LAWS AND TREATIES

COPYRIGHT - MARCH 1992	

ANGOLA
Law on Authors' Rights
(No. 4/90 of March 10, 1990)

CHAPTER I

Subject, Definition and Protected Works

Subject and purpose

(b)	

Article 1. The purpose of this Law is to protect
authors'<rights and stimulate the production of in­
ipthe lit~I'aO',artisticoandoscien­
tific.fieldsby promoting their use by society witha
view to edifying a culture corresponding to the new
social order that is being established in the People's
Republic of Angola.
telleet~ cr~a.tiQ~s

(c)	

Limitations
Article 2. The copyright governed by this 'Law
shall be exercised in' accordance with the objectives
and superior interests of the People's Republic of
Angola and with the socialist principles deriving
therefrom, taking into account society's need for a
broad dissemination of literary, artistic and scien­
tific productions.

(d)	

(e)	

Definition and scope ofcopyright
Article 3. (l) Copyright means the exclusive
right of the authors of literary, artistic or scientific
works to enjoy the benefit of those works and to use
them or to authorize the use thereof, in whole or in
part, within the limits and terms of this Law.

(J)	

(2) Copyright comprises prerogatives of an eco­
nomic nature and of a moral nature.
(3) The protection afforded by this Law shall
not depend on any formality nor on the type, form
of expression, content, value, purpose or mode of
use of the works to which it applies.

Other definitions

Article 4. For the purposes of this Law:


(g)	

(a)	 "published work" means a work published

with the consent of its author, whatever the
mode of manufacture of the copies, where,
Source: Diario da Republica No. 14, of March 10, 1990.

AO	

(h)	

taking into account the nature of the work,
the number of copies made available to the
public adequately satisfies the needs of the
public;
"work published for the first time" means a
work whose first publication has taken place
in the People's Republic of Angola or a work
whose ..first.publication ..has . taken place
abroad, but has been followed by publica­
tion within 30 days in the People's Republic
of Angola;
"work of joint authorship" means a work
created by several persons, whether or not it
is possible to distinguish between the indi­
vidual contributions of each person;
"collective work" means a work organized
at the initiative of a natural or legal person,
and published under his name, in which it is
possible to distinguish between the individ­
ual contributions of the various contribu­
tors;
"cinematographic work" means a sequence
of images recorded on any medium what­
soever, whether translucent or not, by
means of which it is possible to obtain mov­
ing images or images intended to be re­
corded on some other medium enabling
them to be projected;
"folklore" means all literary, artistic and
scientific works created on the national ter­
ritory by authors presumed to originate in
certain regions or ethnic communities,
passed from generation to generation­
anonymously or collectively or by other
means-and constituting one of the basic
elements of the traditional cultural heri­
tage;
"intellectual creation" means any work
bearing witness to the adequate knowledge
and judgment of its author, of his choices,
his contributions and his experience;
"communication to the public"means the
act by which a work is made available to the
public;

ANGOLA - Text 1-01, page 1

Select target paragraph3