The 1973 ordinance stated that the 10-year term of protection for photographs was to be calculated "starting from the beginning of the calendar year which follows the publication of the work" (Article 64). The provisions of the 1997 ordinance came into effect the day of its promulgation (Article 159), i.e. on March 12, 1997. As a result, photographs published in 1987, whose term of protection was calculated starting from January 1, 1988, were still copyrighted when the new provisions came into effect, and so their term of protection was automatically extended to 50 years from publication. Consequently, no photograph created and first published on or after January 1, 1987 is currently in the public domain in Algeria.
Translation by BomBom of the transitional provisions of the 1997 and 2003 ordinances: → Article 159 of the 1997 ordinance: "The copyright provisions herein take effect from the promulgation of this ordinance with regard to works published for the first time after its entry into force. The provisions herein encompass works which were published before the promulgation of this ordinance and which remain protected under the provisions of Ordinance No. 73–14 of 3 April 1973." → Article 160 of the 1997 ordinance: "If, at the expiry of the term of protection provided by Ordinance No. 73–14 of 3 April 1973, the work has not fallen into the public domain, it shall enjoy the protection regime of this ordinance." → Article 161 of the 2003 ordinance: "The provisions herein shall be applicable to the works created [...] prior to the date of entry into force of this ordinance, provided that they did not fall into the public domain due to the expiration of the term of protection to which they were subject before that date."
The term of protection for photographs under the 1997 ordinance was extended to 50 years from publication (Article 60). As a result, when the ordinance was abrogated in 2003, no new photographs had entered the public domain under its provisions which were not already out-of-copyright when it was promulgated. The currently applicable 2003 ordinance protects photographs for a period of 50 years from production, as opposed to publication. It states that the 50-year term of protection for photographs is to be calculated "starting from the end of the calendar year of the work's production" (Article 59). As a result, the term of protection for a photograph created in 1973 was calculated starting from December 31, 1973, and expired on December 31, 2023.
