Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Morocco

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

Governing laws

In 1912, Morocco was divided into French and Spanish protectorates, with an international zone in Tangier. It regained independence in 1956.

Morocco has been a member of the Berne Convention since 16 June 1917, the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 20 July 2011.[1]

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 2-00 on Copyright and Related Rights (promulgated by Dahir No. 1-00-20 of 9 Kaada 1420 (February 15, 2000)) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Morocco.[1] This law was modified by Dahir No. 1-05-192 of 15 Moharrem 1427 (14 February 2006) enacting Law No. 34-05 amending and supplementing Law No. 2-00 on Copyright and Related Rights.[1] WIPO holds the text of the law as amended in 2006 in their WIPO Lex database.[2]

The 2006 law replaced and repealed Dahir No. 1-69-135 of 25 joumada I 1390 (July 29, 1970), relating to the protection of literary and artistic works.[1-05-192/2006 Art.71] It was not retroactive, and does not apply to works that had already entered the public domain.[1-05-192/2006 Art.69] The protection term under Dahir No. 1-69-135 was 50 years.[3]

General rules

Under Moroccan Law as amended 2006,

  • Except where otherwise specified below, economic rights in a work are protected during the author’s lifetime and for 70 years after his death.[1-05-192/2006 Art.25]
  • A collaborative work is protected during the lifetime of the last surviving author and for 70 years after his death.[1-05-192/2006 Art.26]
  • A work published anonymously or under a pseudonym is protected for 70 years from the year when it was first published or, where this has not occurred in the 50 years since the work was created, 70 years from the year when it was made available to the public or, where this has not occurred in the 50 years since production, 70 years from the year of creation.[1-05-192/2006 Art.27]
  • A collective or audiovisual work is protected for a period of 70 years from the year when it was first published or, where this has not occurred in the 50 years since it was created, 70 years from the year when it was made available to the public or, where this has not occurred in the 70 years since creation, 70 years from the year of creation.[1-05-192/2006 Art.28]
  • A work of applied art is protected for 70 years from the year when it was lawfully published for the first time, or where this has not occurred in the 50 years since creation, 70 years from the year of creation.[1-05-192/2006 Art.29]

In the above, any deadline expires at the end of the calendar year during which it would normally lapse.[1-05-192/2006 Art.30]

Expressions of folklore: not free

See also: Commons:Paying public domain

"Expressions of folklore" means productions of elements characteristic of the traditional artistic heritage developed and preserved on the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco by a community or by individuals recognized as meeting the traditional artistic expectations of this community and comprising: popular tales, popular poetry and mysteries; songs and popular instrumental music; popular dances and shows; productions of the popular arts such as drawings, paintings, sculptures, terracottas, potteries, mosaics, works on wood, metallic objects, jewels, textiles, costumes.[1-05-192/2006 Art.1(10)]

Expressions of folklore shall be protected for the following uses, where those uses have a commercial aim or lie outside the conventional or customary framework: reproduction; communication to the public through representation, performance, broadcasting or cable transmission, or any other means; adaptation, translation or any other modification; fixation of expressions of folklore.[1-05-192/2006 Art.7(1)] The right to authorize the acts referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall belong to the Moroccan Copyright Office.[1-05-192/2006 Art.7(4)] The sums received in relation to this Article shall be allocated for professional purposes and to cultural development.[1-05-192/2006 Art.7(5)]

Copyright tags

Shortcut

See also: Commons:Copyright tags

  • {{PD-Morocco}} – All works are protected for 70 years after the author's death.
  • {{PD-Morocco-exempt}} – Works not subject to copyright under Article 8 of the Law No. 34‐05 on Copyright and Related Rights.
  • {{Data.gov.ma}} – Works published on Data.gov.ma, the government's open data portal

Freedom of panorama

See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama

 Not OK: non-commercial only if work is the main subject of the image: {{NoFoP-Morocco}}

"It shall be permitted, without the author’s authorization or payment of a fee, to republish, broadcast or communicate to the public by cable an image of a work of architecture, a work of fine art, a photographic work, or a work of applied art which is permanently located in a place open to the public, unless the image of the work is the main subject of such a reproduction, broadcast or communication and if it is used for commercial purposes".[1-05-192/2006 Art.20]

Note: all images of works on Commons must be commercially usable; the exception only permits commercial use if the copyrighted work is not the main subject of the reproduction.

Not protected

See also: Commons:Unprotected works

Works that fit the following criteria are not protected under Moroccan copyright law:

  • (a) official texts of a legislative, administrative or judicial nature, nor to their official translations;
  • (b) current events;
  • (c) ideas, processes, systems, operating methods, concepts, principles, discoveries or simple data, even if these are stated, described, explained, illustrated or incorporated in a work."[1-00-20 Art.8]

De minimis

See also: Commons:De minimis

"It shall be permitted, without the author’s authorization or payment of a fee, to republish, broadcast or communicate to the public by cable an image of a work of architecture, a work of fine art, a photographic work, or a work of applied art which is permanently located in a place open to the public, unless the image of the work is the main subject of such a reproduction, broadcast or communication and if it is used for commercial purposes".[1-05-192/2006 Art.20]

Threshold of originality

See also: Commons:Threshold of originality

Moroccan copyright law defines a work as an "original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic field".[1-00-20 Art.3] The law also specifies that protection is "independent from the mode or form of expression, nor the quality or purpose of the work".[1-00-20 Art.3] This implies that, while present, the TOO in Morocco would be somewhat low.

See also some previous discussions:


See also

Citations

  1. a b c Morocco Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-04.
  2. Law No. 2-00 on Copyright and Related Rights (promulgated by Dahir No. 1-00-20 of 9 Kaada 1420 (February 15, 2006)). Morocco (2006). Retrieved on 2018-11-04.
  3. Dahir No. 1-69-135. Bulletin Officiel, Royaume du Maroc. 7 October 1970
Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer