Kyrgyzstan

Article 8 of Law No. 6, Kyrgyzstan's copyright law of 1998, puts official symbols and signs, such as flags, coats of arms, decorations, bills and coins, outside copyright.¹ Article 1 of Law No. 52 On Postal Services, dated June 20, 2001, defines official signs of postage to include postage stamps and other signs that confirm payment for postal services.¹ Commons combines the two and treats Kyrgyz stamps as exempt from copyright.¹² Commons ties the exemption to what a stamp is and gives no date limit. This reading comes from Commons' page on Kyrgyzstan's copyright rules; the general Commons page on stamps has no entry for the country.

The Kirghiz SSR used the stamps of the Soviet Union, and Kyrgyzstan, independent from 1991, issued its first stamp on February 4, 1992, showing the Sary-Chelek nature reserve.¹³ In April and June 1993 earlier stamps were surcharged with new values.³⁴ Since 2014 a second designated operator, the limited company Kyrgyz Express Post, has issued stamps with the consent of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.³⁴ Commons' license tag says it also covers official symbols and documents of the Kirghiz SSR, as Kyrgyzstan is its legal successor, but does not mention stamps.² Commons' note does not address Soviet issues, the designs under the 1993 surcharges, or the private operator's stamps, and the archive treats those questions as open.