Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Bermuda

Copyright rules: Bermuda Shortcut: COM:BERMUDA
Durations
Standard	Life + 70 years
Anonymous	Create/publish + 70 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish + 50 years (sound) Create/publish + 70 years (film)
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 2D copies of 3D works
Terms run to year end	Yes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	BMU
Treaties
URAA restoration date‌*	See United Kingdom
*‌A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1928 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date.

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

Background

The English Virginia Company settled Bermuda in 1609 through the wreck of the Sea Venture. In 1612, the company's Royal Charter was altered to officially include Bermuda within its geographic boundaries and settlers were despatched to the archipelago to join the three survivors remaining from the Sea Venture. Planning also began for an under-company, the Somers Isles Company, that administered Bermuda from 1615 to 1684, when the Crown revoked the company's Royal Charter and took over direct administration of the colony. Under the company, an elected legislature had been introduced in 1620 and an appointed Council, under a company appointed (Lieutenant-)Governor. The Crown left this system of local governance in place. Within the Empire, Bermuda was administratively part of British North America. Following the independence of the thirteen colonies that became the United States of America, Bermuda became an Imperial fortress, the most important British naval and military base in the Western Hemisphere, with the British Government taking more interest in its governance, though it generally respected the established delegation of competencies to the local Government. In 1981, British colonies, including Bermuda, were re-styled British Dependent Territories, a designation that caused much ire amongst colonials. Since 2002, this has been modified to British Overseas Territories. Bermuda is internally self-governing, and its government enacts local laws.

As of 2019, Bermuda Laws Online showed that the relevant law was the Copyright and Designs Act 2004. The act is based on the Copyright Act 1956 of the United Kingdom as extended to Bermuda by the Copyright (Bermuda) Order 1962.^{[2004 Sec.3(1)]}

General

Under the Copyright and Designs Act 2004,

• The following provisions have effect with respect to the duration of copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work.^{[2004 Sec. 21(1)]}
  • Copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies, subject as follows.^{[2004 Sec. 21(2)]}
  • If the work is of unknown authorship, copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made; or if during that period the work is made available to the public, at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first so made available;^{[2004 Sec. 21(3)]}
  • If the work is computer-generated the above provisions do not apply and copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[2004 Sec. 21(7)]}
  • For a work of joint authorship, copyright expires 50 years after the death of the last known author.^{[2004 Sec. 21(8)]}
  • This section does not apply to Crown copyright, Parliamentary copyright or to copyright which subsists by virtue of section 203 (copyright of certain international organisations).^{[2004 Sec. 21(9)]}
• With respect to a sound recording, copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is made; or if during that period it is released, 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is released;^{[2004 Sec. 22(1)]}
• With respect to a film, copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the death occurs of the last to die of the following persons the principal director; the author of the screenplay; the author of the dialogue; or the composer of music specially created for and used in the film.^{[2004 Sec. 23]}
• Copyright in a broadcast or cable programme expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was made or the programme was included in a cable programme service.^{[2004 Sec. 24]}
• Copyright in the typographical arrangement of a published edition expires at the end of the period of 25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the edition was first published.^{[2004 Sec.25]}

Freedom of panorama

Shortcut

• COM:FOP Bermuda

See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama

OK for 2D copies of 3D works. Under section 86 of the Copyright and Designs Act 2004,

• This section applies to (a) buildings; and (b) sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship, if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public.^{[2004 Sec.86(1)]}
• The copyright in such a work is not infringed by (a) making a graphic work representing it; (b) making a photograph or film of it; or (c) broadcasting or including in a cable programme service a visual image of it.^{[2004 Sec.86(2)]}
• Nor is the copyright infringed by the issue to the public of copies, or the broadcasting or inclusion in a cable programme service, of anything whose making was, by virtue of this section, not an infringement of the copyright.^{[2004 Sec.86(3)]}

See also

• Bermuda
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/British Overseas Territories
• Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom

Citations

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