Civil Code of the State of Eritrea, Copyright, Press and Quotation Exceptions

Article 1157 gives the author of a work of the mind an incorporeal property right by the mere fact of its creation, and article 1158 lists literary, musical, figurative, and other works, including computer programs, as works of the mind.

Article 1168 lets articles of topical interest published in newspapers and reviews be reproduced in the press, whether printed or broadcast, unless the reproduction was expressly reserved, on condition the source is always clearly stated, and lets daily news articles on current events that are mere press information be freely reproduced; it also allows including a work in a short recording, showing, or announcement of it in a photographic, film, radio, or television report of current affairs.

Article 1169 lets the press freely reproduce speeches delivered in political assemblies, public meetings, or official ceremonies for fifteen days after they were made. Article 1171 provides that the author cannot forbid analyses and press reviews of the work.

Article 1172 provides that the author cannot forbid quotations from a lawfully communicated work where the quotation conforms to what may reasonably be accepted by social custom and the number and length of the passages quoted are justified by the purpose to be achieved, and states expressly that quotations include quotations from articles appearing in daily or weekly newspapers, weeklies, or other periodicals in the form of press reviews, with no fixed length or headline cap and not confined to short extracts.

Article 1161 excludes official legislative, administrative, or judicial texts from copyright protection and lets them be freely reproduced. The 2015 Civil Code renumbered the copyright articles that a repealed 1993 extract of the Provisional Civil Code had carried at articles 1647-1674.