Tonga
Are Tonga stamps public domain?
It depends on the date: Tongan stamps issued in 1975 or earlier are public domain in 2026, in the archive's reading of Wikimedia Commons. Commons calls the copyright situation unclear, then concludes that a stamp published more than 50 years ago should be free. The archive applies that 50-year line and does not yet mark Tonga Unclear.
Why 1975?
Commons says Tonga's Post Office Act of 1933 and 1977 does not mention copyright, so it turns to the Copyright Act of 2002.1 That act protects a collective work for 50 years from its making, release or publication, whichever is latest, and a work of applied art for 25 years from its making.1 Commons quotes both provisions without deciding which one fits a stamp, and concludes that any stamp published more than 50 years ago should be in the public domain.1 The act runs every term to the end of the calendar year, so in the archive's reading a stamp issued in 1975 became free on January 1, 2026.1 Commons still heads its note with the words "the copyright situation is unclear"; the archive does not yet carry that label and answers by date alone.1
Postal history and copyright
The Tongan Post Office was set up in 1887, and stamps with a portrait of King George Tupou I were printed in New Zealand even before that.2 From 1900 to 1970 Tonga was a British protected state, and the United Kingdom's Copyright Act 1911, applied by an order of 1912, stayed in force there until the 2002 act repealed it.1 Commons says the 2002 act covers works that were still protected when it took effect. Its note on stamps does not say which law governed earlier issues, so that question is open.1
References 2
- ↑ Copyright rules for Tonga. Wikimedia Commons, October 13, 2024. Accessed October 8, 2026.
- ↑ Postage stamps and postal history of Tonga. Wikipedia, January 2, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
Copyright law in Tonga
Tonga’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
- 50 years after the designer’s death
- Anonymous
- 50 years from issue
- Note
- Only official texts are clearly free to use. Stamps are treated as collective works, protected for 50 years from publication.
Historical issuers read under this law: Niuafo'ou.
Read from Wikimedia Commons, copyright rules for Tonga, revision 941747585, checked October 8, 2026
The rule by period
Tonga stamps and the public domain: questions
- Are Tongan stamps public domain?
- It depends on the date. In the archive's reading, Tongan stamps published more than 50 years ago are public domain, so in 2026 that means stamps issued in 1975 or earlier. The line moves forward a year each January.
- Is Tonga's copyright law on stamps settled?
- No. Wikimedia Commons calls the copyright situation of Tongan stamps unclear, because the Post Office Act does not mention copyright and the 2002 Copyright Act gives 50 years for collective works but 25 for applied art. It concludes that a stamp published more than 50 years ago should be free, and the archive answers by that date.
- Which law covered Tongan stamps before 2002?
- It is an open question. The United Kingdom's Copyright Act 1911 applied in Tonga until the 2002 Copyright Act repealed it, but Wikimedia Commons' note on Tongan stamps does not say which law governed earlier issues.