Copyright Laws Worldwide

Because of recent posts on copyright infringements, I thought we`d better have a collection of copyright laws of various countries.
Although I live in the US, I have a Japanese citizenship, but no US citizenship. Although there is an international convention, each country has a slightly different version.

The Japanese Copyright Law

The Japanese law protects the copyrights of Japanese citizens, copyrights of those published in Japan, and copyrights covered by conventions.

Please be aware that the above law is entirely in Japanese. Those living in Japan who are not Japanese citizens are not covered for their unpublished materials, but they need to rely on the laws of their home countries.

by Tomoko Yamamoto at Fri Mar 14 23:09:02 UTC 2008 (ed. Mar 18 2008) Baltimore, MD, United States | Bookmark this | Digg this |

A comprehensive guide to UK photographic copyright law and a section on laws outside the UK can be found here:

http://www.epuk.org/ABCD-of-Copyright/

by Jason Moore | 15 Mar 2008 01:03 | Small Town, United Kingdom |

Indian Copyright Law 1957

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Indian_Copyright_Law

A very comprehensive and elaborate discussion on Indian copyright scenario can be found here: http://www.betterphotography.in/showstory.php?storyid=83&pg=1

However, very long-drawn-out legal process makes “prevention better than cure” in Indian context. :-)

by santanu chakrabarti | 15 Mar 2008 13:03 | Kolkata, India |

Hi I am Canadian, but I don’t have a link… But I certainly would be interested to click on one if one other Canadian citizen would be kind enough to provide one!

by Yannis Dessureault | 15 Mar 2008 15:03 | Québec, Canada |

Here is the Wiki summary of Japanese copyright laws. Please note this is not the official tranlation of the current laws, but it is a summary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_copyright_law#Author.27s_rights

Perhaps the better place to learn about the Japanese laws regarding copyright is CRIC

The above site is also in Japanese.

by Tomoko Yamamoto | 15 Mar 2008 17:03 (ed. Mar 15 2008) | Baltimore, MD, United States |

For Canadian’s this is a good read on the CAPIC website in regards of Canadian Copyright for photographers.
http://www.capic.org/copyright.html

...Mikael

by Mikael Kjellstrom | 16 Mar 2008 11:03 | Las Palmas, LPA, Spain |

thanks Mikael, I’ll have a look when I have the chance!

by Yannis Dessureault | 17 Mar 2008 16:03 | Québec, Canada |

Here is info on the US copyright law.
www.copyright.gov/

As the Internet grows, photos and texts by someone living in another country will be used without authorization of the author involved.

by Tomoko Yamamoto | 18 Mar 2008 19:03 | Baltimore, MD, United States |