For background information, see the explanations on Non-U.S. copyrights.
As of 1 January 1996, the following were in the public domain in Portugal: works whose author died before 1946; anonymous works, works deemed to be anonymous, or works by a collective person whose authors were not individually identified, first published or disclosed before 1946; photographic works, works deemed to be photographic works or works of applied art created before 1 July 1970; news articles or economic, political or religious articles, published or disclosed before 1996, provided that rights have not been specifically reserved and "mentions," wherever possible, the name of the author and of the publisher, of the title of the work and other elements enabling it to be identified.