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Under Iraqi copyright legislation, passed by the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) in 1971, a copyright was to lapse 25 years after the death of the author, but no more than fifty years after the publication of the work. The 1971 law protected private works for shorter periods, though included various exemptions. Under the Provisional Constitution of 1970, the RCC was proclaimed the supreme organ of the state with broad executive and legislative powers. The RCC was dissolved by the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Copyright regimes can and do often differ between states, even two states that both adhere to the same copyright convention. Activity prohibited by the laws of one state is necessarily prohibited elsewhere. Nor are prohibitions on activities by the laws of a state are not necessarily enforced. Between 1971 and 2003, Iraq did not sign a reciprocal copyright agreement with the United States, which meant that U.S. works were not legally protected. Therefore, the United States was not bound to adhere to copyright convention under 1971 RCC copyright legislation. Nonenforcement of RCC copyright law now applies worldwide as a result of the disbanding of Ba'ath era constitutional arragements and governmental institutions after the 2003 invasion.

All photographs released by the Iraqi state and Ba'ath party organs before 2003 invasion that are without a clear copyright notice are assumed to be in the public domain.