Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Saint Kitts and Nevis

	Copyright rules: Saint Kitts and Nevis Shortcut: COM:SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
Durations
Standard	Life 70 years
Anonymous	Publish 70 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	KNA
Treaties
Berne convention	9 April 1995
WTO member	21 February 1996
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
	*‌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.
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This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Saint Kitts and Nevis relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Saint Kitts and Nevis must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Saint Kitts and Nevis 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 Saint Kitts and Nevis, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Saint Christopher Island (Saint Kitts) was colonized by the English in 1623, and soon after was partitioned with the French. The French ceded their part to the United Kingdom in 1713. St. Kitts and Nevis became independent in 1983.

Saint Kitts and Nevis has been a member of the Berne Convention since 9 April 1995 and the World Trade Organization since 21 February 1996, as well as a signatory to various other international treaties.^[1]

As of 2018 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act (Cap. 18.08) of 2002 as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Saint Kitts and Nevis.^[1] WIPO holds the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.^[2]

On 5 July 2024, this act was repealed with the Copyright Act 2024 (bill) which extends the terms to 70 years. The law was passed on 10 May 2024.^[3]

General rules

According to the Copyright Act, 2024

Subject to the provisions of this section, copyright in any literary, dramatic, musical artistic or audio-visual work shall expire at the end of a period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies. ^{[2024 Section 8(1)]}
Where the authorship of a work is unknown or under a pseudonym, copyright in that work shall expire at the end of a period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was first published, and subsection (1) of this section shall not apply if the identity of the author becomes known after the end of that period. ^{[2024 Section 8(2)]}
The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of Section 8 shall not apply to computer generated works, the copyright in which expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made. ^{[2024 Section 8(4)]}
Copyright in a sound recording expires at the end of a period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made, or where it is published before the end of that period, 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is so published. ^{[2024 Section 9]}
Copyright in a broadcast shall expire at the end of a period of seventy years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was made. ^{[2024 Section 10]}

The extension in 2024 was not retroactive: " Where, immediately prior to the appointed day, copyright subsists in Saint Christopher and Nevis in any literacy, dramatic, musical or artistic work by virtue of any copyright legislation referred to in subsection (1) of this section, that copyright shall continue to subsist, and the person entitled to the copyright by virtue of that Act shall be the owner of the copyright, under and subject to this Act, and, in particular, (a) the duration of the copyright; (b) the acts comprised within the exclusive rights attaching to the copyright; and (c) the effect upon the ownership of the copyright of any event or transaction occurring or of any contract or agreement made on or after the appointed day; shall be governed by this Act." ^{[2024 Section 153(2)]}

According to the Chapter 18.08 Copyright Act of 2002,

Subject to the provisions of this section, copyright in any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work shall expire at the end of a period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.^{[18.08/2000 Section 10(1)]}
Where the authorship of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is unknown, copyright in that work shall expire at the end of a period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was first made available to the public.^{[18.08/2000 Section 10(2)]}
The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not apply to computer-generated work, the copyright in which expires at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[18.08/2000 Section 10(4)]}
For a work of joint authorship, duration is based on death of the last surviving known author.^{[18.08/2000 Section 10(5)]}
Copyright in a sound recording or film expires at the end of a period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made, or where it is made available to the public before the end of that period, 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is so made available.^{[18.08/2000 Section 11(1)]}

Folklore

In respect of folklore, that is to say, all literary and artistic works that (a) constitute a basic element of the traditional and cultural heritage of Saint Christopher and Nevis; (b) were created in Saint Christopher and Nevis by various groups of the community; and (c) survive from generation to generation; the rights of the author shall vest in the Crown to the same extent as if the Crown had been the original creator of the folklore.^{[18.08/2000 Section 22(5)]}

De minimis

Shortcut

COM:DM Saint Kitts and Nevis

Freedom of panorama

Shortcut

COM:FOP Saint Kitts and Nevis

Citations

↑ ^a ^b Saint Kitts and Nevis Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-04.
↑ Copyright Act (Cap. 18.08). Saint Kitts and Nevis (2002). Retrieved on 2018-11-04.
↑ ST. KITTS AND NEVIS MODERNISES COPYRIGHT LAW WITH PASSAGE OF COPYRIGHT BILL, 2024. Government of St. Kitts & Nevis (2024-05-10).

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

[SKN-WIPO-1] Saint Kitts and Nevis Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-04.

[Act2002-2] Copyright Act (Cap. 18.08). Saint Kitts and Nevis (2002). Retrieved on 2018-11-04.

[3] ST. KITTS AND NEVIS MODERNISES COPYRIGHT LAW WITH PASSAGE OF COPYRIGHT BILL, 2024. Government of St. Kitts & Nevis (2024-05-10).

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Copyright rules by territory
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Americas	Anguilla* Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Aruba* The Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda* Bolivia Brazil British Virgin Islands* Canada Cayman Islands* Chile Clipperton Island* Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Curaçao* Dominica Dominican Republic Dutch Caribbean* Ecuador El Salvador Falkland Islands* French Guiana* Greenland* Grenada Guadeloupe* Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Martinique* Mexico Montserrat* Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Puerto Rico* Saint Barthélemy* Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint-Martin* Saint Pierre and Miquelon* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Maarten* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands* Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands* United States of America United States Minor Outlying Islands* United States Virgin Islands* Uruguay Venezuela
Asia	Afghanistan Armenia Arunachal Pradesh^† Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan British Indian Ocean Territory* Brunei Cambodia China Cocos (Keeling) Islands* Cyprus East Timor Egypt Georgia Hong Kong* India Indonesia Iran Iraq Kurdistan Region* Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Macau* Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal North Korea Oman Pakistan State of Palestine^† Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Syria Taiwan^† Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
Europe	Abkhazia^† Akrotiri and Dhekelia* Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Faroe Islands* Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar* Greece Guernsey* Hungary Iceland Ireland Isle of Man* Italy Jersey* Kazakhstan Kosovo^† Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia South Ossetia^† Spain Sweden Switzerland Transnistria^† Turkey Northern Cyprus^† Ukraine United Kingdom United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus* Vatican City
Oceania	American Samoa* Australia Cook Islands* Federated States of Micronesia Fiji French Polynesia* Guam* Hawaii* Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Caledonia* New Zealand Niue* Norfolk Island* Northern Mariana Islands* Palau Papua New Guinea Pitcairn Islands* Samoa Solomon Islands Tokelau* Tonga Tuvalu United States Minor Outlying Islands* Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna*
Others	Andean Community* Antarctica* Republic of Artsakh* British overseas territories* Czechoslovakia* European Union* French Southern and Antarctic Lands* Free City of Danzig* Manchukuo* Ottoman Empire* Overseas France* Soviet Union* United Nations* Wang Jingwei regime* Yugoslavia*
*‌Other region, e.g. dependency, union, former country^†‌Limited international recognition

Durations
Copyright rules: Saint Kitts and Nevis Shortcut: COM:SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS


Standard	Life 70 years
Anonymous	Publish 70 years
Audiovisual	Create/publish 70 years
Other
Freedom of panorama	For 3D works
Terms run to year end	Yes
Common licence tags	{{PD-Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3	KNA
Treaties
Berne convention	9 April 1995
WTO member	21 February 1996
URAA restoration date‌*	1 January 1996
*‌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.
v t e