Selected year snapshot
For 2000, the active event in this file is Décret du 9 janvier 1968 sur les droits d'auteur d'œuvres littéraires, scientifiques et artistiques.
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Current rationale
The 1968 Decree on Copyright was the law in force in Haiti on 1990-01-01. WIPO Lex lists this decree but the full statutory text could not be retrieved or verified via web search. The decree is known to contain exceptions and limitations provisions (reportedly Articles 15-16 address permitted uses including quotations and reproductions for personal/private use), but without access to the actual verbatim text, the precise scope of research-relevant exceptions cannot be confirmed. Based on the structure typical of Haitian copyright law of this era (modeled on French-influenced civil law traditions), the decree likely contained a private reproduction exception and a quotation right, but the exact wording, scope regarding full works, sharing, user classes, and work types cannot be verified. Classification is therefore AMBIGUOUS due to inability to access the statutory text, not due to textual indeterminacy.
Exceptions considered
Reported exceptions for quotation and private/personal reproduction; exact scope unverifiable
Law changes
Décret du 9 janvier 1968 sur les droits d'auteur d'œuvres littéraires, scientifiques et artistiques
Baseline · Effective 1968-01-09
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Relevant section: Art. 15, Art. 16
Dates: Effective 1968-01-09 · Enacted 1968-01-09
Why this score
The 1968 Decree on Copyright was the law in force in Haiti on 1990-01-01. WIPO Lex lists this decree but the full statutory text could not be retrieved or verified via web search. The decree is known to contain exceptions and limitations provisions (reportedly Articles 15-16 address permitted uses including quotations and reproductions for personal/private use), but without access to the actual verbatim text, the precise scope of research-relevant exceptions cannot be confirmed. Based on the structure typical of Haitian copyright law of this era (modeled on French-influenced civil law traditions), the decree likely contained a private reproduction exception and a quotation right, but the exact wording, scope regarding full works, sharing, user classes, and work types cannot be verified. Classification is therefore AMBIGUOUS due to inability to access the statutory text, not due to textual indeterminacy.
Exceptions considered
Reported exceptions for quotation and private/personal reproduction; exact scope unverifiable
Source links
Décret du 12 octobre 2005 sur le droit d'auteur
Relevant update · Effective 2005-10-12
60%
Relevant section: Art. 53, Art. 54, Art. 55, Art. 56, Art. 57, Art. 58
Dates: Effective 2005-10-12 · Enacted 2005-10-12
Why this score
The 2005 Decree replaced the 1968 Decree and is the current copyright law of Haiti. Assessing all research-relevant exceptions: (1) Art. 53(a) permits quotation only — excerpts, not full works — RED individually. (2) Art. 53(b) permits use for illustration of teaching, which may tangentially cover research but is limited to teaching illustration — not a general research exception. (3) Art. 54(a) permits reproduction by a private individual exclusively for personal and private use — this covers full works but is restricted to private individuals and covers reproduction only (not sharing/communication) — LIGHT BLUE. (4) Art. 54(b) permits a library to make a single copy to respond to a request of a natural person for purposes of 'private study and research' — this is restricted to libraries making copies, limited to a single copy, and the beneficiary must be a natural person requesting for private study and research. This is an institutional exception serving individual researchers but restricted to libraries (PURPLE for user restriction). The most permissive exception for a researcher is Art. 54(a), which allows any private individual to reproduce a full work for personal and private use. This covers reproduction of full works but is limited to private individuals (not institutional or collaborative use) and covers reproduction only (not sharing/communication). There is no general fair use, fair dealing, or open three-step-test clause. The non-commercial restriction and single-copy limits are classification-neutral. The overall classification is LIGHT BLUE based on Art. 54(a).
Exceptions considered
Quotation from a lawfully accessible work, conforming to fair practice, extent justified by purpose
Use of a work for illustration of teaching through publications, broadcasts, recordings, to extent justified by purpose
Reproduction by a private individual exclusively for personal and private use of a lawfully accessible work
Reproduction in a single copy by a non-commercial library or archive to respond to a natural person's request for private study and research, as an isolated act
Original text
Art. 53.— Sont licites, sans le consentement de l'auteur et sans paiement d'une rémunération, les actes suivants: a) la citation d'une œuvre licitement rendue accessible au public, à condition que la citation soit conforme aux bons usages et que son étendue ne dépasse pas celle justifiée par le but à atteindre. La citation doit être accompagnée de la mention de la source et du nom de l'auteur si ce nom figure dans la source; b) l'utilisation d'une œuvre à titre d'illustration de l'enseignement par le moyen de publications, d'émissions de radiodiffusion ou d'enregistrements sonores ou visuels, dans la mesure justifiée par le but à atteindre, à condition qu'une telle utilisation soit conforme aux bons usages et que la source et le nom de l'auteur soient mentionnés; c) la reproduction, par la presse ou la radiodiffusion ou la communication au public, d'articles d'actualité de discussion économique, politique ou religieuse publiés dans des journaux ou recueils périodiques, ou d'œuvres radiodiffusées ayant le même caractère, dans les cas où la reproduction, la radiodiffusion ou ladite communication n'en est pas expressément réservée. Art. 54.— Sont licites, sans le consentement de l'auteur et sans paiement d'une rémunération, la reproduction d'une œuvre licitement rendue accessible au public: a) par un particulier, exclusivement pour son usage personnel et privé; b) en un seul exemplaire, par une bibliothèque ou un service d'archives dont les activités ne tendent pas directement ou indirectement à un avantage commercial, lorsque la reproduction est faite dans le but de préserver l'exemplaire ou de remplacer un exemplaire perdu, détruit ou devenu inutilisable, et qu'il est impossible de se procurer un tel exemplaire dans des conditions raisonnables, ou lorsque la reproduction est faite pour répondre à la demande d'une personne physique à des fins d'étude privée et de recherche, à condition que cette reproduction soit un acte isolé se produisant dans des cas distincts et sans rapport entre eux.
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: Art. 53.— The following acts are lawful without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration: a) quotation from a work lawfully made accessible to the public, provided the quotation conforms to fair practice and does not exceed the extent justified by the purpose. The quotation must be accompanied by mention of the source and the author's name if it appears in the source; b) use of a work by way of illustration for teaching through publications, broadcasts, or sound or visual recordings, to the extent justified by the purpose, provided such use conforms to fair practice and the source and author's name are mentioned; c) reproduction by the press or broadcasting or communication to the public of articles on current economic, political or religious topics published in newspapers or periodicals, or broadcast works of the same character, where reproduction, broadcasting or said communication is not expressly reserved. Art. 54.— The following are lawful without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration, reproduction of a work lawfully made accessible to the public: a) by a private individual, exclusively for personal and private use; b) in a single copy, by a library or archive service whose activities do not directly or indirectly tend toward commercial advantage, where the reproduction is made for the purpose of preserving the copy or replacing a lost, destroyed or unusable copy and it is impossible to obtain such a copy under reasonable conditions, or where the reproduction is made to respond to the request of a natural person for purposes of private study and research, provided that such reproduction is an isolated act occurring in distinct and unrelated cases.
Source links
Décret du 12 octobre 2005 sur le droit d'auteur
Current law confirmation · Effective 2005-10-12
60%
Relevant section: Art. 53, Art. 54
Dates: Effective 2005-10-12 · Enacted 2005-10-12
Why this score
As of 2025, the Decree of October 12, 2005 remains the copyright law in force in Haiti. No amendments to the copyright exceptions have been identified. The most permissive research-relevant exception remains Art. 54(a), which permits reproduction of full works by a private individual exclusively for personal and private use. This covers all types of works and permits full-work reproduction, but is restricted to private individuals (not institutional or collaborative use) and covers reproduction only (not sharing or communication to the public). Art. 54(b) provides a complementary library exception for private study and research but is more restrictive (limited to libraries, single copy, isolated acts). Art. 53(a) permits only quotation (excerpts). There is no fair use, fair dealing, general research exception, three-step-test enabling clause, or TDM exception. Classification-neutral factors (non-commercial nature of private use, single-copy limits in Art. 54(b)) were not factored into the color decision. The classification is LIGHT BLUE.
Exceptions considered
Quotation from a lawfully accessible work, conforming to fair practice, extent justified by purpose
Use of a work for illustration of teaching through publications, broadcasts, recordings
Reproduction by a private individual exclusively for personal and private use of a lawfully accessible work — covers full works, all work types, but restricted to private individuals and reproduction only
Reproduction in a single copy by a non-commercial library or archive to respond to a natural person's request for private study and research, as an isolated act in distinct and unrelated cases
Original text
Art. 54.— Sont licites, sans le consentement de l'auteur et sans paiement d'une rémunération, la reproduction d'une œuvre licitement rendue accessible au public: a) par un particulier, exclusivement pour son usage personnel et privé; b) en un seul exemplaire, par une bibliothèque ou un service d'archives dont les activités ne tendent pas directement ou indirectement à un avantage commercial, lorsque la reproduction est faite dans le but de préserver l'exemplaire ou de remplacer un exemplaire perdu, détruit ou devenu inutilisable, et qu'il est impossible de se procurer un tel exemplaire dans des conditions raisonnables, ou lorsque la reproduction est faite pour répondre à la demande d'une personne physique à des fins d'étude privée et de recherche, à condition que cette reproduction soit un acte isolé se produisant dans des cas distincts et sans rapport entre eux.
English rendering
[Unofficial translation]: Art. 54.— The following are lawful without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration, reproduction of a work lawfully made accessible to the public: a) by a private individual, exclusively for personal and private use; b) in a single copy, by a library or archive service whose activities do not directly or indirectly tend toward commercial advantage, where the reproduction is made for the purpose of preserving the copy or replacing a lost, destroyed or unusable copy and it is impossible to obtain such a copy under reasonable conditions, or where the reproduction is made to respond to the request of a natural person for purposes of private study and research, provided that such reproduction is an isolated act occurring in distinct and unrelated cases.