Are Greek stamps public domain?

It depends on the designer. In the archive's reading, a Greek stamp is public domain 70 years after the death of its designer or engraver, so no single cutoff year applies. Commons calls the status of other Greek stamps issued before 1970 disputed.

Are Greek stamps from before 1970 public domain?

Some are. Greek stamps whose designer or engraver died more than 70 years ago are free, and so, by Commons' test, are pseudonymous designs made before January 1, 1956. The status of other Greek stamps issued before 1970 is disputed; they may be free as official administrative texts, which Greek law leaves unprotected.

Is there a cutoff year for Greek stamps?

No. The 70-year term for Greek stamps runs from the death of the designer or engraver, so each stamp has its own date. A Greek stamp with no recorded designer is read under the 70-year term for anonymous works, so one issued in 1955 or earlier is Likely public domain in 2026.

Greece

Are Greece stamps public domain?

It depends on the designer: Greek stamps are public domain 70 years after the death of their designer or engraver, in the archive's reading of Wikimedia Commons, so no single cutoff year applies. Commons calls the status of other stamps issued before 1970 disputed and says stamps issued since 1970 follow the 70-year rule.

Why no fixed date?

Greek law, Law 2121/1993, protects a work for the author's life plus 70 years, counted from January 1 of the year after the death.¹ Commons applies that term to stamps and adds a test for pseudonymous designs: those made more than 70 years ago are free, which in 2026 means before January 1, 1956.¹ For all other stamps issued before 1970, Commons calls the status disputed. It suggests they may be official administrative texts, which the law leaves unprotected and which Commons covers with one of its license tags.¹² Commons does not explain why 1970 is the line. The archive's reading is narrower than Commons. It counts only the designer's death, so it treats a disputed stamp from before 1970 as protected until 70 years after that death, and for a stamp with no recorded designer it reads the general term for anonymous works, 70 years from issue, and answers Likely yes or Likely no. The archive does not yet follow Commons on pseudonymous designs made before 1956.

Postal history and copyright

According to Wikipedia, Greece's first postal service, founded in 1828, issued its stamps until 1970, when Hellenic Post (ELTA) succeeded it.³ Commons' note on stamps draws its line at the same year but gives no reason for it. The first Greek stamps, the Large Hermes heads of October 1, 1861, were based on a design by the French engraver Albert Désiré Barre.³ Earlier stamps inscribed in Greek came from the Ionian Islands under British rule, from 1859 to 1864, and the islands of Samos and Ikaria issued their own stamps before they became part of Greece.³ Commons' note on Greek stamps does not say which law covers these issues; the question is open.

References 3

↑ Copyright rules for Greece. Wikimedia Commons, September 3, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
↑ Wikimedia Commons license tag (Greece). Wikimedia Commons, March 1, 2021. Accessed October 8, 2026.
↑ Postage stamps and postal history of Greece. Wikipedia, July 15, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.

Copyright law in Greece

The archive has not been able to settle the details of Greece stamps specifically. Here is its reading of the copyright law of Greece, 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
Anonymous: 70 years from issue
Note: The status of stamps issued before 1970 is disputed; they may be free as government administrative documents. Later stamps are protected 70 years after the designer's death.

Historical issuers read under this law: Adrianople (Edirne), Aegean Islands (Dodecanese), Albania (Greek Occupation), Astypalaea, British Post Offices in the Turkish Empire, Castelrosso (French Occupation), Cephalonia and Ithaca (Italian Occupation), Corfu (Italian Occupation), Corfu and Paxos (Italian Occupation), Cretan Revolutionary Assembly, Crete, Crete (Austro-Hungarian Post), Crete (British Post Offices), Crete (French Post Offices), Crete (Russian Post Offices), Dedeagatz (French Post Office), Dedeagatz (Greek Occupation), Dodecanese Islands (Greek Occupation), Eastern Thrace, Epirus, Gumultsina, Ikaria, Ionian Islands, Ionian Islands (Italian Occupation), Jannina (Italian Post Office), Kalimnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kastellórizo, Kavalla (French Post Office), Kavalla (Greek Occupation), Khalki, Khania (Italian Post Office), Khios, Kos, Lemnos, Leros, Lesbos, Lipsos, Middle East Forces (MEF), Mount Athos (Russian Post Office), Mytilene (Russian Post Office), Nisyros, Patmos (Patmo), Port Lagos (French Post Office), Rhodes, Salonika (British Field Office), Salonika (Italian Post Office), Salonika (Russian Post Office), Samos, Syme, Telos, Thrace (Allied Occupation), Vathy (French Post Offices), Western Thrace, Western Thrace (Greek Occupation), Zante (German Occupation).

Read from Wikimedia Commons, copyright rules for Greece, revision 1271771940, checked October 8, 2026

The rule by period

PeriodRule

Any dateProtected until 70 years after the death of the last designer or engraver.Commons counts 70 years from the death of the designer or engraver, and calls the status of other stamps issued before 1970 disputed.

Greece stamps and the public domain: questions

Are Greek stamps public domain?: It depends on the designer. In the archive's reading, a Greek stamp is public domain 70 years after the death of its designer or engraver, so no single cutoff year applies. Commons calls the status of other Greek stamps issued before 1970 disputed.
Are Greek stamps from before 1970 public domain?: Some are. Greek stamps whose designer or engraver died more than 70 years ago are free, and so, by Commons' test, are pseudonymous designs made before January 1, 1956. The status of other Greek stamps issued before 1970 is disputed; they may be free as official administrative texts, which Greek law leaves unprotected.
Is there a cutoff year for Greek stamps?: No. The 70-year term for Greek stamps runs from the death of the designer or engraver, so each stamp has its own date. A Greek stamp with no recorded designer is read under the 70-year term for anonymous works, so one issued in 1955 or earlier is Likely public domain in 2026.