{"id":666,"date":"2026-08-21T23:45:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ministryofartsandculture.com\/?page_id=666"},"modified":"2026-08-21T23:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:45:39","slug":"legal-deposit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ministryofartsandculture.com\/?page_id=666","title":{"rendered":"Legal deposit"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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LAW NO. 2000\/05 OF APRIL 17, 2000 CONCERNING LEGAL DEPOSIT<\/strong>

The National Assembly deliberated and adopted, and the President of the Republic promulgates the following law:

CHAPTER I:
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. – This law establishes a mandatory deposit, hereinafter referred to as
“legal deposit,” to which the documents referred to in Article 3 (1) and (2) above are subject.
Article 2. – (1) The legal deposit established by this law aims to protect the national cultural and intellectual heritage. To this end, it aims, in particular, at:
– the collection and preservation of copies of the documents concerned, for the purpose of compiling and disseminating national bibliographies;
– the consultation of said documents, under conditions compatible with their preservation, and without prejudice to copyright and related rights.
(2) It is not to be confused with the mandatory deposits provided for by legislation relating to freedom of social communication.
Article 3.- (1) Printed, graphic, photographic, sound, or audiovisual documents, as well as software or databases, are subject to legal deposit as soon as they are made available to the public, regardless of their technical process of production, publication, or distribution.
(2) Industrial property titles are also subject to legal deposit according to the conditions and procedures established by regulation.
(3) The following are excluded from legal deposit:
– printed materials of a personal nature, such as letters and cards of invitation, greeting, notice, and visit, and letterhead envelopes;
– printed materials of an administrative nature, such as templates, forms, invoice forms, and civil status records;
– printed materials of a commercial nature, such as price lists, instructions, labels, and sample cards;
– ballot papers;
– titles of non-printed publications;
– securities.
Article 4. – State officials and agents responsible for receiving, processing, communicating, disseminating, and preserving documents subject to legal deposit are bound by professional secrecy.

CHAPTER II:
LEGAL DEPOSIT SYSTEM
Article 5. – The documents referred to in Article 3 (1) and (2) above must be deposited with the National Library, the National Film Archive, or any other depository body, in several copies and according to the deadlines and procedures set by decree.
Article 6. – The formality of legal deposit with the depository bodies is the responsibility of:
– to publishers, printers, or importers of printed, graphic, or photographic documents;
– to publishers, or where applicable, producers or importers of software and databases;
– to publishers, or where applicable, producers, sponsors, or importers of phonograms and videograms;
– to producers of cinematographic documents;
– to distributors of imported cinematographic documents, and to publishers and importers of cinematographic documents fixed on a medium other than photochemical;
– to audiovisual communication companies;
– to holders of industrial property rights.
Article 7. – Any natural or legal person who introduces into the national territory documents published or produced abroad is deemed an importer within the meaning of this law, subject to the conventions and specific texts relating to diplomatic documents.

CHAPTER III:
ADMINISTRATIVE AND CRIMINAL SANCTIONS
Article 8. In the event of total or partial non-compliance with the filing requirements established by this law, the competent depositary bodies referred to in Article 5 above may purchase, or arrange for the purchase, of unfiled documents or missing copies, at the expense of the natural or legal person responsible for the filing formality.
Article 9. Anyone who willfully evades the legal filing obligation stipulated by this law shall be punished by a fine of one hundred thousand (100,000) to one million (1,000,000) francs.
Article 10. (1) Violations of the provisions of this law shall be referred to the
competent Court of First Instance sitting in criminal matters.
(2) In the event of a conviction, the accused may also be required to reimburse any expenses incurred for the purchase of unfiled documents or missing copies.

CHAPTER IV:
MISCELLANEOUS, TRANSITIONAL, AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 11. (1) Any document deposited with the competent depository bodies must be accompanied by a dated and signed declaration, conforming to a model whose content and characteristics are established by regulation.
(2) The declaration referred to in paragraph (1) above may be consulted at the depository body by the depositor or any other interested person. Copies may be obtained at their own expense.
Article 12. Authors of Cameroonian nationality whose works are published abroad are required to deposit copies of said works, either personally or through the publisher or importer.
Article 13. Documents and instruments previously made available to the public without having been legally deposited must be handed over to the competent depository bodies by the persons responsible for the deposit formalities, within twelve (12) months from the date of promulgation of this law.
Article 14. Decrees shall, as necessary, establish the implementing procedures for the provisions of this law.
Article 15. This law, which repeals all prior conflicting provisions, shall be registered, published according to the emergency procedure, and then inserted in the Official Gazette in French and English.

Yaound\u00e9, April 17, 2000
The President of the Republic, Paul Biya DECREE No. 2001\/957\/PM OF NOVEMBER 1, 2001 ESTABLISHING THE PROCEDURES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LAW No. 2000\/05 OF APRIL 17, 2000
RELATING TO LEGAL DEPOSIT

The Prime Minister, Head of Government,
Having regard to the Constitution;
Having regard to Law No. 90\/052 of December 19, 1990 relating to freedom of social communication, as amended by Law No. 96\/04 of January 4, 1996;
Having regard to Law No. 2000\/05 of April 17, 2000 relating to legal deposit;
Having regard to Decree No. 92\/089 of 4 May 1992 establishing the powers of the Prime Minister, as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 95\/145 of 4 August 1995;
Having regard to Decree No. 97\/205 of 7 December 1997 on the organization of the Government, as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 98\/067 of 28 April 1998;
Having regard to Decree No. 97\/206 of 7 December 1997 appointing a Prime
Minister,
It is hereby decreed:
Article 1.- This decree establishes the implementing procedures for Law No. 2000\/05 of 17 April 2000 relating to legal deposit.

CHAPTER I:
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 2. \u2013 In addition to the National Library and the National Film Archive referred to in Article
5 of the law relating to legal deposit, any cultural organization designated by order of the Minister of Culture shall be a depositary.
Article 3. \u2013 (1) Each depositary organization shall determine the conditions for the preservation and consultation of documents.
(2) Any agreement between a depositary organization and a rights holder must be communicated to the Minister of Culture.
Article 4. \u2013 (1) Every deposited document must bear the information specified by order of the
Minister of Culture.
(2) The deposit shall be accompanied by a declaration in duplicate, the details of which shall be determined by order of the Minister of Culture.

Article 5. \u2013 Only the medium that allows for the best preservation of the document may be deposited when the latter is made available to the public on media of varying quality.
CHAPTER II:
FROM LEGAL DEPOSIT TO THE NATIONAL LIBRARY
Section I:
Deposit of Printed, Graphic, and Photographic Documents
Article 6. The following must be deposited with the National Library:
– printed or graphic documents such as books, periodicals, industrial property titles, brochures, engravings, postcards, posters, plans, globes and geographical atlases, musical scores, maps, and prints;
– photographic documents.
Article 7. The deposit must be made in six copies:
– no later than the day the publisher, printer, or importer of the document makes it available to the public;
– within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the title by the body responsible for issuing industrial property titles.
(2) When a work is printed through the collaboration of several people, the deposit is made by the printer, who then delivers the document to the publisher.
Article 8. \u2013 In the event of an identical reprint after the initial deposit, only a single declaration of the number of copies successively printed after the first release is required to be filed with the National Library for each calendar year.

Article 9. \u2013 Every copy deposited must be identical to the copies made available to the public.

Section II:
Deposit of Software, Databases, or Data Banks
Article 10. \u2013 Software, databases, or data banks, whether distributed on physical media or not, are required to be deposited with the National Library.
Article 11. \u2013 (1) The deposit must be made in duplicate, no later than the day following the day on which the publisher, producer, or importer releases a document referred to in Article 10 above.
(2) It is accomplished either by handing over the physical medium on which the aforementioned document is distributed in quantity, or by means of any medium when said document is made directly available to the public so that each individual may access it at their convenience.
(3) The recording is accompanied by the document’s information sheet.

(4) The document, the recording, and the manual must be identical to those made available to the public.
Section III:
Deposit of Sound Recordings
Article 12. Phonograms made available to the public are deposited at the
National Library.
Article 13. (1) Phonograms must be deposited in six (6) copies no later than the day they are made available to the intended public.
(2) The deposited copies must be identical to the copies made available to the public. The deposit must include, in particular, the user manuals, sleeves, and bindings of these manuals.
Article 14. (1) Sound recordings broadcast by an audiovisual communication company without prior recording on a medium shall be deposited with the National Library.
(2) The company shall deposit two copies within fifteen (15)
days of the broadcast.

CHAPTER III:
DEPOSIT OF MULTIMEDIA DOCUMENTS
Article 15. Any document that combines, on a single physical medium, two or more documents subject to the legal deposit requirement, or that combines two (2) or more media referred to in the preceding chapters, shall be considered multimedia.
Article 16. Multimedia documents shall be deposited in two (2) copies no later than the day on which their publisher, producer, or importer puts them into circulation.

CHAPTER IV:
LEGAL DEPOSIT AT THE NATIONAL FILM LIBRARY
Article 17.- (1) The producer or distributor of a cinematographic work shall deposit it with the National Film Library within six (6) months of the first screening.
(2) It shall be accompanied by the synopsis, the technical specifications, and the poster.
Article 18.- The copy must be deposited in the form of an intermediate element allowing for the production of either a positive print or a negative matrix, or failing that, in the form of a new positive print of good technical quality.
Article 19.- (1) Videograms are subject to the legal deposit requirement when they are made available to the public. (2) The deposit shall be made in duplicate when the videogram is made available to the public by the person who commissioned, produced, imported, or distributed the videogram.
Article 20.-(1) Audiovisual documents broadcast by an audiovisual communication company without having been previously recorded on a medium shall be deposited with the National Film Archive.
(2) Any document consisting of a series of moving images, with or without sound, shall be considered audiovisual.
Article 21.- The audiovisual communication company shall deposit within fifteen (15) days of the broadcast of the audiovisual document.
Article 22.- (1) Depositors shall provide the National Film Archive with the synopsis, technical specifications, and poster.
(2) The Ministers responsible for culture and communication shall jointly determine the information that the documents mentioned in Article 20 above must contain.
CHAPTER V: SANCTIONS
Article 23.- Any violation of the provisions of this decree shall be punishable by the administrative and criminal penalties provided for by the law relating to legal deposit.
CHAPTER VI: FINAL PROVISION
Article 24. \u2013 The Minister in charge of culture is responsible for the implementation of this decree, which shall be registered and published according to the emergency procedure, then inserted in the Official Gazette in French and English.

Yaound\u00e9, November 1, 2001<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Peter Mafany Musonge<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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