Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Kuwait

The Sheikhdom of Kuwait became a British protectorate in 1899 and regained independence in June 1961.

Kuwait has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and the Berne Convention since 2 December 2014.^[1]

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 64 of 1999 concerning Intellectual Property Rights including Explanatory Memorandum as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Kuwait.^[1] WIPO holds the text of the 1999 law in their WIPO Lex database.^[2] This was replaced by Law No. 75 of 2019 on Copyright and Related Rights.^[1] WIPO holds the Arabic text of the 2019 law in their WIPO Lex database.^[3]A translation is provided by Lawyer Anwar Anzi.^[4]

The protection provided by this law for authors' rights shall apply to creative works in the arts, sciences, or knowledge, whatever the type, manner of expression, relevance, purpose or authorship of such works, including in particular:^{[75/2019 Article 3]}

1. Written materials such as books, booklets and others.
2. Works that are received orally, such as lectures, speeches, poems, songs, songs and the like.
3. Theatrical works, representations and reviews, and so on performances that lend movement or sound or both.
4. Works that are broadcast through rodio.
5. Works of painting and works of plastic art, architecture, decorative arts, artistic knitting, sculpture, engraving and printing on stone and so on.
6. Audiovisual works.
7. Musical compositions, whether or not accompanied by words.
8. Applied arts works, whether craft or industrial.
9. Photographic works or the like.
10. Designs, illustrations, geographical maps, blueprints and stereotyped works related to geography, topography, engineering, architecture or science....

Under the former Law No. 64 of 1999 an author's economic rights expired,

• Upon the lapse of 50 years after the death of the author. This period shall be calculated in the case of joint literary works as of the date of death of the last surviving author, and runs to the end of the calendar year in which the death occurs.^{[64/1999 Article 17.1]}
• Upon the lapse of 50 years as of the end of the calendar year in which the literary work is published with respect to the following:
  • Literary works, which are published under an assumed name without the author's name
  • Literary works in which the entitled person thereto is legal entity
  • Cinema works, photographic works, applied arts, computer software and databases
  • Literary works that are published for the first time after the depth of their authors.^{[64/1999 Article 17.2]}
• Upon the lapse of 50 years so of the end of the calendar year during which the performance was made in the case of actors and of the end of the calendar years during which the literary work was recorded in case of the producers of cinematic films, records or recordings prepared for TV Dr radio.^{[64/1999 Article 17.3]}
• Upon the lapse of 20 years as of the end of the calendar year when the programs were first transmitted in case of a broadcaster.^{[64/1999 Article 17.4]}

Under Law No. 75 of 2019 on Copyright and Related Rights,

• The term of protection of the author's financial rights over his life-long work and for fifty years after his death shall be calculated as of the first of January of the year following his death.^{[75/2019 Article 23.1]}
• The term of protection of the financial rights of authors of joint works over their entire lives and for a period of fifty years from the date of the death of the last survivors, shall be calculated as of the first of January of the year following the death of the last survivors.^{[75/2019 Article 23.2]}
• The term of protection of works for which the author is a legal person shall be fifty years from the first of January of the year following the year in which the first draft of the work took place.^{[75/2019 Article 23.3]}
• If the work is composed of several parts or volumes to be published separately or at intervals, each part or volume shall be considered a separate work for the calculation of the term of protection.^{[75/2019 Article 23.4]}
• The term of protection of collective works and audiovisual works shall be fifty years from the first publication of a project of the work calculated from the first of January of the following year in which the said publication occurred. In the absence of publication, the fifty-year period shall be effective from the first of January of the following year. for the year in which the work was completed.^{[75/2019 Article 23.5]}
• The period of protection of published works without mentioning the name of the author or the name of a pseudonym, shall be fifty years from the first of January of the following year in which the first publication of the work of the work took place, for items (1, 2) of this article.^{[75/2019 Article 23.6]}
• The period of protection of works published after the death of the owner thereof shall be fifty years from the first of January of the year following the year in which it is published.^{[75/2019 Article 23.7]}
• The protection period for applied arts and photographic works shall be fifty years from the date of the first presentation or publication of the work of the work, regordless of the republication.^{[75/2019 Article 23.8]}

See also: Commons:Unprotected works

The protection prescribed in accordance with the provisions of this Law shall not apply to the following:^{[75/2019 Article 4]}

1. Ideas, procedures, working methods, methods of operation, concepts of mathematics, principles, abstract facts, discoveries and data, even if expressed, described or described in a workbook.
2. Official texts of a legislative, administrative or judicial nature os well as their translation.
3. Daily news or events that are just press information.
4. Heavenly books and lines used in writing (drawing) and recitation and recording recitation.
5. Speeches as well as pleadings during judicial proceedings.
6. Single words, short phroses, lists of components, symbols and familiar designs. Protection shall apply to the sum of the foregoing if its collection is characterized by innovation in ranking, display or classification without the protection of the content provided.

See also: Commons:Copyright tags

• {{PD-Kuwait}} – photographs, films and two dimensional artistic works 50 years after publication, starting from the end of the publication year.

See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama

  Not OK: {{NoFoP-Kuwait}}. Chapter V Limitations and Exceptions to Copyright and Related Rights (Articles 31 to 33) does not include an exemption that would allow pictures of artwork or buildings in public places to be made for commercial use.^{[75/2019 Chapter V]}

See also Commons:Village pump/Copyright/Archive/2020/11#Kuwait and FOP for the latest in-depth discussion regarding the freedom of panorama status of Kuwait.

• Category:Kuwaiti FOP cases