Commons:Copyright rules by territory/North Korea
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Copyright rules: North Korea Shortcut: COM:DPRK | |
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.svg) | |
| Durations | |
|---|---|
| Standard | Life + 50 years |
| Collective | Publish + 50 years |
| Other | |
| Freedom of panorama | Yes |
| Terms run to year end | Yes |
| Common licence tags |
{{PD-North Korea}} {{PD-DPRKOld}} |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | PRK |
| Treaties | |
| Berne convention | 28 April 2003 |
| URAA restoration date* | 28 April 2003 |
| *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 North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in North Korea must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both North Korea 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 North Korea, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.
Background
Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan in 1910. After World War II ended in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones, with the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south occupied by the United States. In 1948, separate governments were formed in North Korea and South Korea.
North Korea has been a member of the Berne Convention since 28 April 2003.[1]
Governing laws
As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (as amended by Decree No. 1532 of February 1, 2006, of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of North Korea.[1] WIPO holds an English language version of the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.[2] A Korean language version is held on WikiSource.[3] Korea.gnu.org holds the Korean language version of the 2001 Copyright Law.[4] Daye Gang's Law and North Korea resource holds an English language translation of the law up to the 2012 amendment.[5]
Dr. Deming Liu provides an analysis on the North Korean copyright law in a 2018 scholarly essay.[6]
Pre-2001 works
North Korea's copyright law is retroactive. Even though North Korea had no copyright law before 2001, and its copyright law does not make any references to pre-existing works, in a lawsuit filed in the Tokyo District court over the protection of North Korean works in Japan, the Korea Film Export & Import Corporation tried to sue a Japanese film distributor over the use of North Korean films, including one film made in 1978. Furthermore, the second plantiff (referred to as X2 in the case) made an agreement with the Ministry of Culture, which has confirmed the copyright to the film. Although the case result was that North Korean works are not copyrighted in Japan (which is irrelevant anyways because Commons is hosted in the US), the statement made by the Ministry of Culture on a 1978 film proves that the North Korean government does not treat pre-2001 works as public domain.[7]
Applicability
As listed by Article 9,[1532/2006 Article 9] North Korean works eligible for copyright are:
- works of scientific treatises, novels and poems
- works of music
- works of theatrical art such as opera, drama, acrobatics and dance
- works of visual art such as film and television program
- works of fine arts such as painting, sculpture, industrial art, calligraphy and design
- works of photography
- works of graphic art such as map, chart, blueprint, sketch and model
- computer programs
Buildings are not specifically mentioned as applicable works. However, according to Liu (2018), "it is possible that buildings are protected as works of fine arts on the ground that they are analogous to sculpture as specifically provided for in the copyright act."
General rules
Under the Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (as amended by Decree No. 1532 of February 1, 2006),
- The property right to a copyrighted work shall be protected from the moment of its publication to the 50th year after the death of its author. The property right to a joint copyrighted work shall be protected from the moment of its publication to the 50th year after the death of the last survivor of the co-authors.[1532/2006 Article 23]
- The property right to a copyrighted work or a copyrighted visual art work whose author is an institution, enterprise or organization shall be protected for up to 50 years from the moment of its publication.[1532/2006 Article 24]
- The term of copyright protection shall be calculated from 1 of January of the year following the publication of the work or the death of its author.[1532/2006 Article 25]
Not protected
See also: Commons:Unprotected works
- Documents for state management, current news or information data shall not be the object of copyright unless commercial purpose is pursued.[1532/2006 Article 12]
- A "work whose publication, issuance, performance, broadcasting, show and exhibition is prohibited" is not protected by copyright.[1532/2006 Article 6]
Copyright tags
See also: Commons:Copyright tags
- {{PD-North Korea}} – Public domain work whose copyright has expired
- {{PD-KPGov}} – Government or other work in the public domain
- {{PD-Korea-1910-1945}} – Work made while Korea was under Japanese occupation
- {{PD-Korea-1910-1945-photo}} – Photograph made while Korea was under Japanese occupation
- {{PD-Korea-1910-1945-film}} – Film made while Korea was under Japanese occupation
Currency
See also: Commons:Currency
Not OK. According to the North Korean copyright act, documents for state management, current news or information data shall not be the object of copyright unless commercial purpose is pursued.[1532/2006 Article 12] However, currencies are for commercial purposes, so currencies are not included here.
- See also: Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Banknotes of North Korea and Commons:Deletion_requests/Files_in_Category:Money_of_North_Korea
Freedom of panorama
See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama
OK: {{FoP-North Korea}}
Under the Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (as amended by Decree No. 1532 of February 1, 2006), A copyrighted work may be used without the permission ... when a copyrighted work in public places is copied.[1532/2006 Article 32.8]
Stamps
See also: Commons:Stamps
. According to North Korean copyright law as of 2006, "the property rights to a copyrighted work or a copyrighted visual art work whose author is an institution, enterprise or organization shall be protected for up to 50 years from the moment of its publication."[1532/2006 Article 24]
If published before 1 January 1975 use {{PD-DPRKOld}}.
See also
Citations
- 1 2 Democratic People's Republic of Korea Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-08.
- ↑ Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (as amended by Decree No. 1532 of February 1, 2006, of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly). North Korea (2006). Retrieved on 2018-11-08.
- ↑ 저작권법 (조선민주주의인민공화국, 2006년) (2006 Copyright Law) (in Korean). North Korea.
- ↑ 조선민주주의인민공화국 저작권법 (2001 Copyright Law) (in Korean). North Korea (5 April 2001).
- ↑ Gang, Daye. Copyright Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2012). Law and North Korea. Retrieved on 2025-06-03.
- ↑ Liu, Deming (2018-01-09). "Copyright in North Korea, Reality or Hoax?". Chicago-Kent | Journal of International and Comparative Law. Retrieved on 2025-06-03.
- ↑ [https://ipforce.jp/Hanketsu/jiken/no/1896 平成21(受)602 著作権侵害差止等請求事件 (