Are German stamps public domain?

Some are, but not by date. A German stamp becomes public domain 70 years after the death of its last designer or engraver, counted from January 1 after the death. A Berlin court ruled in 2012 that German stamps are not official works, so no issue date makes a German stamp free on its own.

Are German stamps official works?

No. The Berlin Regional Court announced on March 27, 2012, in a case brought by the heirs of the artist Loriot against the Wikimedia Foundation, that German stamps are not official works under § 5 of the 1965 Copyright Act. German stamps therefore get the ordinary term of 70 years after the creator's death.

Are East German stamps public domain?

Not by date alone. The archive applies the German rule to East German stamps, so each is free 70 years after the death of its last designer or engraver. Wikimedia Commons once tagged GDR stamps as public domain but now lists that tag as outdated.

Are stamps of the old German states public domain?

In Wikimedia Commons' view, yes. It places stamps of the German states before unification, from Bavaria's first issue of November 1, 1849 until the Reichspost of 1871, under its general license tag for old works whose authors died long ago.

Germany

Are Germany stamps public domain?

German stamps become public domain only 70 years after the death of their creator, according to Wikimedia Commons. A Berlin court ruled in 2012 that stamps are not official works, so no German stamp is free because of its date alone. Commons adds that a very simple design may fall outside copyright.

Why no fixed date?

Commons once assumed that German stamps were official works, which § 5 of the 1965 Copyright Act leaves unprotected, and tagged them public domain.¹² That changed after the heirs of the artist Loriot sued the Wikimedia Foundation: the Berlin Regional Court announced on March 27, 2012 that German stamps are not official works under § 5(1) or § 5(2).¹ Commons now applies the ordinary German term, which runs 70 years from January 1 after the creator's death, and lists its old stamp tags as outdated.¹² For that reason the archive gives Germany no cutoff year; each stamp depends on its designer and engraver.

Postal history and copyright

Germany's stamps come from many posts: the German states before unification, starting with Bavaria on November 1, 1849; the Reichspost from 1871 to 1945; Allied occupation posts from 1945 to 1949; the Deutsche Bundespost and the Deutsche Post of the GDR from 1949; and Deutsche Post AG since 1995.³ Commons once kept a separate public domain tag for the Reichspost, the occupation posts, the GDR, the Bundespost, West Berlin and Deutsche Post AG, and now lists all of them as outdated.¹ It says the stamps of the states before the empire fall under its general tag for old works.¹ The archive applies the same rule to Imperial Germany, West Germany, East Germany and the Allied occupation. Commons' note does not treat East German law separately.

References 3

↑ Copyright rules for Germany. Wikimedia Commons, August 24, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
↑ Wikimedia Commons license tag (Germany). Wikimedia Commons, January 17, 2024. Accessed October 8, 2026.
↑ Postage stamps and postal history of Germany. Wikipedia, December 14, 2025. Accessed October 8, 2026.

Copyright law in Germany

The archive has not been able to settle the details of Germany stamps specifically. Here is its reading of the copyright law of Germany, 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.

Named designer: 70 years after the designer’s death
Note: Art made before July 1, 1995 keeps 70 years after the designer’s death even when the designer is unknown, so an uncredited stamp cannot be dated from its issue.

Historical issuers read under this law: Albania (German Occupation), Allenstein, Alsace (German Occupation), Alsace-Lorraine, American, British and Russian Zones, Anglo-American Zones (Civil Government), Anglo-American Zones (Military Government), Baden, Baden (French Zone), Bavaria, Belgium (German Occupation), Bergedorf, Bohemia and Moravia, Bremen, Brunswick, China (German Post Offices), Dalmatia (German Occupation), Dorpat (German Occupation), Eastern Command Area, Estonia (German Occupation), French Zone (General Issues), German Ninth Army Post, German post offices in the Turkish Empire, Germany (Belgian Occupation), Hamburg, Hanover, Heligoland, Holstein, Laibach (German Occupation), Latvia (German Occupation), Lithuania (German Occupation), Lorraine (German Occupation), Lübeck, Luxembourg (German Occupation), Macedonia (German Occupation), Marienwerder, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Montenegro (German Occupation), Morocco (German Post Offices), Oldenburg, Ostland, Poland (German Occupation World War II), Poland (German Occupation WW1), Postage of Berlin-Brandenburg in the Russian Zone, Postage of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the Russian Zone, Postage of North West Saxony in the Russian Zone, Postage of South East Saxony in the Russian Zone, Postage of the Rhineland-Palatinate in the French Zone, Postage of Thurn and Taxis (Northern District), Postage of Thurn and Taxis (Southern District), Prussia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Romania (German Occupation), Russian Zone (General Issues), Saar, Saar (French Administration), Saar (French Zone), Saargebiet, Sarre, Saxony, Saxony (Russian Zone), Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Serbia (German Occupation), Slesvig, Thuringia, Thuringia (Russian Zone), Ukraine (German Occupation), Upper Silesia, West Berlin, Western Command Area, Württemberg, Württemberg (French Zone), Zante (German Occupation), Zanzibar (German Postal Agency).

Read from Wikimedia Commons, copyright rules for Germany, revision 1266455898, checked October 8, 2026

The rule by period

PeriodRule

Any dateProtected until 70 years after the death of the last designer or engraver.Protected until 70 years after the death of the last designer or engraver; the archive answers Unclear when no designer is recorded.

The same rule covers Imperial Germany, West Germany, East Germany, Germany (Allied Occupation).

Germany stamps and the public domain: questions

Are German stamps public domain?: Some are, but not by date. A German stamp becomes public domain 70 years after the death of its last designer or engraver, counted from January 1 after the death. A Berlin court ruled in 2012 that German stamps are not official works, so no issue date makes a German stamp free on its own.
Are German stamps official works?: No. The Berlin Regional Court announced on March 27, 2012, in a case brought by the heirs of the artist Loriot against the Wikimedia Foundation, that German stamps are not official works under § 5 of the 1965 Copyright Act. German stamps therefore get the ordinary term of 70 years after the creator's death.
Are East German stamps public domain?: Not by date alone. The archive applies the German rule to East German stamps, so each is free 70 years after the death of its last designer or engraver. Wikimedia Commons once tagged GDR stamps as public domain but now lists that tag as outdated.
Are stamps of the old German states public domain?: In Wikimedia Commons' view, yes. It places stamps of the German states before unification, from Bavaria's first issue of November 1, 1849 until the Reichspost of 1871, under its general license tag for old works whose authors died long ago.