Copyright rules: Zimbabwe Shortcut: COM:ZIMBABWE
Durations
Standard	Life + 50 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 50 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish + 50 years
Collective	Create/publish + 50 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	Yes
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Zimbabwe}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	ZWE
Treaties
Berne convention	18 April 1980
WTO member	5 March 1995
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.

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

Background

The British South Africa Company demarcated the present territory during the 1890s. It became the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1923. In 1965 the white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. After a lengthy guerrilla war the state gained sovereignty as Zimbabwe in April 1980.

Zimbabwe has been a member of the Berne Convention since 18 April 1980 and the World Trade Organization since 5 March 1995.^[1]

Governing laws

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the 2004 "Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (Chapter 26:05)" as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Zimbabwe.^[1] WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.^[2] The 2004 act repealed the 1981 Copyright Act (Chapter 26:1), a copy of which is also available in WIPO Lex database.^[3] The former 1981 act, in turn, repealed both the United Kingdom-originating Copyright Act of 1911 and the accompanying Chapter 227 of 1963 (copyright act of 1963).

Retroactivity

The 2004 act appears to be retroactive in terms of general rules but not in terms of actions and contracts:]

• Subject to this section, this Act shall apply in relation to works made before the fixed date as it applies in relation to works made thereafter.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 132(1)]}
• No act done before the fixed date shall constitute (a) an infringement of any copyright or other right conferred by this Act; or (b) an offence in terms of this Act.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 132(2)]}
• This Act shall not affect any contract concluded before fixed date in relation to any work or performance.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 132(3)]}

The transitional provisions under Section 60 (and the accompanying Schedule) of the repealed 1981 act indicate several acts and contracts made under the 1911-63 copyright regime were still in effect notwithstanding the repeal of the 1911-63 acts.

General rules

Under the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act, enacted 2004,

• An audiovisual work, collective work, photograph or computer program is protected for 50 years from the end of the year in which the work is lawfully made available to the public or, failing such an event within 50 years from the making of the work, 50 years from the end of the year in which the work is made.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.1a]}
• A sound recording is protected for 50 years from the end of the year in which the recording is first published.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.1b]}
• A broadcast is protected for 50 years from the end of the year in which the broadcast first takes place.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.1c]}
• A published edition is protected for 50 years from the end of the year in which the edition is first published.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.1ea]}
• Any other literary, musical or artistic work is protected for the life of the author and 50 years from the end of the year in which the author dies.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.1f]}

• Copyright conferred on the State or an international organisation subsist­s
  • For an audiovisual work, photograph, sound recording, broadcast or published edition, for the period specified above.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.2a]}
  • For any other literary, musical or artistic work, for 50 years from the end of the year in which the work was first published.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.2b]}
• The copyright in an anonymous or pseudonymous literary work, other than a government work, subsists for 50 years from the end of the year in which the work is made available to the public with the consent of the owner of the copyright or from the end of the year in which it is reasonable to presume that the author died, whichever period is the shorter.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.3]}

• With a work of joint authorship, references to the death of an author refer to the author who dies last.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 15.4]}

A Zimbabwean work that is in the public domain in Zimbabwe according to this rule is in the public domain in the U.S. only if it was in the public domain in Zimbabwe in 1996, e.g. if it was published before 1946 and no copyright was registered in the U.S. This is the effect of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (17 USC 104A) with its critical date of January 1, 1996.

Folklore: not free

See also: Commons:Paying public domain

"Work of folklore" means a literary, musical or artistic work, whether or not it is recorded, of which no person can claim to be the author; and the form or content is embodied in the traditions peculiar to one or more communities in Zimbabwe; and includes­ folk tales, folk poetry and traditional riddles; folk songs and instrumental folk music; folk dances, plays and artistic forms of ritual; productions of folk art, in particular drawings, paintings, sculptures, pottery, woodwork, metalwork, jewellery, baskets and costumes.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 80]} The Minister may grant a written licence to any person or class of persons authorising him or them, as the case may be, to do anything in relation to a reserved work of folklore, where the right to do that thing has been reserved to the President.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 85(1)]} A licence granted under subsection (1) may require the licensee to pay a fee for doing anything under the licence.^{[Cap.26:05/2004 Section 85(2)]}

Not protected

See also: Commons:Copyright tags

• {{PD-Zimbabwe}} – photographs 50 years starting from the end of publication year, other works 50 years starting from the end of the year, in which the author died.
• {{PD-Zimbabwe-exempt}} – Zimbabwean works exempted from copyright, as enumerated under Section 10, subsections 5 and 6.

Currency

• Zimbabwe
• Category:Zimbabwean FOP cases
• Category:Stamps of Zimbabwe
• Category:Stamps of Rhodesia

Citations