Western Sahara
Copyright and fair use information for postage stamps
Are Western Sahara stamps public domain?
No ruling on Western Sahara stamps specifically has been found, so the archive reads them under the country’s general copyright law.
The terms: 70 years after the death of a named designer; 70 years from issue for an anonymous stamp.
Copyright law in Western Sahara
The archive has not been able to settle the details of Western Sahara stamps specifically. Here is its reading of the copyright law of Western Sahara, 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
- Before 2006
- 50 years after the designer’s death.
- Older stamps
- A stamp already in the public domain stayed there when the term was extended.
- Note
- Western Sahara follows Morocco’s copyright law. Moroccan law applies in practice, at least west of the berm.
Historical issuers read under this law: La Agüera, Río de Oro, Spanish Sahara, Spanish West Africa.
The rule by period
PeriodRule
Any dateNo rule specific to stamps. The general copyright law above applies.