works) | 25 years from creation (applied art) |
| Sierra Leone | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (photograph, film, or broadcast) | 50 years from creation (sound recording) |
| Singapore | Life + 70 years (except posthumous work) | 70 years from publication (posthumous work, photograph | 70 years from publication (sound recordings and cinematograph films) | 50 years after making (television broadcasts, sound broadcasts, cable programmes) | 25 years from publication (published editions of works) |
| Sint Maarten | Life + 50 years | |
| Slovakia | Life + 50 years | |
| Slovenia | Life + 70 years[ | |
| Solomon Islands | Life + 50 years | |
| South Africa | Life + 50 years (literary or musical works or artistic works, other than photographs) | 50 years from publication or if unpublished 50 years from creation (cinematography films, photographs, computer programs) | 50 years from publication (sound recordings; broadcasts; programme-carrying signals; and published editions) |
| South Korea | Life + 70 years (amended on 2011-06-30) | 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) | 70 years from publication, or if unpublished within 50 years, 70 years from creation (works made for hire, cinematographic works) |
| Spain | Life + 70 years (for authors that died on or after December 7,1987), | Life + 80 years (for authors that died before December 7, 1987) | |
| Sri Lanka | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication or if unpublished 50 years from completion (audiovisual work) | 25 years from publication (applied art) |
| Sudan | Life + 50 years | 25 years from publication (photographic pictures and cinematographic films and other audiovisual works; works published under unknown pseudonym or anonymously) |
| Suriname | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) |
| Sweden | Life + 70 years | |
| Switzerland | Life + 70 years effective 1 July 1993 non-retroactively, but Life + 50 years for computer programs, | Life + 50 years (before the law change on 1 July 1993, applicable for deaths through 1942) | 50 years after performance (performers' rights) |
| Syria | Life + 50 years | 10 years from production (photographic, fine arts or plastic arts) |
| Taiwan | Life + 50 years (except posthumous works first published 40 to 50 years after death) | 50 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) | 50 years from publication; 50 years from creation if unpublished (corporate works; photographic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, and performances) | 10 years from publication (posthumous works first published 40 to 50 years after death) |
| Tajikistan | Berne | |
| Tanzania | Life + 50 years | |
| Thailand | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication or 50 years from creation if not published within 50 years from creation |
| Timor Leste | Life + 50 years | |
| Togo | Life + 50 years | |
| Tonga | Life + 50 years | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Life + 50 years | |
| Tunisia | Life + 50 years | Authors' rights: | Economic rights: reproduction right; right of adaptation and translation; public performance right; broadcasting right; right of communication to the public by cable or satellite or any other means; right of communication of a broadcast work in a public place | Moral rights: right to claim authorship; right to object modification; right of disclosure; right of withdrawal | Performers' rights: The law contains no provisions regarding performers | Broadcasters' rights: The law contains no provisions regarding broadcasters |
| Turkey | Life + 70 years | 70 years from publication for work-for-hire |
| Turkmenistan | Life + 50 years | |
| Uganda | Life + 50 years | 50 years from publication (corporate works, anonymous works, and computer programs) |
| Ukraine | Life + 70 years Life + 50 years (1994–2001) | 70 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) | 70 years from publication (published within 30 years from authors' deaths) |
| United Arab Emirates | Life + 50 years | |
| United Kingdom | Life + 70 years, | If there are multiple authors, life of last surviving author + 70 years | For films, life + 70 years for the last to die of: principal director, author of screenplay, author of dialogue, or composer of music specifically created for and used in the film. | 70 years if the author is unknown | 70 years after release; if not released, 70 years after making (sound recordings). Recordings which entered the public domain prior to 1 January 2013 are not retroactively covered | 50 years from end of calendar year when the broadcast was first made (broadcasts) |
| United States | Life + 70 years (works published since 1978 or unpublished works) | 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation whichever is shorter (anonymous works, pseudonymous works, or works made for hire, published since 1978) | 95 years from publication for works published 1964–1977; 28 (if copyright not renewed) or 95 years from publication for works published 1928–1963 (Copyrights prior to 1928 have expired, not including copyrights on sound recordings fixed prior to 15 February 1972, covered only under state laws.) |
| Uruguay | Life + 70 years | 70 years after the work is made available (anonymous and pseudonymous works) | 70 years from publication (collective works) |
| Uzbekistan | Life + 70 years | |
| Vanuatu | Life + 50 years | 25 years after the work is made (works of applied art) | 50 years after the latest of: the date the work is made, the date the work is made available to the public or the date of first publication (works published anonymously or under a pseudonym, collective works and audiovisual works) | 50 years after the death of the last author to die (works of joint authorship) |
| Vatican City | Life + 70 years | |
| Venezuela | Life + 60 years (except posthumous works) | 60 years from publication; 60 years from creation if unpublished (an audiovisual work, a broadcast work or a computer program) | 60 years from publication (anonymous or pseudonymous work) |
| Vietnam | Berne | |
| Yemen | Life + 30 years | 10 years from the date of issue from 1 January of the year of issue for photographs | 25 years from the date of production from 1 January of the production year for motion picture or television film | After expiry of copyright, the work "may be announced to be the ownership of the State" (emphasis added) |
| Zambia | Life + 50 years | |
| Zimbabwe | Life + 50 years |