Selected year snapshot
For 1999, the active event in this file is Loi n° 2-00 relative aux droits d'auteur et aux droits voisins (promulguée par le Dahir n° 1-00-20 du 9 kaada 1420 (15 février 2000)).
20%
Current rationale
Western Sahara is a non-self-governing territory largely administered de facto by Morocco. Morocco applies its domestic legislation, including copyright law, to the territory it controls. The applicable copyright law is Morocco's Law No. 2-00 on Copyright and Related Rights, which entered into force on 15 February 2000. Before this date, no specific Moroccan copyright statute with detailed exceptions was verifiable as in force on 1990-01-01 for this territory. The baseline is therefore set at the earliest verifiable law. Under Law No. 2-00, Article 12(1) permits reproduction in a single copy by a natural person for private and personal use. Article 13 carves out specific categories of works from this permission: reproduction of the whole or substantial part of a book, musical works in graphic notation, databases in digital form, and computer programs are excluded. This means full-work reproduction is permitted for some types of works (e.g., articles, audiovisual works, sound recordings) but not for books, musical scores, digital databases, or software. This pattern — full-work reproduction available for some but not all categories — maps to ORANGE. The exception is limited to private/personal use (individual user), covers reproduction only (not sharing/communication), and excludes certain work types. There is no general fair use, fair dealing, or open three-step-test clause that would yield a higher classification. Article 15 permits only short parts for teaching/examination. The quotation exception (Article 14) is limited to short quotations. No TDM exception exists. Classification-neutral factors (single-copy limit, non-commercial restriction) were not factored into the color decision.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction in a single copy by a natural person for private and personal use, but excluding whole/substantial part of books, musical scores, digital databases, and computer programs
Short quotations from a lawfully published work, with attribution, compatible with fair practice
Reproduction of a short part of a published work for teaching or examination purposes
Law changes
Loi n° 2-00 relative aux droits d'auteur et aux droits voisins (promulguée par le Dahir n° 1-00-20 du 9 kaada 1420 (15 février 2000))
Baseline · Effective 2000-02-15
20%
Relevant section: Articles 11–22 (exceptions and limitations), especially Articles 12, 13, 15
Dates: Effective 2000-02-15 · Enacted 2000-02-15
Why this score
Western Sahara is a non-self-governing territory largely administered de facto by Morocco. Morocco applies its domestic legislation, including copyright law, to the territory it controls. The applicable copyright law is Morocco's Law No. 2-00 on Copyright and Related Rights, which entered into force on 15 February 2000. Before this date, no specific Moroccan copyright statute with detailed exceptions was verifiable as in force on 1990-01-01 for this territory. The baseline is therefore set at the earliest verifiable law. Under Law No. 2-00, Article 12(1) permits reproduction in a single copy by a natural person for private and personal use. Article 13 carves out specific categories of works from this permission: reproduction of the whole or substantial part of a book, musical works in graphic notation, databases in digital form, and computer programs are excluded. This means full-work reproduction is permitted for some types of works (e.g., articles, audiovisual works, sound recordings) but not for books, musical scores, digital databases, or software. This pattern — full-work reproduction available for some but not all categories — maps to ORANGE. The exception is limited to private/personal use (individual user), covers reproduction only (not sharing/communication), and excludes certain work types. There is no general fair use, fair dealing, or open three-step-test clause that would yield a higher classification. Article 15 permits only short parts for teaching/examination. The quotation exception (Article 14) is limited to short quotations. No TDM exception exists. Classification-neutral factors (single-copy limit, non-commercial restriction) were not factored into the color decision.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction in a single copy by a natural person for private and personal use, but excluding whole/substantial part of books, musical scores, digital databases, and computer programs
Short quotations from a lawfully published work, with attribution, compatible with fair practice
Reproduction of a short part of a published work for teaching or examination purposes
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: Article 12 – Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 10, and subject to the conditions of Article 13, the following shall be permitted without the authorization of the author and without payment of remuneration: (1) The reproduction, in a single copy, of a work by a natural person exclusively for his own private and personal use... Article 13 – The reproduction referred to in Article 12(1) shall not extend to: (a) reproduction of works of architecture in the form of buildings or other similar constructions; (b) reproduction in reprographic form of the whole or a substantial part of a book or of a musical work in the form of graphic notation; (c) reproduction of the whole or a substantial part of databases in digital form; (d) reproduction of computer programs except as provided in Article 21... Article 15 – Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 10, and subject to the conditions of Article 13, the following shall be permitted without the authorization of the author and without payment of remuneration: ... the reproduction of a short part of a published work for teaching or for examination purposes...
Source links
Loi n° 34-05 modifiant et complétant la loi n° 2-00 relative aux droits d'auteur et aux droits voisins (promulguée par le Dahir n° 1-05-192 du 15 moharrem 1427 (14 février 2006))
Relevant update · Effective 2006-02-14
20%
Relevant section: Article 1 (amending Articles 25, 26, 27 of Law 2-00)
Dates: Effective 2006-02-14 · Enacted 2006-02-14
Why this score
Law No. 34-05 amended Law No. 2-00 primarily to extend the term of copyright protection from 50 to 70 years, update definitions (reproduction, fixation), and adjust certain procedural matters. The text of the amendment as retrieved from the AGIP/WIPO source shows changes to Articles 1(17), 1(27), 7(4), 10, 11(2), 25(1), 26, 27(1), 28, 36(2), 37, 38(1), 39(3), 50, 51, 53, 57–61, 63. The changes to Article 10 (exclusive rights) and Article 11(2) (role of Moroccan Copyright Office) are procedural. The core exceptions in Articles 12–15 and Article 13 (work-type exclusions from private copying) were not substantively changed. The overall exception landscape remains the same: private copying for personal use (Art. 12(1)) with exclusions for books, musical scores, digital databases, and software (Art. 13), quotation (Art. 14), and short excerpts for teaching (Art. 15). No fair use, fair dealing, TDM, or general research exception was added. Classification remains ORANGE for the same reasons as the baseline.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction in a single copy by a natural person for private and personal use, excluding whole/substantial part of books, musical scores, digital databases, and computer programs
Short quotations from a lawfully published work
Reproduction of a short part of a published work for teaching or examination
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: Article 25(1) – Except where there are provisions to the contrary... the life of the author and 70 years following his/her death. [The amendment primarily extended the term of protection from 50 to 70 years and amended definitions and certain procedural provisions. The exceptions in Articles 11–22 were not substantively altered with respect to research-relevant provisions.]
Source links
Loi n° 66-19 modifiant et complétant la loi n° 2-00 relative aux droits d'auteur et aux droits voisins (promulguée par le Dahir n° 1-22-35 du 23 chaoual 1443 (24 mai 2022))
Relevant update · Effective 2022-06-20
20%
Relevant section: Various articles of Law 2-00 as amended
Dates: Effective 2022-06-20 · Enacted 2022-05-24
Why this score
Law No. 66-19 was promulgated on 24 May 2022 and published in the Official Gazette on 20 June 2022. Based on the WIPO Lex record, this law amends and supplements Law No. 2-00. The full text of Law 66-19 could not be retrieved in a searchable format during this research. However, based on available summaries and the WIPO Lex metadata, the amendments primarily concern enforcement provisions, digital rights management, collective management, and alignment with international treaties (particularly the Marrakesh Treaty for visually impaired persons). No evidence was found that Law 66-19 introduced a general fair use, fair dealing, TDM, or broad research exception. The pre-existing exception framework (private copying under Art. 12(1) with Art. 13 exclusions, quotation under Art. 14, short excerpts for teaching under Art. 15) appears to remain substantively unchanged with respect to research-relevant provisions. The Marrakesh Treaty-related amendments would add exceptions for visually impaired persons, which are not research-specific. Classification remains ORANGE pending verification of the full text.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction in a single copy by a natural person for private and personal use, excluding whole/substantial part of books, musical scores, digital databases, and computer programs
Short quotations from a lawfully published work
Reproduction of a short part of a published work for teaching or examination
Source links
Loi n° 2-00 relative aux droits d'auteur et aux droits voisins, telle que modifiée par la loi n° 34-05, la loi n° 79-12, et la loi n° 66-19
Current law confirmation · Effective 2022-06-20
20%
Relevant section: Articles 12(1), 13, 14, 15
Dates: Effective 2022-06-20
Why this score
As of 2025, the copyright law in force in Western Sahara (de facto administered by Morocco) is Morocco's Law No. 2-00 as amended through Law No. 66-19 (2022). The most permissive research-relevant exception remains Article 12(1) (private copying for personal use), subject to Article 13's exclusions of specific work categories (books in whole/substantial part, musical scores, digital databases, computer programs). This permits full-work reproduction for some types of works (e.g., journal articles, audiovisual works, sound recordings) but not for others, mapping to ORANGE. No general fair use, fair dealing, three-step-test enabling clause, TDM exception, or institutional research exception has been identified in the law. The quotation exception (Art. 14) and teaching excerpt exception (Art. 15) are limited to short passages (RED individually). Classification-neutral factors (single-copy limit, personal-use restriction as to non-commercial character) were not factored into the color. The personal-use restriction (natural person, private and personal) would normally suggest LIGHT BLUE, but the work-type exclusions in Article 13 are more restrictive, making ORANGE the correct classification under the compound-restriction rule.
Exceptions considered
Reproduction in a single copy by a natural person for private and personal use, excluding whole/substantial part of books, musical scores, digital databases, and computer programs
Short quotations from a lawfully published work, compatible with fair practice, with attribution
Reproduction of a short part of a published work for teaching or examination purposes
Backup copy of computer program by lawful possessor (not research-specific)
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: Article 12(1) – Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 10, and subject to the conditions of Article 13, the following shall be permitted without the authorization of the author and without payment of remuneration: (1) The reproduction, in a single copy, of a work by a natural person exclusively for his own private and personal use. Article 13 – The reproduction referred to in Article 12(1) shall not extend to: (a) reproduction of works of architecture in the form of buildings or other similar constructions; (b) reproduction in reprographic form of the whole or a substantial part of a book or of a musical work in the form of graphic notation; (c) reproduction of the whole or a substantial part of databases in digital form; (d) reproduction of computer programs except as provided in Article 21.