Selected year snapshot
For 1993, the active event in this file is Baseline.
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Current rationale
As of 1990-01-01, Eritrea was not yet an independent state (independence was achieved in 1993). Before independence, Eritrea was under Ethiopian administration. After independence, Eritrea did not enact its own copyright legislation. Multiple authoritative sources confirm that no IP legislation exists in Eritrea. The IP Country Fiche for Eritrea published by the European Commission's Africa IP SME Helpdesk states: 'No procedure for the protection of industrial property currently exists in this jurisdiction' and 'there is no IP legislation in place.' The WIPO Lex entry for Eritrea lists only the Constitution (1997) and no copyright statute. The generisonline.com overview discusses copyright principles but does not cite any enacted Eritrean copyright statute. Without any copyright statute in force, there are no statutory exceptions or limitations to classify. The status is AMBIGUOUS because the absence of a copyright law means there is no statutory framework creating exclusive rights or exceptions — it is not that exceptions are restrictive (RED) but rather that the entire statutory regime is absent.
Law changes
Baseline
Baseline · Effective 1990-01-01
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Dates: Effective 1990-01-01
Why this score
As of 1990-01-01, Eritrea was not yet an independent state (independence was achieved in 1993). Before independence, Eritrea was under Ethiopian administration. After independence, Eritrea did not enact its own copyright legislation. Multiple authoritative sources confirm that no IP legislation exists in Eritrea. The IP Country Fiche for Eritrea published by the European Commission's Africa IP SME Helpdesk states: 'No procedure for the protection of industrial property currently exists in this jurisdiction' and 'there is no IP legislation in place.' The WIPO Lex entry for Eritrea lists only the Constitution (1997) and no copyright statute. The generisonline.com overview discusses copyright principles but does not cite any enacted Eritrean copyright statute. Without any copyright statute in force, there are no statutory exceptions or limitations to classify. The status is AMBIGUOUS because the absence of a copyright law means there is no statutory framework creating exclusive rights or exceptions — it is not that exceptions are restrictive (RED) but rather that the entire statutory regime is absent.
Current law confirmation
Current law confirmation · Effective 2025-01-01
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Dates: Effective 2025-01-01
Why this score
As of 2025, Eritrea still has no enacted copyright statute. The European Commission's Africa IP SME Helpdesk IP Country Fiche (published 2023, last checked 2025) states that 'No procedure for the protection of industrial property currently exists in this jurisdiction' and that 'the enactment of requisite IP laws and the establishment of the competent authority for IP administration is said to be in progress.' WIPO Lex lists no copyright law for Eritrea. Without any copyright statute, there are no statutory exclusive rights and therefore no statutory exceptions or limitations to evaluate. The classification is AMBIGUOUS because the absence of a copyright regime means the question of research exceptions is inapplicable — there is neither protection nor exception in statutory form. This is not RED (which would imply a copyright law exists but lacks adequate exceptions); rather, the entire statutory framework is absent.