Commons:Currency/Asia
This page gives overviews of copyright rules for currency in different countries or territories of Asia. It is "transcluded" from individual page sections giving the rules for each country or territory. It includes pages for which no currency rules have been defined ("No information available").
Countries of Asia
editCOM:CUR Afghanistan
Afghanistan
No information available
COM:CUR Armenia
Armenia
OK Armenian currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by the 2013 version of the copyright law of Armenia.[2013 Article 4.1(d)]
Please use {{PD-AM-exempt}} for Armenian currency images.
COM:CUR Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
OK Monetary signs, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by the 2013 Copyright law of Azerbaijan.[636-IVQD/2013 Article 7]
Please use {{PD-AZ-exempt}} for Azerbaijan currency images.
COM:CUR Bahrain
Bahrain
No information available
COM:CUR Bangladesh
Bangladesh
No information available
COM:CUR Bhutan
Bhutan
No information available
COM:CUR Brunei
Brunei
No information available
COM:CUR Cambodia
Cambodia
No information available
COM:CUR 中国 / 中國
China
Not OK. The design of renminbi is exceeding the threshold of originality of China and there is no apparent evidence that renminbi designs are in public domain.
However, for currencies that are in circulation, there are some non-copyright restrictions. The use of Renminbi designs is subject to approval. According to the Measures for the Administration of the Use of Renminbi Designs (人民币图样使用管理办法) (amended in 2019)[1]:
- Article 4 The use of Renminbi designs are not permitted for ceremonial, lifestyle and finance bill purposes;
- Article 6 The use of Renminbi designs are administrated territorially, and every use cases shall be approved one by one. The People's Bank of China, to which their headquarter is located in Shanghai, as well as their branches, business management departs, sub-branches of the capitals of provinces, and centre bank of PBC in Shenzhen, are the approval authorities of Renminbi use cases. The local branches of PBC are acceptance agencies of applications of cases.
- Article 9 The use of Renminbi designs should follow the following terms:
- Only one paper face by one picture;
- No harms of Renminbi images, national interests and public interests are allowed;
- Will not let the public consider mistakenly as the Renminbi itself;
...
OK for those with expired copyright.
COM:CUR Cyprus
Cyprus
No information available
COM:CUR East Timor
East Timor
No information available
COM:CUR Egypt
Egypt
OK According to Law No. 82 of 2002 on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights: "[Copyright protection] shall not cover the following: Official documents, whatever their source or target language, such as laws, regulations, resolutions and decisions, international conventions, court decisions, award of arbitrators and decisions of administrative committees having judicial competence."[82/2002 Article 141]
COM:CUR Georgia
Georgia
OK Georgian currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 8 of Copyright law of Georgia.[2112-IIS/2017 Article 8]
Please use {{PD-GE-exempt}} for Georgian currency images.
COM:CUR India
India
OK The Indian government holds the copyright of the images of most denominations of Indian currency, including the ₹1 note, but reproduction is permitted. Please use {{GODL-India}}.
COM:CUR Indonesia
Indonesia
OK under Article 43(b) of the 2014 Copyright Law. The design, printing, and distribution of Rupiah banknotes and coins are regulated by the 2011 Currency Law. Bank Indonesia, the central bank and an independent state agency,[2] prints Rupiah on behalf of the government.[3] Publication, distribution, communication, and/or reproduction executed by or on behalf of the government, unless stated to be protected by laws and regulations, a statement to such Works, or when publication, distribution, communication, and/or reproduction to such works are made are not considered an infringement of copyright.
OK under Article 14(b) of the now-repealed Indonesian Copyright Act No. 19, 2002 states that "publication and/or reproduction of anything which is published by or on behalf of the Government, except if the Copyright is declared to be protected by law or regulation or by a statement on the work itself or at the time the work is published" is not an "infringement of Copyright". Indonesian banknotes are issued by Bank Indonesia and its predecessor Bank Negara Indonesia, which from 1953 to 1968 was "a corporate body belonging to the state" (Act No.11 of 1953), from 1968 to 1999 "belongs to the state" (Act No.17 of 1968) and from 1999 onwards is "a state institution:, and they thus fall under the aegis of Article 14b.[4]
Please use {{PD-IDGov}} for images of Indonesian currency. However, please note that it has not been determined if modifications or derivatives can be made to works enumerated in Article 43 of the 2014 Copyright Law (Please read the Commons discussion on the issue here).
COM:CUR Iran
Iran
- Not OK For coins and banknotes designed after 21 March 1993 (current year minus 31 years)
According to the 1970 Law for the Protection of Authors, Composers and Artist Rights, Iran banknotes and coins designed after 21 March 1993 are copyrighted and their copyright belong to Central Bank of Iran.
- OK For coins and banknotes designed before 22 March 1994 (current year minus 30 years)
According to the 1970 Law for the Protection of Authors, Composers and Artist Rights, Iran banknotes and coins designed before 22 March 1994 become public domain after 30 years since, "In the following cases images fall into public domain after 30 years from the date of publication or public presentation (Article 16): In cases where the work belongs to a legal personality or rights are transferred to a legal personality." Iran banknotes and coins are copyrighted and their copyright belong to Central Bank of Iran which is a "legal personality".
Please use {{Iranian currency}} for banknotes/coinage designed before 22 March 1994.
COM:CUR Iraq
Iraq
OK for currency issued before 1974, per this deletion discussion. Use {{PD-Iraq}}.
Not OK for currency issued after 1974. Banknotes and coins are not covered by any known exception from copyright protection under Iraqi law. The website of the Central Bank of Iraq, which included depictions of Iraqi coins and banknotes, had the following footer: "Copyright © 2011. Central Bank of Iraq. All rights reserved. Please read important disclaimer." The disclaimer stated: "All texts, data and information on this site are owned by the CBI. Digitized photographs, graphics, and logos contained are the property of the CBI, and may not be used without permission."
COM:CUR Israel
Israel
OK. Israeli currency is copyrighted. According to a statement from the Bank of Israel, reproductions may appear in a catalog, book, research paper,
etc. provided that they do not modify the colors or designs, although a black and white reproduction is allowed. They must be at least 30% larger or smaller than the original, and for commercial use must not include both sides of the note or coin. Finally, the reproductions must credit the Bank of Israel.[5] The complete Law of the Bank of Israel does not specify these conditions.[6] Instead the above "Instructions" paper has detailed them. The effective date of the conditions are not stated.
Please use {{Money-IL}} for images of Israeli currency.
COM:CUR Japan
Japan
OK. The designs of the Japanese banknotes are published as state-issued 'Notifications' which exempt them from copyright protection under Copyright Law of Japan.[7]
{{PD-Japan-exempt}} applies to them. [8]
COM:CUR Jordan
Jordan
OK. Jordanian currency is copyrighted by the Central Bank of Jordan, and its use is permitted under certain limitations:
- The size of the copied banknote should not be the same size as the actual banknote.
- If the copied banknote is smaller than the actual banknote then it should not exceed two-thirds of the original banknote size.
- If the copied banknote is bigger, it should not be less than one and a half times the size of the original banknote.
- Copying of banknotes should be one-sided only (i.e. nothing should appear on the reverse of a copy which might give the impression that the copied banknote is a genuine one).
- Copied banknotes and coins should not appear in an offensive context, for example in conjunction with imagery or text of a violent or pornographic nature.
Please use {{Money-JO}} for images of Jordanian currency.
COM:CUR Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
OK Banknotes, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 8 of Copyright law of Kazakhstan.[419/2015 Article 8]
Please use {{PD-KZ-exempt}} for Kazakhstan currency images.
COM:CUR Kuwait
Kuwait
No information available
COM:CUR Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
OK. Under Law No. 6 as of 2017, monetary signs, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright.[2017 Article 8]
Please use {{PD-KG-exempt}} for Kyrgyzstan currency images.
COM:CUR Laos
Laos
Unsure There seems no specific mentions about banknotes in the Law No. 38/NA of November 15, 2017, on Intellectual Property. Banknotes are not mentioned as artistic works. It is not clear if the government's right to hold copyright extends to banknotes.
COM:CUR Lebanon
Lebanon
No information available
COM:CUR Malaysia
Malaysia
Not OK According to the Bank Negara Malaysia, "You are not allowed to reproduce the Malaysian currency. It is also illegal for you to use any photograph, drawing or design of any note, coin or any part of the note or coin, of any size, scale or colour, in any advertising or on any merchandise or products, which are manufactured, sold, circulated or distributed except with the permission of BNM".[9]
COM:CUR Maldives
Maldives
No information available
COM:CUR Mongolia
Mongolia
OK: Currency and other payment instruments are considered works not protected by copyright[10].[2021, Article 7.1.5] Note that currency was not on the list of items not protected under copyright law in the previous 2006 version of the law.
COM:CUR မြန်မာပြည်
Template:မြန်မာပြည်
Commons:Copyright rules by territory/မြန်မာပြည်
COM:CUR Nepal
Nepal
Not OK: Banknote and coin designs are copyrighted. According to the Copyright Act, 2059 (2002), "Government of Nepal shall have the copyright over the work prepared by Government of Nepal."[8/2002 Section 40]
COM:CUR North Korea
North Korea
Not OK. According to the North Korean copyright act, documents for state management, current news or information data shall not be the object of copyright unless commercial purpose is pursued.[1532/2006 Article 12] However, currencies are for commercial purposes, so currencies are not included here.
- See also: Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Banknotes of North Korea and Commons:Deletion_requests/Files_in_Category:Money_of_North_Korea
COM:CUR Oman
Oman
See also: Commons:Currency
Not OK
COM:CUR Pakistan
Pakistan
Not OK Although certain governments works are exempt from copyright, currency is not one of the exceptions.
Copyright Ordinance, 1962 as amended by Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000 says,
- Copyright in a Government work shall, where Government is the first owner of the copyright therein, subsist until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.[XXXIV/2000 Section 22(1)]
- The following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright, namely: ... the reproduction or publication of any matter which has been published in any official Gazette, or the report of any committee, commission, council, board or other like body appointed by the Government unless the reproduction or publication of such matter or report is prohibited by the Government.[XXXIV/2000 Section 57(q)(i)] Currency does not fall into this definition.
- See also: Commons:Deletion requests/File:Pakistan commemorative banknote.png.
COM:CUR Philippines
Philippines
Not OK. For reproductions of legal tender notes or metallic copies of legal tender coins.
OK. For copies of notes and coins that are no longer legal tender, and for non-metallic reproductions of coins.
No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit.[8293/2015 Section 176.1] The Central Bank of the Philippines prohibits making, distributing or using:
- Any handbill, advertisement, placard, circular, card, or any other object whatsoever bearing the facsimile, likeness or similitude of any legal tender Philippine currency note, or any part thereof, whether in black and white or any color or combination of colors, without prior authority therefore having been secured from the Governor, BSP or his duly authorized representative.
- Any object whatsoever bearing the likeness or similitude as to design, color or the inscription thereon of any legal tender Philippine currency coin or any part thereof, in metal form, irrespective of size and metallic composition, without prior authority from the Governor, BSP or his duly authorized representative.[11]
COM:CUR Qatar
Qatar
Not OK (See Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Banknotes of Qatar)
Law No. 7 of 2002 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights says
- The protection provided by this Law shall not cover the following works ... laws, legal provisions, administrative decisions, international treaties, official documents or any official translation thereof.[7/2002 Article 4(1)]
However, "official documents" seems unlikely to include currency. The Qatar Central Bank states that all content on its site (which includes images of currency) may not be used for commercial purposes without the permission of the bank.[12]
COM:CUR Russia
Russia
OK Russian currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 1259(6) of Part IV of the Civil Code of Russia (which covers intellectual property rights). Drafts for such items, however, are copyrighted by their authors. When a public body adopts such a draft and turns it into an official symbol, the resulting official symbol is not copyrighted and may be reproduced without mentioning the original author(s) of the draft. (See article 1264.)
Monetary items were already excluded from copyright in the 1993 legislation, which was in effect until the end of 2007. See article 8 of the 1993 law, as amended in 2004.
Please use {{PD-RU-exempt}} for images of Russian currency.
COM:CUR Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Not OK
COM:CUR Singapore
Singapore
Not OK. The copyright in the designs of banknotes and coins is held by the Government of Singapore. The designs may be regarded either as engravings, or as artistic works other than engravings or photographs, made by or under the direction or control of the Government, and under the Copyright Act (Cap. 63, 2006 Rev. Ed.):
- an engraving enters the public domain after 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published; and
- an artistic work other than an engraving or a photograph enters the public domain after 70 years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.
COM:CUR South Korea
South Korea
OK. The Bank of Korea owns copyright on all currency issued in South Korea since its establishment in 1950. The Bank of Korea allows anyone to reproduce and use the reproduction of its currency without requiring a permission but under certain restrictions, as explained in the Guidelines for the Reproduction of Bank of Korea Notes and Coins.[13]
- For electronic reproductions the resolution of the image in its original size must not exceed 72dpi, and the word "SPECIMEN" or "보기" must be marked on either the obverse or the reverse of any part, excluding the portrait, of the reproduction and must be plainly distinguishable but inseparable from the reproduction. The size of the word "SPECIMEN" or "보기" must larger than the word "Bank of Korea" on the top center of the front side of the banknote, and must be in a non-transparent color that is clearly contrasted with the main color of the respective banknote. This also applies to partial reproductions.[13]
Please use {{South Korean currency}} for South Korean currency images that meet the requirement of Section 3.C (Intangible reproductions) of the currency reproduction guidelines.
COM:CUR Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Not OK The government works that are excepted from copyright are only "any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof" (Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003, at Section 8B), so it is assumed that banknotes and coins are protected and not appropriate for Commons.
COM:CUR Syria
Syria
Not OK. Syrian banknotes and coins are likely to be protected by copyright. The 2001 copyright law of Syria does not explicitly exempt the designs of banknotes and coins, only official documents and administrative decisions. In 2013, Syrian copyright law was substantially changed with the repeal of the 2001 copyright law. However, there does not appear to be any changes to the protection of banknotes or coins.[62/2013 Art. 4]
COM:CUR Tajikistan
Tajikistan
OK. Under the the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended up to 2009), Tajikistan currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright.[2009 Article 7]
Please use {{PD-TJ-exempt}} for Tajikistan currency images.
COM:CUR Thailand
Thailand
Not OK: Reproduction of banknote images requires a permission from the Bank of Thailand.[14]
COM:CUR Türkiye
Turkey
OK: Electronic reproductions of banknotes and coins are permitted by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, under the following conditions:[15][16]
- They must not exceed 72 dpi (dots per inch); and
- The expression “ÖRNEKTİR GEÇMEZ” or “SPECIMEN” must be printed diagonally across the reproduction in Arial font or a font similar to Arial font. The length of the expression “ÖRNEKTİR GEÇMEZ” or “SPECIMEN” must be at least 75 percent of the length of reproduction, and the height thereof must be at least 15 percent of the width of the reproduction. The characters must be written in a non-transparent (opaque) color contrasting with the dominant color of the respective banknote. In two-sided reproductions, the abovementioned expression must be printed on both sides.
COM:CUR Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
OK Turkmenistan currency is not copyrighted. Banknotes and other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by Law No. 257-IV of January 10, 2012, Article 7.
Please use {{PD-TM-exempt}} for Turkmenistan currency images.
COM:CUR United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
Not OK Banknotes and coins are not exempted from copyright law in the United Arab Emirates, and so are protected in the same way as other works of applied and plastic art or drawings, with respect to reproduction and to the time period of copyright protection.
COM:CUR Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
OK Uzbekistan currency is not copyrighted. Monetary items, together with other state symbols, are explicitly excluded from copyright by article 8 of Copyright law of Uzbekistan.[LRU-476/2018 Article 8] Drafts for such items, however, are copyrighted by their authors.[LRU-476/2018 Article 9]
Please use {{PD-UZ-exempt}} for Uzbekistan currency images.
COM:CUR Vietnam
Vietnam
Not OK. Banknotes and coins are not exempted from copyright law. Furthermore, duplication of Vietnamese banknotes or coins without the written consent of the State Bank is prohibited by an order of the Prime Minister in June 2003 (article 3).[17]
COM:CUR Yemen
Yemen
Not OK
Limited recognition
editCOM:CUR Abkhazia
Abkhazia
No information available
COM:CUR 中華民國
Taiwan
Not OK for all New Taiwan Dollar, both banknotes and coins, per Commons:Deletion requests/NTD banknotes.
As explained by VRT ticket 2014050810011876, all NTDs are protected by copyright under the Copyright Act of Taiwan. The copyright holder is the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan):
- In response to the enquiry in your e-mail dated April 27, 2014, please be noted that the images of our national currency are strictly under the protection of the Copyright Act of Taiwan. That means all the pictures on the NTD banknotes are not allowed to be exhibited on any commercial websites without our permission in advance.
For several years, some users claimed that {{GWOIA}} may apply to them, based on CBC's Government Website Open Data Announcement:[18]
| “ | I. In order to facilitate better utilization by the general public of the information on this website, all of the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan)(herein known as CBC)’s publicly posted information and materials that are protected under copyright provisions may be utilized by the public without cost in a non-exclusive, reauthorization-available manner. The users may, without restriction on time and place, reproduce, adapt, edit, publicly transmit, or utilize in other ways, and develop various products or services (herein known as derivations). This authorization will not be retracted hereafter, and the users do not have to acquire any written or other types of authorization from the CBC. However, when using it, the users should acknowledge the source. | ” |
This is also not true as per another VRT ticket 2020051710002624, to which a CBC officer said that their GWOIA can only apply to their policy texts and photos made for hire that are photographed by their employees, and can't apply to any currency samples.
Please also note that there are several artworks and photograph works on currencies, they are all copyrighted, in Taiwan as per the copyright note, and in the United States as per URAA.
Inconclusive For Old Taiwan Dollars, their copyright terms should be treated case by case.
COM:CUR Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus
No information available
COM:CUR فلسطين / Palestine
Palestine
No information available
COM:CUR South Ossetia
South Ossetia
No information available
Other territories
editCOM:CUR Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Cyprus#CUR
COM:CUR British Indian Ocean Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
Further information: Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United Kingdom#CUR
COM:CUR Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Not OK section 103(1) of the Crimes Ordinance (Chapter 200) of the Laws of Hong Kong stipulates that reproduction of currency notes without prior permission of the Monetary Authority is an offense, and individuals may be liable for imprisonment for 6 months and a fine of HK$20,000.
It is worth to note that any approved reproduction under section 103 does not permit further subsequent copies or reproductions to be made for other usage ends without the written consent of the Monetary Authority. Therefore, applications for reproduction of Hong Kong currency note images for further copying or reproduction by a third party will generally not be approved. This implies that digital reproductions (which by nature permit further reproductions) are unlikely to be approved by the Authority, and so are not legally appropriate for Commons.
COM:CUR Macau
Macau
Not OK. Currency is copyrighted and reproduction requires approval from the Monetary Authority of Macau.
"In accordance with article 14.2 of the Decree-Law No. 7/95/M of January 30, requests for reproduction of banknotes for educational and promotional purposes with justifiable reasons could be approved by the Government. In practice, such requests should be made to the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM)."[19]
partly located in Asia
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