Selected year snapshot
For 2021, the active event in this file is Закон Республики Беларусь «Об авторском праве и смежных правах» № 262-Z от 17 мая 2011 г. (Law of the Republic of Belarus on Copyright and Related Rights No. 262-Z of 17 May 2011, as amended).
60%
Current rationale
As of 2025, the Law No. 262-Z of 17 May 2011 (as amended) remains the principal copyright statute of Belarus. No TDM-specific exception has been introduced. The 2023 Law No. 241-Z on restriction of exclusive rights for intellectual property items (concerning 'unfriendly states') does not create a general research exception — it addresses specific retaliatory measures regarding foreign rights holders and is not a research/TDM exception. The most permissive research-relevant exception remains Article 32 (personal use reproduction), which permits reproduction of lawfully published works exclusively for personal purposes, with exclusions for architecture, databases, software, and reprographic reproduction of full books/musical texts. Article 33 permits quotation for scientific/research purposes but only excerpts. Article 35 permits library reprographic reproduction of articles and short excerpts for research requests. No fair use, fair dealing, or general research exception exists. The classification remains LIGHT BLUE: reproduction of full works permitted for personal purposes (with some category exclusions), no sharing permitted, restricted to individual private use. Classification-neutral factors (non-commercial restriction, lawful publication requirement, single-copy limits) were not factored into the color. The work-category exclusions in Article 32 apply specifically to reprographic reproduction of full books and to databases/software generally, but non-reprographic personal copying of full books remains permitted, so full-work reproduction is available for most work types, keeping this above ORANGE.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction of lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, excluding architecture, databases, software, and reprographic reproduction of full books and musical texts
Quotation from lawfully disclosed works for scientific, research, polemical, critical, informational purposes — to the extent justified by the purpose (excerpts only)
Use of lawfully disclosed works as illustrations in educational publications/broadcasts, to the extent justified
Reprographic reproduction by libraries/archives: single copies of individual articles, short works, or short excerpts upon requests of natural persons for education and research
Law changes
Гражданский кодекс Белорусской ССР 1964 года (Civil Code of the Byelorussian SSR, 1964)
Baseline · Effective 1965-01-01
60%
Relevant section: Articles 492–498 (Chapter on Copyright)
Dates: Effective 1965-01-01 · Enacted 1964-12-11
Why this score
On 1990-01-01, Belarus (then the Byelorussian SSR) was governed by the 1964 Civil Code of the Byelorussian SSR, which followed the standard Soviet model. The copyright chapter (Articles 473–516 in the RSFSR model, mirrored in the BSSR code) permitted reproduction of published works for personal use without the author's consent and without payment of remuneration, subject to certain exclusions (e.g., full reproduction of books was not permitted without consent). The personal-use exception was limited to individuals acting privately. There was also a quotation exception limited to excerpts. No broader fair dealing, fair use, or institutional research exception existed. The personal-use exception covered reproduction of works (not sharing/communication) and was restricted to individual private use. This maps to LIGHT BLUE. However, because I could not retrieve and verify the actual verbatim text of the 1964 BSSR Civil Code via web search, this classification is based on the well-documented Soviet legislative model that was uniform across SSRs.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction of a published work for personal use without consent or remuneration, with exclusions for full reproduction of books
Quotation from published works for scientific, critical, or informational purposes, limited to excerpts
Закон Республики Беларусь «Об авторском праве и смежных правах» № 370-XIII (Law of the Republic of Belarus on Copyright and Adjacent Rights No. 370-XIII)
Relevant update · Effective 1996-06-16
60%
Relevant section: Articles 18–26 (Limitations on Copyright)
Dates: Effective 1996-06-16 · Enacted 1996-05-16
Why this score
The 1996 Copyright Law introduced a comprehensive set of exceptions. Article 18 permits reproduction of a lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, with exclusions for architecture, databases, computer programs, and reprographic reproduction of full books and musical texts. This is a private/personal use exception covering reproduction only (not sharing), restricted to individuals, and excluding certain categories of works from full reproduction. Article 19 permits quotation for science/research purposes but only to the extent justified (i.e., excerpts, not full works). Article 20 permits reprographic reproduction by libraries and archives of single copies for replacement or for users' requests, but limited to individual articles and short works or short excerpts. Article 22 permits reproduction for educational purposes but limited to excerpts. No general fair use/fair dealing clause exists. The most permissive exception for a researcher is Article 18 (personal use reproduction), which covers reproduction of full works (except the excluded categories) by any individual for personal purposes. This maps to LIGHT BLUE: reproduction of works permitted, restricted to personal/private use, no sharing permitted, some work categories excluded. The work-category exclusions (books in full via reprography, databases, software) could push toward ORANGE, but since Article 18 permits non-reprographic reproduction of full works for personal purposes (e.g., handwritten or digital copying), and the exclusions apply specifically to reprographic reproduction of books, the exception still permits full-work reproduction for most work types. Classification-neutral factors (non-commercial restriction, lawful publication requirement) were not factored into the color.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction of lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, excluding architecture, databases, software, and reprographic reproduction of full books and musical texts
Quotation from lawfully published works for science, research, polemics, criticism, information — to the extent justified by the purpose (excerpts only)
Use of lawfully published works as illustrations in educational publications/broadcasts, to the extent justified by the purpose
Reprographic reproduction by libraries and archives: single copies of individual articles, short works, or short excerpts for users' requests or for replacement purposes
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: Article 18. Reproduction of a Work for Personal Purposes. It shall be permitted, without the consent of the author or other owner of the copyright and without payment of author's remuneration, to reproduce a lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, except for: 1) reproduction of works of architecture in the form of buildings and similar structures; 2) reproduction of databases or essential parts thereof; 3) reproduction of computer programs (software), except for the cases envisaged by Article 21 of the present Law; 4) reprographic reproduction of books (in full) and musical texts. Article 19. Use of a Work Without the Consent of the Author and Without Payment of Author's Remuneration. It shall be permitted, without the consent of the author or other owner of the copyright and without payment of author's remuneration, but with obligatory indication of the name of the author whose work is used and the source of borrowing: 1) quotation from lawfully published works for the purposes of science, research, polemics, criticism and information, to the extent justified by the purpose of quotation, including reproduction of excerpts from newspaper and magazine articles in the form of press reviews; 2) use of lawfully published works and fragments thereof as illustrations in publications, radio and television broadcasts, sound and video recordings of educational nature, to the extent justified by the purpose; 3) reproduction in the press, communication to the public by broadcasting or cable of lawfully published articles on current economic, political, social and religious topics, or of broadcast works of the same nature, in cases where such reproduction, broadcasting or cable communication is not specifically prohibited by the author; 4) reproduction in the press, communication to the public by broadcasting or cable of publicly delivered political speeches, addresses, reports and other similar works, to the extent justified by the informatory purpose...
Source links
Закон Республики Беларусь «Об авторском праве и смежных правах» № 262-Z (Law of the Republic of Belarus on Copyright and Related Rights No. 262-Z of 17 May 2011)
Relevant update · Effective 2011-12-01
60%
Relevant section: Articles 32–39 (Limitations on Exclusive Rights)
Dates: Effective 2011-12-01 · Enacted 2011-05-17
Why this score
The 2011 law replaced the 1996 Copyright Law. The structure of exceptions is substantially similar. Article 32 permits reproduction of lawfully published works exclusively for personal purposes, with the same exclusions (architecture, databases, software, reprographic reproduction of full books and musical texts). Article 33 permits quotation for scientific/research purposes to the extent justified (excerpts). Article 35 permits libraries/archives to make single reprographic copies of individual articles and short excerpts for users' education and research requests. No general fair use or fair dealing clause was introduced. No TDM exception exists. The most permissive exception for a researcher remains Article 32 (personal use reproduction), which permits reproduction of full works (with certain exclusions) by individuals for personal purposes only. This is LIGHT BLUE: reproduction permitted, restricted to personal use, no sharing, some work exclusions but full-work reproduction still available for most categories. The library exception (Art. 35) is more restrictive (RED — limited to articles and short excerpts). Classification-neutral factors were not considered in the color assignment.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction of lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, excluding architecture, databases, software, and reprographic reproduction of full books and musical texts
Quotation from lawfully disclosed works for scientific, research, polemical, critical, informational purposes — to the extent justified (excerpts)
Use of lawfully disclosed works as illustrations in educational publications/broadcasts, to the extent justified
Reprographic reproduction by libraries/archives: single copies of individual articles, short works, or short excerpts for users' education and research requests
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: Article 32. Free Reproduction of a Work for Personal Purposes. 1. It shall be permitted, without the consent of the author or other right holder and without payment of remuneration, to reproduce a lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, except for: 1) reproduction of works of architecture in the form of buildings and analogous structures; 2) reproduction of databases or their essential parts; 3) reproduction of computer programs, except for the cases provided for in Article 36 of this Law; 4) reprographic reproduction of books (in full) and musical texts (in full or in essential parts). Article 33. Free Use of a Work for Informational, Scientific, Educational or Other Purposes. 1. It shall be permitted, without the consent of the author or other right holder and without payment of remuneration, but with obligatory indication of the name of the author whose work is used and the source of borrowing, to: 1) quote from lawfully disclosed works, including reproduction of excerpts from newspaper and magazine articles in the form of press reviews, for scientific, research, polemical, critical and informational purposes, to the extent justified by the purpose of the quotation; 2) use lawfully disclosed works and fragments thereof as illustrations in publications, radio and television broadcasts, sound and video recordings of educational nature, to the extent justified by the purpose; ... Article 35. Free Reprographic Reproduction. 1. Libraries and archives shall have the right, without the consent of the author or other right holder and without payment of remuneration, to carry out reprographic reproduction in a single copy: 1) of a lawfully published work — for the purpose of replacement of lost, destroyed or rendered unusable copies of the work; 2) of individual articles and short works lawfully published in collections, newspapers and other periodical publications, and of short excerpts from lawfully published written works (with or without illustrations) — upon requests of natural persons for the purposes of education and research...
Source links
Закон Республики Беларусь «Об авторском праве и смежных правах» № 262-Z от 17 мая 2011 г. (Law of the Republic of Belarus on Copyright and Related Rights No. 262-Z of 17 May 2011, as amended)
Current law confirmation · Effective 2011-12-01
60%
Relevant section: Articles 32, 33, 35
Dates: Effective 2011-12-01 · Enacted 2011-05-17
Why this score
As of 2025, the Law No. 262-Z of 17 May 2011 (as amended) remains the principal copyright statute of Belarus. No TDM-specific exception has been introduced. The 2023 Law No. 241-Z on restriction of exclusive rights for intellectual property items (concerning 'unfriendly states') does not create a general research exception — it addresses specific retaliatory measures regarding foreign rights holders and is not a research/TDM exception. The most permissive research-relevant exception remains Article 32 (personal use reproduction), which permits reproduction of lawfully published works exclusively for personal purposes, with exclusions for architecture, databases, software, and reprographic reproduction of full books/musical texts. Article 33 permits quotation for scientific/research purposes but only excerpts. Article 35 permits library reprographic reproduction of articles and short excerpts for research requests. No fair use, fair dealing, or general research exception exists. The classification remains LIGHT BLUE: reproduction of full works permitted for personal purposes (with some category exclusions), no sharing permitted, restricted to individual private use. Classification-neutral factors (non-commercial restriction, lawful publication requirement, single-copy limits) were not factored into the color. The work-category exclusions in Article 32 apply specifically to reprographic reproduction of full books and to databases/software generally, but non-reprographic personal copying of full books remains permitted, so full-work reproduction is available for most work types, keeping this above ORANGE.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction of lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, excluding architecture, databases, software, and reprographic reproduction of full books and musical texts
Quotation from lawfully disclosed works for scientific, research, polemical, critical, informational purposes — to the extent justified by the purpose (excerpts only)
Use of lawfully disclosed works as illustrations in educational publications/broadcasts, to the extent justified
Reprographic reproduction by libraries/archives: single copies of individual articles, short works, or short excerpts upon requests of natural persons for education and research
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: Article 32. Free Reproduction of a Work for Personal Purposes. 1. It shall be permitted, without the consent of the author or other right holder and without payment of remuneration, to reproduce a lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, except for: 1) reproduction of works of architecture in the form of buildings and analogous structures; 2) reproduction of databases or their essential parts; 3) reproduction of computer programs, except for the cases provided for in Article 36 of this Law; 4) reprographic reproduction of books (in full) and musical texts (in full or in essential parts). Article 33. Free Use of a Work for Informational, Scientific, Educational or Other Purposes. 1. It shall be permitted, without the consent of the author or other right holder and without payment of remuneration, but with obligatory indication of the name of the author whose work is used and the source of borrowing, to: 1) quote from lawfully disclosed works, including reproduction of excerpts from newspaper and magazine articles in the form of press reviews, for scientific, research, polemical, critical and informational purposes, to the extent justified by the purpose of the quotation; ... Article 35. Free Reprographic Reproduction. 1. Libraries and archives shall have the right ... to carry out reprographic reproduction in a single copy: ... 2) of individual articles and short works lawfully published in collections, newspapers and other periodical publications, and of short excerpts from lawfully published written works (with or without illustrations) — upon requests of natural persons for the purposes of education and research...