本作品创作于古巴，由于其版权期限已过，现归入公共领域。根据古巴法律#14及随后的修正案，古巴的版权条款如下：
材料类型 版权在古巴已过期，如果... 如果...¹，版权在美国已过期 照片 使用超过25年 1972年2月20日之前在古巴首次出版但未遵守美国版权手续 匿名作品（非照片） 使用超过50年 1947年2月20日之前在古巴首次出版，未遵守美国版权手续在古巴使用 企业和政府工作 从不（永久版权） 发表于1929年（95年前） 所有其他作品 从作者去世后的1月1日算起，已经过去了50多年 a)在古巴出版，未遵守美国版权手续，作者在1947年之前去世或b)在1929年之前出版（95年前）
注1：要在维基共享资源上托管文件，它必须在古巴和美国都属于公共领域。
¹ 一部作品要在美国成为公有领域，其版权必须在古巴于1997年2月20日加入伯尔尼公约之前在古巴过期。
注2：尽管有上述条件，古巴国家可以决定在作品创作者的版权期限届满时将作品的版权转让给古巴版权法的48º条款。此类作品并非没有版权，并且可能随时被删除。 English ∙ español ∙ 日本語 ∙ മലയാളം ∙ русский ∙ 中文 ∙ 中文（简体） ∙ 中文（繁體） ∙ +/−

免责声明 本图像（或其中包含的符号）在以下国家受法律所禁止，原因是有关符号（以各种方式）表现共产主义、社会主义或类似的政体；或与其相关的政党及组织：格鲁吉亚、拉脱维亚、立陶宛（由宪法法庭通过的行政违法法典第18818条）、乌克兰（刑法第436-1条）、匈牙利（2012年刑法C章第335节）和印度尼西亚。 此外，在韩国使用朝鲜劳动党标识或会违反《国家保安法》。 所涉及的符号包括镰刀与锤子维基百科、红星、徽章标志、旗帜以及领导人照片。 العربية ∙ беларуская ∙ беларуская (тарашкевіца) ∙ беларуская (тарашкевіца) ∙ български ∙ čeština ∙ dansk ∙ Deutsch ∙ English ∙ Esperanto ∙ español ∙ euskara ∙ suomi ∙ français ∙ Gàidhlig ∙ galego ∙ हिन्दी ∙ magyar ∙ Bahasa Indonesia ∙ italiano ∙ 日本語 ∙ қазақша ∙ 한국어 ∙ македонски ∙ norsk bokmål ∙ Nederlands ∙ norsk ∙ polski ∙ português ∙ română ∙ русский ∙ sicilianu ∙ slovenščina ∙ српски / srpski ∙ svenska ∙ ไทย ∙ Türkçe ∙ українська ∙ Tiếng Việt ∙ 中文 ∙ 中文（简体） ∙ 中文（繁體） ∙ +/−

This file is in the public domain. The photo was used for the first time internationally in 1967. It is in the public domain by Decree Law no. 156, September 28, 1994, to amend part of Law no. 14 December 28, 1977, Copyright Act (Article 47) which states that the pictures fall into the public domain Worldwide, 25 years after its first use.

Cuba did not sign the Berne Convention until 1997, and this photo was taken and publicized 30 years before that and thus is in the public domain.

• This includes being in the Public Domain in the United States - Since the image was first published in Cuba without compliance of US copyright formalities and used in Cuba before February 20, 1972.

Of importance yes it is true that Alberto Korda sued that vodka maker Smirnoff based on his "moral rights" (under the belief that Che Guevara wouldn't support alcohol) that are independent of copyright status, while also attempting to obtain copyright ownership of the photograph. Although moral rights are not recognized in the U.S. - they are recognized through most of the World and part of international copyright law. Moral rights are included in Berne Convention, so if the photographer is still alive, he still can sue, even if the picture is public domain. However, the moral rights are not transferable, and when Korda died 2001, no one can control the use of the picture anymore under that premise. As to his desire to show he was the rightful owner of the Copyright for the image, that was never decided upon in court as the Case of (Korda v. Lintas & Rex) was settled "sensibly and amicably" out of court.

As Ariana Hernández-Reguant contends in (Copyrighting Che: Art and Authorship under Cuban Late Socialism Public Culture 2004 v. 16 pp. 1-30.) ~ "There was never any official ruling on whether the depiction constituted a violation of copyright." (pg 4). The author goes on to state that: ~ "Korda took the picture while working for a state-run newspaper, his actual property rights would be questionable under both Cuban and international law." (pg 4)

Of note as well before the photographer of the photo died, in reference to the image becoming a ubiquitous worldwide symbol, he also stated “As a supporter of the ideals for which Che Guevara died, I am not averse to its reproduction by those who wish to propagate his memory” — Korda [1]

All quotations come verbatim from ~ A Copyright Revolution: Protecting the Famous Photograph of Che Guevara, by Sarah Levy, 13 Law and Business Review of the Americas, Am. 687. Summer of 2007.

LEGALLY

• "The Berne Convention, which 160 countries have signed, states in article 7(4) that "it shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the term of protection of photographic works."
• "The Universal Copyright Convention does not require protection for photographs."
• "In 1994, the World Trade Organization (WTO) implemented the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS), which allows the 150 WTO member countries to exclude photographs from the realm of protection provided for intellectual property."

IN CUBA

• "The first jurisdiction of relevance is Cuban law because Cuba is both the location where the photograph originated and the domicile of the photographer."
• "General copyright protection under Cuban law lasts for photographs retain copyright protection for only ten years from the date the work is first used. After the copyright expires, the Council of Ministers can declare the work as property of the State."
• "It seems that in Cuba the copyright protection in Korda's Guevara photograph would have already expired, and despite the claims of ownership from Korda's heirs, the State would now hold any rights associated with the photograph."

IN THE U.S.

• "A U.S. district court recently noted that "there is no uniform test to determine the copyright ability of photographs."
• "Under both the 1909 U.S. Copyright Act and the current act, in the absence of a will, courts determine the proper disposition of a copyright interest in accordance with the intestate succession law of the decedent's domicile. This holds true even if the decedent's domicile is in a foreign country. Korda was domiciled in Havana, Cuba."

IN THE FUTURE

• "Furthermore, the question of ownership is a significant factor in determining not only the transferability of the copyright protection but also the duration of that protection within different jurisdictions. A comparison of the relevant laws of Cuba, the United States, and treaties adhered to by the international community shows a variety of possible results when looking at the protection afforded to the Korda photograph."
• "It remains to be seen what the result would be in the United States."
• "The outcome of future litigation hinges upon the duration of protection available within a jurisdiction."