Copyright rules: Saint Kitts and Nevis Shortcut: COM:SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish + 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	KNA
Treaties
Berne convention	9 April 1995
WTO member	21 February 1996
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.
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This page provides an overview ofcopyright rules of Saint Kitts and Nevis relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons.Note that any work originating inSaint Kitts and Nevis must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Saint Kitts and Nevis 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 Saint Kitts and Nevis, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Saint Christopher Island (Saint Kitts) was colonized by the English in 1623, and soon after was partitioned with the French.The French ceded their part to the United Kingdom in 1713.St. Kitts and Nevis became independent in 1983.

Saint Kitts and Nevis has been a member of theBerne Convention since 9 April 1995 and theWorld Trade Organization since 21 February 1996, as well as a signatory to various other international treaties.^[1]

As of 2018 theWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed theCopyright Act (Cap. 18.08) of 2002 as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Saint Kitts and Nevis.^[1]WIPO holds the text of this law in theirWIPO Lex database.^[2]

On 5 July 2024, this act was repealed with theCopyright Act 2024 (bill) which extends the terms to 70 years. The law was passed on 10 May 2024.^[3]

According to theCopyright Act, 2024

• Subject to the provisions of this section, copyright in any literary, dramatic, musical artistic or audio-visual work shall expire at the end of a period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.^{[14/2024 Section 8(1)]}
• Where the authorship of a work is unknown or under a pseudonym, copyright in that work shall expire at the end of a period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was first published, and subsection (1) of this section shall not apply if the identity of the author becomes known after the end of that period.^{[14/2024 Section 8(2)]}
• The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of Section 8 shall not apply to computer generated works, the copyright in which expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[14/2024 Section 8(4)]}
• Copyright in a sound recording expires at the end of a period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made, or where it is published before the end of that period, 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is so published.^{[14/2024 Section 9]}
• Copyright in a broadcast shall expire at the end of a period of seventy years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was made.^{[14/2024 Section 10]}

The extension in 2024 was not retroactive: " Where, immediately prior to the appointed day, copyright subsists in Saint Christopher and Nevis in any literacy, dramatic, musical or artistic work by virtue of any copyright legislation referred to in subsection (1) of this section, that copyright shall continue to subsist, and the person entitled to the copyright by virtue of that Act shall be the owner of the copyright, under and subject to this Act, and, in particular, (a) the duration of the copyright; (b) the acts comprised within the exclusive rights attaching to the copyright; and (c) the effect upon the ownership of the copyright of any event or transaction occurring or of any contract or agreement made on or after the appointed day; shall be governed by this Act."^{[14/2024 Section 153(2)]}

According to theChapter 18.08 Copyright Act of 2002,

• Subject to the provisions of this section, copyright in any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work shall expire at the end of a period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.^{[18.08/2000 Section 10(1)]}
• Where the authorship of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is unknown, copyright in that work shall expire at the end of a period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was first made available to the public.^{[18.08/2000 Section 10(2)]}
• The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not apply to computer-generated work, the copyright in which expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[18.08/2000 Section 10(4)]}
• For a work of joint authorship, duration is based on death of the last surviving known author.^{[18.08/2000 Section 10(5)]}
• Copyright in a sound recording or film expires at the end of a period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made, or where it is made available to the public before the end of that period, 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is so made available.^{[18.08/2000 Section 11(1)]}

UnderCopyright Act 2024, protection does not cover:^{[14/2024 Section 4(6)]}

• an idea, concept, process, principle, procedure, system or discovery or things of a similar nature
• individual words, short phrases or slogans
• familiar symbols or designs
• mere variations of typographic ornamentation or lettering
• colours or colouring of objects
• mere lists of items including ingredients for recipes or other content that lack originality;
• works that have no human author

In respect of folklore, that is to say, all literary and artistic works that (a) constitute a basic element of the traditional and cultural heritage of Saint Christopher and Nevis; (b) were created in Saint Christopher and Nevis by various groups of the community; and (c) survive from generation to generation; the rights of the author shall vest in the Crown to the same extent as if the Crown had been the original creator of the folklore.^{[14/2024 Section 20(5)]}

See also:Commons:De minimis

• Copyright in a work shall not be infringed (a) by its incidental inclusion in an artistic work, sound recording, audio-visual work or broadcast; or (b) by the issue to the public of copies of the playing, showing or communication to the public of anything whose making was not an infringement of copyright by virtue of paragraph (a) of this section.^{[14/2024 Section 58(1)]}

Note: "For the purposes of this section, a musical work, words spoken or sung with music, or so much of a sound recording, audio-visual work or broadcast as includes a musical work or such words, shall not be regarded as incidentally included if it is deliberately included."^{[14/2024 Section 58(2)]}

See also:Commons:Freedom of panorama

OK for 3D works and works of artistic craftsmanship. Section 78 of theCopyright Act 2024 states:

• (1) This section shall apply to (a)buildings; and (b)sculptures, models of buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship, if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public.

• (2) The copyright in the work referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall not be infringed  by

• (a) making a graphic work representing it;
• (b) making a photograph or audio-visual work of it;
• (c) broadcasting a visual image of it; or
• (d) the distribution of copies, or the broadcasting of anything whose making was, by  virtue of this section, not an infringement of copyright.^{[14/2024 Section 78]}

An identical FoP provision existed under Section 74 of the now-repealedChapter 18.08 Copyright Act of 2002.

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