Georgia

Georgian Civil Code of 1964 (საქართველოს სამოქალაქო კოდექსი, 1964)

Baseline · Effective 1964-01-01

?

Relevant section: Art. 488–528

Dates: Effective 1964-01-01 · Enacted 1964-01-01

Why this score

The copyright law in force in Georgia on 1990-01-01 was contained in Articles 488–528 of the Georgian Civil Code of 1964, which followed the Soviet Fundamentals of Civil Legislation of 1961. These provisions included a personal use exception and a quotation exception modeled on Soviet law. However, I was unable to retrieve the actual statutory text of these provisions via web search to verify the precise scope of exceptions. The Wikipedia article on Georgian copyright law confirms that Art. 488–528 of the 1964 Civil Code governed copyright before the 1999 law and followed the Soviet Fundamentals of 1961. Soviet-era copyright law generally permitted personal use reproduction and quotation, but without access to the actual Georgian statutory text, the precise scope cannot be verified. Classification is AMBIGUOUS because the statutory text could not be retrieved.

Exceptions considered

Law of Georgia on Copyright and Related Rights (საქართველოს კანონი საავტორო და მომიჯნავე უფლებების შესახებ), No. 2112-IIS

Relevant update · Effective 1999-09-09

20%

Relevant section: Art. 22, Art. 23, Art. 24, Art. 25, Art. 26

Dates: Effective 1999-09-09 · Enacted 1999-06-22

Why this score

The 1999 Law introduced a comprehensive set of exceptions. The most permissive research-relevant exception is Art. 22 (free reproduction for personal purposes), which permits a natural person to reproduce a lawfully published work in a single copy exclusively for personal purposes. This covers full works but excludes: (a) architectural works in the form of buildings, (b) databases or essential parts thereof, (c) computer programs, and (d) reprographic reproduction of books (in full) and musical texts. The exclusion of full reprographic reproduction of books and musical texts is significant — it means a researcher cannot photocopy an entire book or musical score. However, reproduction of full works of other types (e.g., articles, audiovisual works, photographs) is permitted for personal purposes. Art. 23 only permits quotation (excerpts) for research purposes, not full-work reproduction. Art. 25 (library exception) is limited to replacement and inter-library supply of lost works. Because Art. 22 permits full-work reproduction for some types of works but explicitly excludes certain categories (books in full, musical texts, computer programs, databases, architectural works), this is ORANGE. The restriction to 'personal purposes' (individual natural person) would suggest LIGHT BLUE, but the work-type exclusions are more restrictive, making ORANGE the correct classification. Uses: reproduction only (no sharing). Works: excludes books in full, musical texts, computer programs, databases, architectural works. Users: natural persons only. The non-commercial restriction and single-copy limit are classification-neutral.

Exceptions considered

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Article 22 – Free reproduction of a work for personal purposes: 1. Without the consent of the author or other copyright holder and without payment of remuneration, it shall be permissible for a natural person to reproduce a lawfully published work exclusively for personal purposes, in a single copy, except for: a) reproduction of architectural works in the form of buildings; b) reproduction of databases or essential parts thereof; c) reproduction of computer programs, except as provided for in Article 24 of this Law; d) reprographic reproduction of books (in full) and musical texts. 2. Reproduction of a work for personal purposes under paragraph 1 of this article shall not be permitted if it conflicts with the normal exploitation of the work or unreasonably prejudices the legitimate interests of the author.

Article 23 – Free reproduction of a work for educational and research purposes: 1. Without the consent of the author or other copyright holder and without payment of remuneration, but with obligatory indication of the name of the author and the source of borrowing, it shall be permissible: a) to quote from lawfully published works for scientific, research, polemic, critical and informational purposes, to the extent justified by the purpose of the quotation; b) to use lawfully published works and fragments thereof as illustrations in publications, radio and television broadcasts, sound and video recordings of an educational nature, to the extent justified by the purpose.

Article 25 – Free reproduction by libraries and archives: 1. Without the consent of the author or other copyright holder and without payment of remuneration, it shall be permissible for publicly accessible libraries and archives to reproduce a single copy of a work: a) for the purpose of replacing lost, destroyed or rendered unusable copies; b) for the purpose of providing copies to other libraries and archives that have lost such works from their collections.

Source links

• Official text 1 ↗
• Official text 2 ↗

Law of Georgia No. 1585 of 3 June 2005 amending the Law on Copyright and Related Rights

Relevant update · Effective 2005-06-27

20%

Relevant section: Art. 22, Art. 23, Art. 25

Dates: Effective 2005-06-27 · Enacted 2005-06-03

Why this score

The 2005 amendment primarily added database producer rights and related provisions. The research-relevant exceptions (Art. 22 personal use, Art. 23 quotation, Art. 25 library) were not materially changed in a way that affects the classification. Art. 22 still excludes reprographic reproduction of books in full, musical texts, computer programs, and databases. The addition of database rights may have reinforced the exclusion of databases from the personal use exception. Classification remains ORANGE for the same reasons as the 1999 baseline: full-work reproduction is permitted for some types of works but not all.

Exceptions considered

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: The 2005 amendment (Law No. 1585 of 3 June 2005, LHG I, No 31, 27.6.2005, Art. 198) added database producer rights (Art. 1(c)) and related provisions. The core exceptions in Art. 22 (personal use), Art. 23 (quotation/educational), and Art. 25 (library/archive) remained substantively the same with respect to research-relevant provisions.

Source links

• Official text ↗

Law of Georgia No. 2567 of 23 December 2017 amending the Law on Copyright and Related Rights

Relevant update · Effective 2017-12-23

20%

Relevant section: Art. 22, Art. 23, Art. 25

Dates: Effective 2017-12-23 · Enacted 2017-12-23

Why this score

The 2017 amendments did not materially change the scope of research-relevant exceptions. Art. 22 still permits personal-use reproduction of full works excluding the same categories. Art. 23 still limits research use to quotation. Art. 25 still provides limited library exceptions. Classification remains ORANGE.

Exceptions considered

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: The 2017 amendments updated various provisions of the copyright law. The consolidated version dated 23/12/2017 shows modifications to the exceptions framework. Art. 22 (personal use) was amended to clarify that reproduction for personal purposes does not extend to reproduction from an unlawful source. The core exclusions (architectural works, databases, computer programs, reprographic reproduction of books in full and musical texts) remained.

Source links

• Official text ↗

Law of Georgia on Copyright and Related Rights (consolidated as of 09/12/2025)

Current law confirmation · Effective 2025-12-09

20%

Relevant section: Art. 22, Art. 23, Art. 24, Art. 25, Art. 26

Dates: Effective 2025-12-09

Why this score

Assessment of all research-relevant exceptions in force as of 2025:

1. Art. 22 (personal use): Permits a natural person to reproduce a lawfully disclosed work in a single copy for personal purposes. EXCLUDES: (a) architectural works as buildings, (b) databases or essential parts, (c) computer programs, (d) reprographic reproduction of books in full and musical texts (notation). This permits full-work reproduction of some types (e.g., articles, audiovisual works, photographs, individual journal articles) but not books in full, musical scores, computer programs, or databases. Users: natural persons only. Uses: reproduction only (no sharing/communication). Works: excludes several categories. Individual color: ORANGE (work-type exclusions are the most restrictive element).

2. Art. 23(1)(a) (quotation): Permits quotation from lawfully disclosed works for scientific, research, polemic, critical and informational purposes, to the extent justified by the purpose. This is limited to excerpts/quotations, not full works. Individual color: RED.

3. Art. 23(1)(b) (educational illustration): Permits use of works and fragments as illustrations in educational publications. Limited to fragments and educational context. Individual color: RED.

4. Art. 25(1)(a) (library reproduction): Permits libraries/archives to reproduce a separately published article, other small work, or short excerpt from a written work for satisfying requests of natural persons for research or education. This is limited to articles, small works, or short excerpts — not full books. Individual color: RED (for books) but permits full articles, so arguably PURPLE with work-type limitations.

5. Art. 25(1)(b) (library replacement): Permits libraries to reproduce for replacement of lost works and inter-library supply. Limited purpose. Individual color: PURPLE.

The most permissive exception is Art. 22 (personal use), which permits full-work reproduction but excludes books in full, musical texts, computer programs, databases, and architectural works. This maps to ORANGE because full-work reproduction is available for some types of works (articles, audiovisual works, photographs, etc.) but not all. The restriction to natural persons (LIGHT BLUE dimension) and the work-type exclusions (ORANGE dimension) coexist; ORANGE is more restrictive in the hierarchy than LIGHT BLUE, so ORANGE is the classification.

No TDM-specific exception exists in the current law. No general fair use or fair dealing clause exists. No three-step-test enabling clause exists (the three-step test in Art. 22(2) is a limiting condition, not an enabling clause).

Classification-neutral factors not considered: single-copy limit, lawful-disclosure requirement, non-commercial nature of personal use.

Exceptions considered

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Article 22 – Free reproduction of a work for personal purposes: 1. Without the consent of the author or other copyright holder and without payment of remuneration, it shall be permissible for a natural person to reproduce a lawfully disclosed work exclusively for personal purposes, in a single copy, except for: a) reproduction of architectural works in the form of buildings; b) reproduction of databases or essential parts thereof; c) reproduction of computer programs, except as provided for in Article 24 of this Law; d) reprographic reproduction of books (in full) and musical texts (notation). 2. Reproduction of a work for personal purposes under paragraph 1 of this article shall not be permitted if it conflicts with the normal exploitation of the work or unreasonably prejudices the legitimate interests of the author or other copyright holder.

Article 23 – Free use of a work for informational, scientific, educational and research purposes: 1. Without the consent of the author or other copyright holder and without payment of remuneration, but with obligatory indication of the name of the author and the source of borrowing, it shall be permissible: a) to quote from lawfully disclosed works for scientific, research, polemic, critical and informational purposes, to the extent justified by the purpose of the quotation, including reproduction of excerpts from newspaper and magazine articles in the form of press reviews; b) to use lawfully disclosed works and fragments thereof as illustrations in publications, radio and television broadcasts, sound and video recordings of an educational nature, to the extent justified by the purpose.

Article 25 – Free reproduction by libraries and archives: 1. Without the consent of the author or other copyright holder and without payment of remuneration, it shall be permissible for publicly accessible libraries and archives to reproduce a single copy of a work by reprographic means or in digital form: a) if the work being reproduced is a separately published article, other small work or short excerpt from a lawfully published written work (excluding computer programs), for the purpose of satisfying the requests of natural persons for use in research or education, as well as for preservation in the library or archive; b) for the purpose of replacing lost, destroyed or rendered unusable copies of a work, as well as for providing copies to other libraries and archives that have lost such works from their collections.

Source links

• Official text ↗