Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Samoa/es

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

In 1900 the island group of Samoa was divided between Germany and the United States, with German Samoa including the western islands and American Samoa the eastern islands. During World War I, New Zealand seized German Samoa, and continued to administer the islands until 1 January 1962, when Samoa became independent.

Samoa has been a member of the Berne Convention since 21 July 2006 and the World Trade Organization since 10 May 2012, as well as a signatory to various other international treaties.^[1]

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act 1998 (as consolidated in 2011) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Samoa.^[1] WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.^[2]

According to the Copyright Act 1998 (as consolidated in 2011)

• The economic and moral rights shall be protected during the life of the author and for 75 years after his or her death.^{[1998–2011 Sec.16(1)]}
• In the case of a work of joint authorship, the economic and moral rights shall be protected during the life of the last surviving author and for 75 years after his or her death.^{[1998–2011 Sec.16(2)]}
• In the case of a collective work, other than a work of applied art, and in the case of an audiovisual work, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 75 years from the date of which the work was first published or, failing such an event within 75 years from the making of the work, from its making.^{[1998–2011 Sec.16(3)]}

• In the case of a work published anonymously or under a pseudonym, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 75 years from the date on which the work was first published.^{[1998–2011 Sec.16(4)]}
• In the case of a work of applied art, the economic and moral rights shall be protected for 25 years from the making of the work.^{[1998–2011 Sec.16(5)]}
• Every period provided for under subsections (1) to (5) runs to the end of the calendar year in which it would otherwise expire.^{[1998–2011 Sec.16(6)]}

According to the Copyright Act 1998 (as consolidated in 2011), no protection shall extend to,

• any idea, procedure, system, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data, even if expressed, described, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work.^{[1998–2011 Sec.5(a)]}
• any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof.^{[1998–2011 Sec.5(b)]}

  . Only incidental copying is allowed. According to the Copyright Act 1998 (as consolidated in 2011),

• The copyright in a work is not infringed by its incidental inclusion in an artistic work, a sound recording, an audio-visual work or a broadcast or by the publication, playing, performance or other use of the work.^{[1998–2011 Sec.8c]}