Are Algerian stamps public domain?

It depends on the date. In the archive's reading, Algerian stamps issued before 1972 are public domain because their 25-year term under the 1973 copyright order ended before 1998. Stamps issued from 1972 on are still copyrighted.

Can I use Algerian stamps commercially?

Not Algerian stamps issued from 1972 on. Those are still copyrighted, and Algerian law allows free use of state works only for non-profit purposes with the source named. Stamps issued before 1972 are public domain in the archive's reading.

Are French Algeria stamps public domain?

Unclear. Wikimedia Commons sets a 1972 cutoff for Algerian stamps but does not say whether stamps issued under French rule, before independence in 1962, fall under Algerian law, French law or both. The archive treats that question as open.

Will the 1972 cutoff change?

No. The 1972 cutoff for Algerian stamps is a fixed year, not a term counted from each stamp's date of issue. Stamps issued before 1972 are public domain in the archive's reading, and that line does not move with the calendar.

Algeria

Are Algeria stamps public domain?

Algerian stamps issued before 1972 are public domain, in the archive's reading of Wikimedia Commons. Stamps from 1972 on are still in copyright: Commons says they carry the same non-commercial restriction as other Algerian government works, and marks them copyrighted. The 1972 cutoff is a fixed date and does not move with the calendar.

Why 1972?

The date comes from one of Commons' license tags.¹ Algeria's copyright order of April 3, 1973 protected most works for 25 years, and the laws of 1997 and 2003 that replaced it did not revive protection that had already run out.² Commons' license tag covers works whose 25-year term ended before April 19, 1998, the date Commons gives for American copyright restoration under the URAA. For anonymous and collective works that means publication before 1972.¹ Commons' note on stamps gives only that year and does not say which of the tag's tests a stamp meets.²

Postal history and copyright

Algeria was a French colony until 1962.² Mail there used French stamps from January 1, 1849, French stamps were overprinted "ALGÉRIE" from 1924, and the first stamps inscribed for Algeria appeared in 1926.³ At independence the new administration overprinted French stamps "EA", for État Algérien.⁴ Commons' note on Algerian stamps does not say whether stamps issued under French rule fall under Algerian law, French law or both, and the archive treats that question as open. Commons does draw that line for money: it calls the status of banknotes from the colonial Banque de l'Algérie undetermined, because the bank was not a body of the present state. Its note on stamps makes no such distinction.²

References 4

↑ Wikimedia Commons license tag (Algeria). Wikimedia Commons. Accessed October 7, 2026.
↑ Copyright rules for Algeria. Wikimedia Commons, August 26, 2026. Accessed October 7, 2026.
↑ Postage stamps and postal history of Algeria. Wikipedia, August 16, 2025. Accessed October 7, 2026.
↑ Histoire philatélique et postale de l'Algérie. Wikipédia, September 24, 2025. Accessed October 7, 2026.

Copyright law in Algeria

Algeria’s own stamps follow the rule below. The historical issuers named here are read under the country’s general copyright law. A design answers Likely yes or Likely no only when every term that could apply agrees, and Unclear when they disagree.

Named designer: 50 years after the designer’s death
Anonymous: 50 years from issue
Older stamps: A stamp already in the public domain stayed there when the term was extended.
Note: A stamp published before 1997 fell under a 1973 law with a general 25-year term. Stamps come under a non-commercial-use rule for state works, so they are not free to use.

Historical issuers read under this law: Algeria (French Colony).

Read from Wikimedia Commons, copyright rules for Algeria, revision 1267594565, checked October 8, 2026

The rule by period

PeriodRule

Before 1972Public domain: made before 1972.Commons accepts these as free in Algeria and the United States, because their 25-year term under the 1973 law ended before 1998.

From 1972Copyrighted: a government work under a non-commercial restriction.Commons summarizes Algerian law as letting anyone use state works for non-profit purposes with the source named, and marks these stamps copyrighted.

Algeria stamps and the public domain: questions

Are Algerian stamps public domain?: It depends on the date. In the archive's reading, Algerian stamps issued before 1972 are public domain because their 25-year term under the 1973 copyright order ended before 1998. Stamps issued from 1972 on are still copyrighted.
Can I use Algerian stamps commercially?: Not Algerian stamps issued from 1972 on. Those are still copyrighted, and Algerian law allows free use of state works only for non-profit purposes with the source named. Stamps issued before 1972 are public domain in the archive's reading.
Are French Algeria stamps public domain?: Unclear. Wikimedia Commons sets a 1972 cutoff for Algerian stamps but does not say whether stamps issued under French rule, before independence in 1962, fall under Algerian law, French law or both. The archive treats that question as open.
Will the 1972 cutoff change?: No. The 1972 cutoff for Algerian stamps is a fixed year, not a term counted from each stamp's date of issue. Stamps issued before 1972 are public domain in the archive's reading, and that line does not move with the calendar.