Benin
Copyright and fair use information for postage stamps
Are Benin stamps public domain?
No rule specific to stamps; the general copyright law applies.
The terms: 70 years after the death of a named designer; 70 years from issue for an anonymous stamp.
Copyright law in Benin
The archive has not been able to settle the details of Benin stamps specifically. Here is its reading of the copyright law of Benin, and how it reaches a general answer from it. A design answers Likely yes or Likely no only when every term that could apply agrees, and Unclear when they disagree.
- Government works
- Official legislative, administrative and court texts are free to use. Nothing extends this to stamp art.
- Named designer
- 70 years after the designer’s death
- Anonymous
- 70 years from issue
- Before 2006
- 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.
Historical issuers read under this law: Benin (French Colony), Dahomey.
Read from Wikimedia Commons, copyright rules for Benin, revision 940388467, checked October 8, 2026
The rule by period
PeriodRule
Any dateNo rule specific to stamps. The general copyright law above applies.