Audiovisual Legal Deposit register
If 'no information' is shown for your country, or if you see an error in the database, please contribute by completing the simple form at www.iasa-web.org/legal-deposit/questionnaire
This register is an online database of Legal Deposit for audiovisual materials, country by country. The data is being "crowdsourced" by IFLA and IASA members and by other contributors from the audiovisual archiving profession.
Click a country name for more details about legal deposit in that country.
This register is not intended to collate comprehensive information, nor can IASA and IFLA vouch for its accuracy; however, the register gives an indication of the existence (or not) of legal deposit in each country and links to further information. We hope that such information on worldwide practices will help individual countries to obtain or improve their own legal deposit legislation.
If no information is available about a particular country, or if it is outdated/inaccurate, can you help? Complete the short questionnaire at www.iasa-web.org/legal-deposit/questionnaire and your information will be added here (you may use the same form to submit corrections). Please note that we need information even for those countries that have no legal deposit legislation for audiovisual materials.
| Country | Legal deposit for printed materials |
Legal deposit for AV materials |
AV materials |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | Yes | Law under development | |
| Estonia | Yes, since 1998 | Law under development | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Websites or other internet-based content |
| Zambia | Yes, since 1964 | Law under development | |
| United Kingdom | Yes, since 1662 | No | |
| Switzerland | No | No | |
| Netherlands | No | No | |
| Australia | Yes, since 1912 | No | |
| Austria | Yes, since 1569 | No | |
| Romania | Yes, since 1972 | No | |
| Ireland | Yes, Since 1801, as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; 1922, Irish Free State; 1937, Republic of Ireland. | No | |
| Senegal | Yes, since 1976 | No | |
| South Africa | Yes, 1982; Current Legal Deposit Act (Act No. 54 of 1997) | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) |
| Finland | Yes, since 1707 | Yes | National Library: Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Computer games; Websites or other internet-based content. National Audiovisual Institute: Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Radio broadcasts; TV broadcasts |
| France | Yes, since 1537 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Radio broadcasts; TV broadcasts; Computer games; Websites or other internet-based content |
| Spain | Yes, since 1716 (printed books for the Royal Library in Madrid); 1958 (Catalonia) | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Radio broadcasts; Computer games; Websites or other internet-based content; commercial av material related to the production |
| Germany | Yes, 1991 (before 1991 also for BRD and DDR) | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Websites or other internet-based content |
| Sri Lanka | Yes, 1839 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) |
| Norway | Yes, since 1882 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.), Film, Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.), Radio broadcasts, TV broadcasts, Computer games, Websites or other internet-based content |
| Argentina | Yes, since 1933 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); TV broadcasts; Computer games |
| Mexico | Yes, since 1991 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.) ; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); TV broadcasts; Computer games |
| Belgium | Yes | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Radio broadcasts; TV broadcasts; Websites or other internet-based content |
| Sweden | Yes, since 1661 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.), Film, Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.), Radio broadcasts, TV broadcasts, Computer games, Websites or other internet-based content |
| Burkina Faso | Yes, 1998 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) |
| New Zealand | Yes, since 1903 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Websites or other internet-based content |
| Iran | Yes, 1999 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) |
| Croatia | Yes, since 1997 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Websites or other internet-based content |
| Denmark | Yes, since 1697 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Radio broadcasts; TV broadcasts; Computer games; Websites or other internet-based content; Mixed materials |
| North Macedonia | Yes | Yes | Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) |
| Greenland | Yes, since 1980 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) |
| Hungary | Yes, since 1997 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.) ; Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Radio broadcasts; TV broadcasts |
| Poland | Yes | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Radio broadcasts; TV broadcasts |
| Iceland | Yes, 1886 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.) , Film, Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.), Radio broadcasts, TV broadcasts, Websites or other internet-based content |
| Portugal | Yes, since 1982 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); phonograms and videograms, cinematographic work |
| Papua New Guinea | Yes, since 1993 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); 'publications of all kinds reproduced in any medium by any process for public distribution, lease, or sale' |
| Russian Federation | Yes, 1783 | Yes | Film; Radio broadcasts; TV broadcasts; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) |
| Israel | Yes | Yes | Film; Digital files of cinematic works - born digital works |
| Serbia | Yes, since 1870 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Computer games |
| Latvia | Yes | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.); Websites or other internet-based content; Multimedia materials on physical carriers, such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM; online publications (such as downloadable sound recordings) |
| Czech Republic | Yes, 1995 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.) |
| Andorra | Yes, since 1980 | Yes | Sound recordings (CD, audio book, etc.); Film; Video recordings (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) |
| Lithuania | No information | No information | |
| Angola | No information | No information | |
| Cape Verde | No information | No information | |
| Cayman Islands | No information | No information | |
| South Sudan | No information | No information | |
| Madagascar | No information | No information | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | No information | No information | |
| Gabon | No information | No information | |
| Comoros | No information | No information | |
| Malaysia | No information | No information | |
| Armenia | No information | No information | |
| Djibouti | No information | No information | |
| Congo | No information | No information | |
| Malta | No information | No information | |
| Bahamas | No information | No information | |
| Dominica | No information | No information | |
| Congo, Democratic Republic | No information | No information | |
| Sudan | No information | No information | |
| Martinique | No information | No information | |
| Bahrain | No information | No information | |
| Dominican Republic | No information | No information | |
| El Salvador | No information | No information | |
| Faroe Islands | No information | No information | |
| Swaziland | No information | No information | |
| Bangladesh | No information | No information | |
| Bermuda | No information | No information | |
| Ethiopia | No information | No information | |
| Grenada | No information | No information | |
| Mongolia | No information | No information | |
| Barbados | No information | No information | |
| Botswana | No information | No information | |
| French Guiana | No information | No information | |
| Guinea-Bissau | No information | No information | |
| Mozambique | No information | No information | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | No information | No information | |
| Brazil | No information | No information | |
| Georgia | No information | No information | |
| Vatican City State | No information | No information | |
| Tunisia | No information | No information | |
| Namibia | No information | No information | |
| Brunei Darussalam | No information | No information | |
| Bulgaria | No information | No information | |
| Ghana | No information | No information | |
| Isle of Man | No information | No information | |
| Thailand | No information | No information | |
| Nepal | No information | No information | |
| Cambodia | No information | No information | |
| Hong Kong | Yes, 1976 | No information | |
| Kuwait | No information | No information | |
| Zimbabwe | No information | No information | |
| Turkey | No information | No information | |
| Burundi | No information | No information | |
| Canada | No information | No information | |
| Iraq | No information | No information | |
| Laos | No information | No information | |
| Albania | No information | No information | |
| Uganda | No information | No information | |
| Chad | No information | No information | |
| Liberia | No information | No information | |
| Algeria | No information | No information | |
| Ukraine | No information | No information | |
| Nicaragua | No information | No information | |
| Equatorial Guinea | No information | No information | |
| Jordan | No information | No information | |
| Libya | No information | No information | |
| United Arab Emirates | No information | No information | |
| Niger | No information | No information | |
| Eritrea | No information | No information | |
| Kyrgyzstan | No information | No information | |
| United States | No information | No information | |
| Nigeria | No information | No information | |
| French Polynesia | No information | No information | |
| Lebanon | No information | No information | |
| Mauritius | No information | No information | |
| Azerbaijan | No information | No information | |
| Uruguay | No information | No information | |
| Oman | No information | No information | |
| Gambia | No information | No information | |
| Fiji | No information | No information | |
| Malawi | No information | No information | |
| Mali | No information | No information | |
| Belarus | No information | No information | |
| Venezuela | No information | No information | |
| Pakistan | No information | No information | |
| Peru | No information | No information | |
| Guatemala | No information | No information | |
| Greece | No information | No information | |
| Moldova | No information | No information | |
| Monaco | No information | No information | |
| Belize | No information | No information | |
| Yemen | No information | No information | |
| Philippines | No information | No information | |
| Guinea | No information | No information | |
| Morocco | No information | No information | |
| Reunion | No information | No information | |
| Benin | No information | No information | |
| Guyana | No information | No information | |
| Myanmar | No information | No information | |
| Samoa | No information | No information | |
| Bhutan | No information | No information | |
| Haiti | No information | No information | |
| India | No information | No information | |
| Panama | No information | No information | |
| Taiwan, Province of China | No information | No information | |
| Bolivia | No information | No information | |
| Qatar | No information | No information | |
| Honduras | No information | No information | |
| Indonesia | No information | No information | |
| Western Sahara | No information | No information | |
| Afghanistan | No information | No information | |
| South Korea | No information | No information | |
| Paraguay | No information | No information | |
| Côte d'Ivoire | No information | No information | |
| Cameroon | No information | No information | |
| Lesotho | No information | No information | |
| Puerto Rico | No information | No information | |
| Curaçao | No information | No information | |
| Central African Republic | No information | No information | |
| Saudi Arabia | No information | No information | |
| Montenegro | No information | No information | |
| Italy | No information | No information | |
| Rwanda | No information | No information | |
| North Korea | No information | No information | |
| Chile | No information | No information | |
| New Caledonia | No information | No information | |
| Jamaica | No information | No information | |
| Sierra Leone | No information | No information | |
| Colombia | No information | No information | |
| Seychelles | No information | No information | |
| Saint Lucia | No information | No information | |
| Japan | No information | No information | |
| Suriname | No information | No information | |
| Costa Rica | No information | No information | |
| Tanzania | No information | No information | |
| Singapore | No information | No information | |
| Solomon Islands | No information | No information | |
| Kazakhstan | No information | No information | |
| Tajikistan | No information | No information | |
| Cuba | No information | No information | |
| Timor-Leste | No information | No information | |
| Syrian Arab Republic | No information | No information | |
| Kenya | No information | No information | |
| Uzbekistan | No information | No information | |
| Cyprus | No information | No information | |
| Togo | No information | No information | |
| Slovakia | No information | No information | |
| Viet Nam | No information | No information | |
| Turkmenistan | No information | No information | |
| Slovenia | No information | No information | |
| Liechtenstein | No information | No information | |
| Vanuatu | No information | No information | |
| Ecuador | No information | No information | |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | No information | No information | |
| Somalia | No information | No information | |
| Luxembourg | No information | No information | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | No information | No information | |
| Egypt | No information | No information |
