Legislation

Lakikirjoja. KUVA: OKMThe Finnish Copyright Act was adopted in 1961 (404/1961), and it has been amended several times since the 1980s. Provisions on penalties for copyright offences are laid down in the Criminal Code (39/1889). The Copyright Decree entered into force in 1995 (574/1995), the same year as the Decree on the Application of the Copyright Act in Certain Cases to Protected Items Originating in States Belonging to the European Economic Area (575/1995) entered into force.

Provisions on copyright are also included in the Act on Orphan Works (764/2013). Provisions on collective management of copyright are laid down in the Act on the Collective Management of Copyright (1494/2016).

Translations of Finnish acts and decrees into English are available at Finlex-database.

Treaties and EU directives

Finnish copyright legislation is based on copyright treaties and EU directives.

Finland has acceded to or ratified the following treaties, among others:

  • Berne Convention (Paris 1971)
  • International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations  (Rome Convention, 1961)
  • WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT, 1996) and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT, 1996).
  • In addition, Finland is bound by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of 1995, which is an Annex to the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Finland has also signed the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (2012) and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled (2013).

Contact information

Perttu Virtanen, Senior Specialist, Legal Affairs 
Ministry of Education and Culture, Kulttuuri- ja taidepolitiikan osasto (KUPO), Division for Copyright Policy and Audiovisual Culture Telephone:0295330505   Email Address: