Copyright rules: Ukraine Shortcut: COM:UKRAINE | |
 | |
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| Durations | |
|---|---|
| Standard | Life + 70 years |
| Anonymous | Publish + 70 years |
| Other | |
| Freedom of panorama | No |
| Terms run to year end | Yes |
| Common licence tags | {{PD-Ukraine}} |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | UKR |
| Treaties | |
| Berne convention | 25 October 1995 |
| WTO member | 16 May 2008 |
| URAA restoration date* | 1 January 1996 |
| WIPO treaty | 6 March 2002 |
| *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. | |
This page provides an overview ofcopyright rules of Ukraine relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons.Note that any work originating inUkraine must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Ukraine 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 Ukraine, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.
In the past, Ukraine was controlled at different times in whole or part by Kievan Rus', Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Austria.After World War I, Ukraine became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December 1922.During the dissolution of the USSR, on 24 August 1991 the Ukrainian parliament adopted the Act of Independence.
Ukraine has been a member of theBerne Convention since 25 October 1995, theWIPO Copyright Treaty since 6 March 2002 and theWorld Trade Organization since 16 May 2008.[1]
As of 2023 theWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed "Law of Ukraine No. 2811-IX of December 1, 2022, on Copyright and Related Rights" as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Ukraine.[1]WIPO holds the text of this law in theirWIPO Lex database.[2] The law repeals the "Law of Ukraine No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993, on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to October 27, 2016)" and its successor "Law No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993, on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to April 26, 2017)", both of which are also available in the WIPO database.[3][4]
UnderLaw No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993 as amended up to April 26, 2017),
Copyright protection under the 1993 act applied to all works where the copyright had not expired before the act became effective.[3792-XII/199-2017 Final.4]A Ukrainian or Ukrainian SSR work is in the public domain in Ukraine if it was published before 1 January 1951, and the creator (if known) died before that date. This is the effect of the copyright term extension from 50 to 70 years in 2001.
A Ukrainian or Ukrainian SSR work that is in the public domain in Ukraine according to this rule is in the public domain in the U.S. only if it was in the public domain in Ukraine before 1 January 1996, e.g. if it was published before 1 January 1946 and the creator died before this date, and no copyright was registered in the U.S.This is the combined effect of the retroactive 1993 law, Ukraine's joining theBerne Convention in 1996, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.[5]
See also:Commons:Unprotected works
UnderLaw No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993 (as amended up to April 26, 2017), protection does not extend to:[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.10]
See also:Commons:Copyright tags
#.4. It shall be established that as from the day on which this Law enters into force, the terms of copyright protection, stipulated in Article 28 of this Law and parts 1 and 2 of Article 44 of this Law, shall apply in all cases where the 50-year period of copyright validity after the author's death or the period of validity of related rights has not expired prior to the date of entry into force of this Law.
AUkrainian orSoviet work that is in the public domain in Ukraine according to this rule is in the public domain in the U.S. only if it was in the public domain in Ukraine in 1995, e.g. if it was published before 1945 and the creator died before that year, and no copyright was registered in the U.S. This is the combined effect of the retroactive Ukrainian copyright law, Ukraine's joining theBerne Convention in 1995, and of17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.[5]
See also:Commons:Currency
OK Ukrainian currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 10 of Copyright law of Ukraine.[3792-XII/199-2017 Art.10(e)]
Please use{{PD-UAGov-Money}} for Ukrainian currency images.
See also:Commons:Freedom of panorama
Not OK, non-profit use only.{{NoFoP-Ukraine}}
A freedom of panorama exception was added in theLaw of Ukraine No. 2811-IX of December 1, 2022, on Copyright and Related Rights, under Article 22(10). It is now permissible to create "images of works of architecture and fine arts permanently located in places accessible to the public, and further use of such works, provided that such actions do not have independent economic value."
The condition "provided that such actions do not have independent economic value" seems to imply that images of such works in public spaces should not be made for the purpose of making profit. Regardless of the clarity of the condition, it still does not fitthe licensing requirements of Wikimedia Commons, which only allows content that is licensed for any use, including commercial use. Non-commercial content is not allowed. See alsoCommons:Village pump/Copyright/Archive/2023/05#NEW copyright law of Ukraine.
Before 2023,Law of Ukraine No. 3792-XII of December 23, 1993, on Copyright and Related Rights (with latest version from 2017) did not contain a freedom of panorama exception. It isclaimed, though, that article 21(4) of the old law implied some kind of "freedom of panorama" (claim was repeatedhere):
This, however, is limited to "informational purposes" and to "current events". It isnot general freedom of panorama but a "fair use"-like provision for news reporting.
Indeed, four separate court rulings during 2007–09 affirmed the lack of commercial freedom of panorama in Ukraine, all involving exploitations of Vasyl' Borodai's (1917–2010) 1982 sculptureMonument to the Founders of Kyiv by four different entities during late 1990s and early 2000s. According to Shtefan (2019), "all these cases went to trial and in each case the courts came to the conclusion that the author's rights were not respected." (article, page 23)
Note: Copyright protection expires 70 years after the death of the original author (who is defined as the creator or designer) here. On January 1st of the following year (ie. January 1 of the 71st year), freely licensed images of the author's 3D works such as sculptures, buildings, bridges or monuments are now free and can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. The lack of Freedom of Panorama is no longer relevant here in Ukraine since the author's works are now in the public domain.
However, there's also a consensus that utilitarian buildings such as theNew Safe Confinement (cf.a 2021 deletion request) are not considered copyrightable.
See also:Commons:Stamps
use{{PD-UA-exempt}}.
According to the Article 10 of theLaw of Ukraine on Copyright and Related rights, all Ukrainian stamps are in the public domain. They are defined as "state signs" in the Law of Ukraine On Postal Service (4 October 2001) :