Selected year snapshot
For 1999, the active event in this file is Loi n° 96/006 du 18 janvier 1996 (ancienne loi sur le droit d'auteur – Ordonnance n° 62/OF/13 du 27 février 1962 portant sur le droit d'auteur, telle que modifiée).
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Current rationale
The copyright law in force in Cameroon on 1990-01-01 was the Ordonnance n° 62/OF/13 du 27 février 1962 (as subsequently amended). Despite extensive web searches, the full statutory text of this ordinance could not be located or verified online. No official digital copy of the 1962 ordinance or its amendments was found on WIPO Lex, the Cameroon government gazette, or other official sources. Without access to the actual text of the exceptions and limitations provisions, it is impossible to classify the status color with confidence. The classification is therefore AMBIGUOUS due to inability to verify the statutory text, not due to ambiguity in the text itself.
Law changes
Loi n° 96/006 du 18 janvier 1996 (ancienne loi sur le droit d'auteur – Ordonnance n° 62/OF/13 du 27 février 1962 portant sur le droit d'auteur, telle que modifiée)
Baseline · Effective 1990-01-01
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Dates: Effective 1990-01-01
Why this score
The copyright law in force in Cameroon on 1990-01-01 was the Ordonnance n° 62/OF/13 du 27 février 1962 (as subsequently amended). Despite extensive web searches, the full statutory text of this ordinance could not be located or verified online. No official digital copy of the 1962 ordinance or its amendments was found on WIPO Lex, the Cameroon government gazette, or other official sources. Without access to the actual text of the exceptions and limitations provisions, it is impossible to classify the status color with confidence. The classification is therefore AMBIGUOUS due to inability to verify the statutory text, not due to ambiguity in the text itself.
Loi n° 2000/011 du 19 décembre 2000 relative au droit d'auteur et aux droits voisins
Relevant update · Effective 2000-12-19
60%
Relevant section: Articles 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Dates: Effective 2000-12-19 · Enacted 2000-12-19
Why this score
Assessment of all exceptions in force under Law No. 2000/011: (1) Art. 22(2) permits reproductions, translations and adaptations for 'strictly personal and private use' ('usage strictement personnel et privé') not intended for collective use, excluding copies of works of art for identical purposes and computer programs (other than backup). This covers reproduction of full works for private research/study but is restricted to individuals acting privately and excludes computer programs and certain art copies. (2) Art. 22(3)(a) permits only 'analyses and short quotations' — this is a quotation exception limited to excerpts (RED individually). (3) Art. 22(3)(d) is a library exception limited to 'short parts' of a work for preservation/replacement only — not a general research copying provision (RED individually). (4) Art. 22(3)(e) permits reproduction, translation, adaptation, transformation or arrangement for 'exclusively personal and private purposes' where communication to the public is not for profit. This is broader in scope of acts (covers adaptation, transformation) but still restricted to personal/private purposes. The most permissive exception is Art. 22(2) combined with Art. 22(3)(e), which permit reproduction of full works (except computer programs and certain art copies) for strictly personal and private use. This covers private study and individual research. However, the restriction to 'personal and private' use means it does not extend to institutional or collaborative research use, and sharing/communication is not permitted (Art. 22(3)(e) explicitly requires communication not be for profit, but the use must still be personal/private). The exclusion of computer programs is a work-type restriction, but since the exception still permits full-work reproduction for most work types, the primary restriction is the user limitation (personal/private). Classification: LIGHT BLUE — reproduction of full works is permitted for private/personal research use by individuals, but not for institutional use or sharing. The computer program exclusion is noted but the dominant restriction is the personal/private user limitation. Non-commercial restriction and single-copy limits are classification-neutral factors and were not factored into the color decision.
Exceptions considered
Private and free performances within a family circle
Reproductions, translations and adaptations for strictly personal and private use, not for collective use; excludes copies of works of art for identical purposes and computer programs (other than backup copies)
Analyses and short quotations justified by critical, polemical, pedagogical, scientific or informational character
Reproduction in a single copy of short parts of a published work by or for a non-commercial library or archive for preservation or replacement purposes
Reproduction, translation, adaptation, transformation or arrangement for exclusively personal and private purposes, communication to public not for profit
Original text
22. Lorsque l'œuvre a été licitement publiée, l'auteur ne peut interdire : 1. les représentations privées et gratuites effectuées exclusivement dans un cercle de famille ; 2. les reproductions, traductions et adaptations destinées à un usage strictement personnel et privé et non destinées à une utilisation collective, à l'exception des copies d'une œuvre d'art destinées à être utilisées pour des fins identiques à celles pour lesquelles l'œuvre originale a été créée et des copies de programmes d'ordinateur autres que les copies de sauvegarde ; 3. sous réserve de la mention du nom de l'auteur et de la source : a) les analyses et courtes citations justifiées par le caractère critique, polémique, pédagogique, scientifique ou d'information de l'œuvre à laquelle elles sont incorporées ; b) les revues de presse ; c) la diffusion, même intégrale, à titre d'information d'actualité, des discours destinés au public prononcés dans les assemblées politiques, administratives, judiciaires ou académiques, ainsi que dans les réunions publiques d'ordre politique et les cérémonies officielles ; d) les reproductions, en un seul exemplaire, de courtes parties d'une œuvre publiée, faites par ou pour une bibliothèque ou un service d'archives dont les activités ne visent pas directement ou indirectement un profit commercial, lorsque la reproduction est nécessaire à la préservation de l'exemplaire ou au remplacement d'un exemplaire perdu, détruit ou devenu inutilisable, et qu'il est impossible de se procurer un tel exemplaire dans des conditions raisonnables ; e) la reproduction, la traduction, l'adaptation, la transformation ou l'arrangement d'une œuvre licitement publiée, effectués à des fins personnelles et privées exclusivement, et dont la communication au public n'est pas faite dans un but lucratif.
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: 22. Where the work has been lawfully published, the author may not prohibit: 1. private and free performances carried out exclusively within a family circle; 2. reproductions, translations and adaptations intended for strictly personal and private use and not intended for collective use, with the exception of copies of a work of art intended to be used for the same purposes as those for which the original work was created and copies of computer programs other than backup copies; 3. subject to mention of the author's name and source: (a) analyses and short quotations justified by the critical, polemical, pedagogical, scientific or informational character of the work in which they are incorporated; (b) press reviews; (c) the dissemination, even in full, for the purpose of current news reporting, of speeches intended for the public delivered in political, administrative, judicial or academic assemblies, as well as in public meetings of a political nature and official ceremonies; (d) reproductions, in a single copy, of short parts of a published work, made by or for a library or archive service whose activities do not directly or indirectly aim at commercial profit, where the reproduction is necessary for the preservation of the copy or for the replacement of a copy that has been lost, destroyed or rendered unusable, and where it is impossible to obtain such a copy under reasonable conditions; (e) the reproduction, translation, adaptation, transformation or arrangement of a lawfully published work, carried out for exclusively personal and private purposes, and whose communication to the public is not made for profit.
Source links
Loi n° 2000/011 du 19 décembre 2000 relative au droit d'auteur et aux droits voisins
Current law confirmation · Effective 2000-12-19
60%
Relevant section: Articles 22, 23, 25
Dates: Effective 2000-12-19 · Enacted 2000-12-19
Why this score
As of 2025, Law No. 2000/011 of 19 December 2000 remains the copyright law in force in Cameroon. No subsequent amendments to the exceptions and limitations provisions (Articles 22-27) have been identified through web searches of WIPO Lex, official Cameroonian legal databases, and other sources. There is no TDM-specific exception. The most permissive research-relevant exception remains Art. 22(2), which permits reproduction, translation and adaptation of full works (except computer programs other than backup copies, and copies of works of art for identical purposes) for strictly personal and private use. Art. 22(3)(e) similarly permits reproduction, translation, adaptation, transformation or arrangement for exclusively personal and private purposes. These exceptions cover reproduction of full works but are restricted to individual/private use and do not authorize sharing or communication to the public. The library exception (Art. 22(3)(d)) is limited to short parts for preservation/replacement. The quotation exception (Art. 22(3)(a)) is limited to short quotations. Classification remains LIGHT BLUE: full-work reproduction is permitted for private/personal research use by individuals, but not for institutional use or sharing. The exclusion of computer programs is a work-type restriction but the dominant restriction is the personal/private user limitation. Non-commercial restrictions and copy limits are classification-neutral and were not factored into the color.
Exceptions considered
Private and free performances within a family circle
Reproductions, translations and adaptations for strictly personal and private use, not for collective use; excludes copies of works of art for identical purposes and computer programs (other than backup copies)
Analyses and short quotations justified by critical, polemical, pedagogical, scientific or informational character
Reproduction in a single copy of short parts of a published work by or for a non-commercial library or archive for preservation or replacement purposes
Reproduction, translation, adaptation, transformation or arrangement for exclusively personal and private purposes, communication to public not for profit
Reprographic reproduction: permits single copies of short excerpts for teaching/examination by educational institutions, and single copies of articles/short works by libraries for patron requests
Importation of a single copy for personal use
Original text
22. Lorsque l'œuvre a été licitement publiée, l'auteur ne peut interdire : 1. les représentations privées et gratuites effectuées exclusivement dans un cercle de famille ; 2. les reproductions, traductions et adaptations destinées à un usage strictement personnel et privé et non destinées à une utilisation collective, à l'exception des copies d'une œuvre d'art destinées à être utilisées pour des fins identiques à celles pour lesquelles l'œuvre originale a été créée et des copies de programmes d'ordinateur autres que les copies de sauvegarde ; 3. sous réserve de la mention du nom de l'auteur et de la source : a) les analyses et courtes citations justifiées par le caractère critique, polémique, pédagogique, scientifique ou d'information de l'œuvre à laquelle elles sont incorporées ; [...] d) les reproductions, en un seul exemplaire, de courtes parties d'une œuvre publiée, faites par ou pour une bibliothèque ou un service d'archives dont les activités ne visent pas directement ou indirectement un profit commercial, lorsque la reproduction est nécessaire à la préservation de l'exemplaire ou au remplacement d'un exemplaire perdu, détruit ou devenu inutilisable, et qu'il est impossible de se procurer un tel exemplaire dans des conditions raisonnables ; e) la reproduction, la traduction, l'adaptation, la transformation ou l'arrangement d'une œuvre licitement publiée, effectués à des fins personnelles et privées exclusivement, et dont la communication au public n'est pas faite dans un but lucratif.
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: 22. Where the work has been lawfully published, the author may not prohibit: 1. private and free performances carried out exclusively within a family circle; 2. reproductions, translations and adaptations intended for strictly personal and private use and not intended for collective use, with the exception of copies of a work of art intended to be used for the same purposes as those for which the original work was created and copies of computer programs other than backup copies; 3. subject to mention of the author's name and source: (a) analyses and short quotations justified by the critical, polemical, pedagogical, scientific or informational character of the work in which they are incorporated; [...] (d) reproductions, in a single copy, of short parts of a published work, made by or for a library or archive service whose activities do not directly or indirectly aim at commercial profit, where the reproduction is necessary for the preservation of the copy or for the replacement of a copy that has been lost, destroyed or rendered unusable, and where it is impossible to obtain such a copy under reasonable conditions; (e) the reproduction, translation, adaptation, transformation or arrangement of a lawfully published work, carried out for exclusively personal and private purposes, and whose communication to the public is not made for profit.