Copyright Act 1994

Duration of copyright

22 Duration of copyright in literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic works

  • (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.

    (2) If the work is computer-generated, copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work is made.

    (3) If the work is of unknown authorship, copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first made available to the public by an authorised act.

    (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the circumstances in which a work may be made available to the public include,—

    • (a) in the case of a literary, dramatic, or musical work,—

      • (i) performance in public:

      • (ii) communication to the public:

    • (b) in the case of an artistic work,—

      • (i) exhibition in public:

      • (ii) the playing or showing in public of a film that includes the work:

      • (iii) communication to the public.

    (5) If—

    • (a) a work is of unknown authorship; and

    • (b) copyright in the work has expired pursuant to subsection (3); and

    • (c) the identity of the author becomes known after the copyright has expired,—

    subsection (1) does not apply to revive copyright in the work.

    (6) In relation to a work of joint authorship,—

    • (a) the reference in subsection (1) to the death of the author shall be construed,—

      • (i) if the identity of all the authors is known, as a reference to the last of them to die:

      • (ii) if the identity of 1 or more, but not all, of the authors is known, as a reference to the death of the last of the authors whose identity is known; and

    • (b) the reference in subsection (5) to the identity of the author becoming known shall be construed as a reference to the identity of any of the authors becoming known.

    (7) This section does not apply to copyright in a work to which section 26 or section 28 applies.

    Compare: 1962 No 33 s 8(1); Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 s 12 (UK)

    Section 22(4): substituted, on 31 October 2008, by section 14 of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 27).