Belarus
Are Belarus stamps public domain?
Yes, Belarusian stamps are public domain at any date, in the archive's reading of Wikimedia Commons. The Belarusian copyright law of 2011 lists post stamps among the state signs it does not protect, and Commons treats them as exempt. The exemption has no term, so there is no cutoff year.
Why any date?
As Commons summarizes it, Article 7 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 262-Z of May 17, 2011 excludes state signs from copyright and names paper currency and post stamps among them.1 Commons' stamp note adds the Postal Law No. 258-З of December 15, 2003, which defines a postage stamp as an official state sign of postage.1 On that basis Commons treats stamps as exempt from copyright.12 The exemption has no term, so the archive's reading has no cutoff year. Commons' license tag itself still cites the earlier copyright law, No. 370-XIII of May 16, 1996, whose Article 8 also excluded state signs.2
Postal history and copyright
Until 1991 Belarus used Soviet stamps. Its first own issue went into circulation on December 21, 1992, and Soviet stamps stayed valid until 1993.3 Commons' license tag says the Republic of Belarus is the legal successor of the Byelorussian SSR, so the tag also covers that republic's official symbols.2 Earlier issues are harder to place. In 1920 a detachment of the Belarusian People's Republic had stamps printed in Riga; Belarusian Wikipedia says they were in use from February 14 to April 22, 1920, and were reprinted many times from 1939, by the government in exile and unofficially.4 Commons says nothing about these issues, and the archive treats their status as open.
References 4
- ↑ Copyright rules for Belarus. Wikimedia Commons, March 27, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- ↑ Wikimedia Commons license tag (Belarus). Wikimedia Commons, December 18, 2011. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- ↑ Postage stamps and postal history of Belarus. Wikipedia, November 5, 2025. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- ↑ Гісторыя паштовых марак Беларусі. Wikipedia (Belarusian), June 27, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
Copyright law in Belarus
Belarus’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
- 70 years after the designer’s death
- Before 2024
- 50 years after the designer’s death; 50 years from issue for an anonymous stamp.
- Older stamps
- A stamp already in the public domain stayed there when the term was extended.
- Note
- Postage stamps are official state signs and are not protected. It is not known whether the 2024 extension also changed the 50-year term for anonymous works.
Historical issuers read under this law: Central Lithuania (Polish Occupation), Eastern Command Area, Ostland, People's Republic of Belarus, Poland (Russian Province), Polish Corps in Russia, South Lithuania (Russian Occupation), Ukraine (German Occupation).
Read from Wikimedia Commons, copyright rules for Belarus, revision 1187562777, checked October 8, 2026
The rule by period
Belarus stamps and the public domain: questions
- Are Belarusian stamps public domain?
- Yes, at any date, in the archive's reading. Belarus's copyright law of 2011 lists post stamps among the state signs it does not protect, and that exemption has no term, so no cutoff year applies to Belarusian stamps.
- Can I use Belarus stamps commercially?
- Not addressed directly. In the archive's reading, Belarusian stamps are public domain because the 2011 copyright law lists post stamps among the state signs it does not protect. Wikimedia Commons' stamp note does not discuss commercial use, and the archive's reading goes no further than that.
- Are Belarusian People's Republic stamps of 1920 public domain?
- Unclear. The Belarusian People's Republic had stamps printed in Riga in 1920, and Wikimedia Commons says nothing about them; its tag covers the Byelorussian SSR as a predecessor of today's Belarus but not the earlier republic. The archive treats the status of the 1920 issues as open.
- Is there a cutoff year for Belarusian stamps?
- No. Belarusian copyright law excludes post stamps from protection as state signs, and that exemption has no term. No date of issue decides whether a Belarusian stamp is public domain, so the archive applies no cutoff year.