Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Trinidad and Tobago
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Copyright rules: Trinidad and Tobago Shortcut: COM:TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | |
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| Durations | |
|---|---|
| Standard | Life + 50 years |
| Anonymous | Publish + 75 years |
| Collective | Create/publish + 75 years |
| Applied art | Create + 25 years |
| Other | |
| Freedom of panorama | Yes |
| Terms run to year end | Yes |
| Common licence tags | {{PD-Trinidad and Tobago}} |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | TTO |
| Treaties | |
| Berne convention | 16 August 1988 |
| Univ. Copyright Convention | 19 August 1988 |
| WTO member | 1 March 1995 |
| URAA restoration date* | 1 January 1996 |
| WIPO treaty | 28 November 2008 |
| *A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date. | |
This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Trinidad and Tobago relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Trinidad and Tobago must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Trinidad and Tobago 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 Trinidad and Tobago, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.
Governing laws
Trinidad and Tobago has been a member of the Berne Convention since 16 August 1988, the WIPO treaty since 28 November 2008 and the World Trade Organization since 1 March 1995, 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, Cap. 82:80 8 of 1997 amended by 18 of 2000, 5 of 2008 as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Trinidad and Tobago.[1] WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.[2] This law repeals and replaces the Copyright Act 1985.[5/2008 Section 56]
Applicability
Copyright covers literary and artistic works that are original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain, including (a) books, pamphlets, articles, computer programs and other writings; (b) speeches, lectures, addresses, sermons and other works of the same nature; (c) dramatic works, dramatico-musical works, pantomimes, choreographic works and other works created for stage productions; (d) stage productions of works mentioned in paragraph (c); (e) musical works, with or without accompanying words; (f) audio-visual works; (g) works of architecture; (h) works of drawing, painting, sculpture, engraving, lithography, tapestry and other works of fine art; (i) photographic works; (j) works of applied art; (k) illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three dimensional works relative to geography, topography, architecture or science.[5/2008 Section 5]
The following are also protected: (a) translations, adaptations, arrangements and other transformations or modifications of works; (b) collections of works and collections of mere data (databases), whether in machine readable or other form, provided that such collections are original by reason of the selection, co-ordination or arrangement of their contents; and (c) works of mas. Protection of these works is without prejudice to any protection of a pre-existing work incorporated in or utilised for the making of such a work.[5/2008 Section 6]
"Work of mas" is an original production intended to be performed by a person or a group of persons in which an artistic work in the form of an adornment or image presented by the person or persons is the primary element of the production, and in which such adornment or image may be accompanied by words, music, choreography or other works, regardless of whether the production is intended to be performed on stage, platform, street or other venue.[5/2008 Section 3]
Durations
The 2008 version of the law states that:
- Copyright and moral rights of the author are protected during the life of the author and for fifty years after his death.[5/2008 Section 18(1)]
- A "Work of joint authorship" is a work to the creation of which two or more authors have contributed, provided the contribution of each author is not separate from that of the other author or authors and the work does not qualify as a “collective work” under the definition of "collective work".[5/2008 Section 3] Copyright and moral rights are protected during the life of the last surviving author and for fifty years after his death.[5/2008 Section 18(2)]
- A "collective work" is a work created by two or more natural persons at the initiative and under the direction of a natural person or legal entity, with the understanding that it will be published by the latter person or entity under his or its own name and subject to the moral rights of the contributing natural persons.[5/2008 Section 3] For collective works other than works of applied art, and for audio-visual works, copyright and moral rights are protected for
- 75 years from the date on which the work was first published;
- 75 years from the date on which the work was first made available to the public, if the work has not been published before twenty five years after its making; or
- 100 years from the making of the work, if the work had neither been made available to the public nor published before twenty-five years after its making.[5/2008 Section 18(3)]
- For works published anonymously or under a pseudonym where the author's identity does not become known, copyright and moral rights are protected for
- 75 years from the date on which the work was first published;
- 75 years from the date on which the work was first made available to the public, if the work has not been published before twenty five years after its making; or
- 100 years from the making of the work, if the work had neither been made available to the public nor published before twenty-five years after its making.[5/2008 Section 18(4)]
- A "work of applied art" is an artistic creation with utilitarian functions or incorporated in a useful article, whether made by hand or produced on an industrial scale [5/2008 Section 3]. For works of applied art, copyright and moral rights are protected for 25 years from the making of the work.[5/2008 Section 18(5)]
Every period provided for under the preceding subsections shall run to the end of the calendar year in which it would otherwise expire.[5/2008 Section 18(6)]
Not protected
See also: Commons:Unprotected works
There is no copyright protection for any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof; or political speeches and speeches delivered in the course of legal proceedings. However, collections of such texts or speeches may be protected if they are original by reason of the selection, co-ordination or arrangement of their contents.[5/2008 Section 7]
Freedom of panorama
See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama
OK {{FoP-Trinidad and Tobago}} The 2008 Copyright Act states, "Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 8(1) and 16, the inclusion of an artistic work in a work, broadcast or communication to the public shall not be considered an infringement if the artistic work (a) is permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public; or (b) is included in the work, broadcast or communication to the public by way only of background or as incidental to the essential matters represented.[5/2008 Section 17]