Are you an author, artist, or creator? Are wondering How to protect your copyrights in the UAE? in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), copyright protection in dubai is granted to original works under Federal Law No. 7 of 2002 on Copyrights. Lawyers in Dubai advise, to protect your copyrights in the UAE, you should register your work with the Ministry of Economy’s Copyright Office and include a copyright notice on your work.
Additionally, it is a good idea to keep records of the creation and dissemination of your work, such as dates of creation and publication, as well as any agreements or licenses related to the use of your work. It is also important to be aware of and comply with any international copyright treaties or agreements to which the UAE is a party, such as the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
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Dubai Copyright Protection Law in UAE | new copyright law uae
according to copyright registration in UAE, Federal Decree-Law no. (38) of 2021 Issued on 20/09/2021 governs Copyrights and Neighboring Rights.
Authors of Works and Holders of Neighbouring Rights shall enjoy the protection provided for in this Decree-Law, if their rights are violated within the State, namely as concerns the following Works:
- Books, brochures, articles, and other written Works.
- Smart applications, computer programs and applications, databases, and similar Works are determined by a decision of the Minister.
- Lectures, speeches, oral and written sermons, and other Works of a similar nature.
- Theatrical Works, musical shows, and pantomime.
- Musical Works, either with or without words.
- Audio, visual, or audio-visual Works.
- Architectural Works, and engineering drawings and plans.
- Works of drawing with lines or colours, sculpting, engraving, and printing on stone, fabrics, wood, or metals, and any other similar Works.
- Works of photography and similar Works.
- Works of applied and plastic arts.
- Illustrations, geographical maps, sketches, and three-dimensional Works related to geography, topography, architecture, and others.
- Derivative Works, without prejudice to the protection granted to the original Works from which these works were derived. Protection shall cover the title of the work, if innovative, as well as the written innovative broadcast program.
License to use the Work
Only the Author and his successor, or the holder of the Author’s right may authorize the use of the work, in any manner whatsoever, namely through Reproduction, including downloading or electronic storage; acting, in any manner; Broadcasting; re-broadcasting; Public Performance or Public Communication; translation; assimilation; modification; rental; lending; or Publication in any manner, including making it available through computers, data or communication networks or any other means.
Protection period | copyright registration in UAE
1- The Author’s economic rights provided for in this Decree-Law shall be protected throughout his lifetime and for a period of (50) fifty years thereafter commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year of his death.
2- The economic rights of Authors of Joint Works shall be protected throughout their lifetime and for a period of (50) fifty years thereafter commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which the last surviving author dies.
3- The economic rights of Authors of Collective Works, without the artists of applied arts Works, shall be protected for a period of (50) fifty years commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which those Works were first published, should the Author be a juristic person. In case the Author is a physical person, the calculation of the protection period shall be computed on basis of the rule provided for in clauses (1) and (2) of this article.
4- The economic rights of Works first published after the death of the Author thereof shall be protected for a period of (50) fifty years commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which such Works have been first published.
5- The economic rights of anonymous and pseudonymous Works shall be protected for a period of (50) fifty years commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which such Works have been first published. In case the Author of such Works has been known or identified, or if he reveals his identity, the protection period shall be calculated according to clause (1) of this article.
6- The economic rights of the Authors of Works of applied arts shall expire upon the lapse of (25) twenty-five years commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which such Works have been first published.
7- In case the protection period is calculated as of the date of first Publication, such date shall be taken as a basis for calculating the period, irrespective of re-Publication unless the Author has made substantial modifications to such Work upon re-Publication, so that it may be considered a new work. Should the Work be composed of several parts or volumes that have been separately published at intervals, each part or volume shall be deemed independent when computing the protection period.
8- The economic rights of the Performers shall be protected for a period of (50) fifty years commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which the performance has taken place. If the performance is fixed on a Sound Recording, the period shall be calculated as of the end of the year in which the Work has been fixed.
9- The economic rights of the Producers of Phonograms shall be protected for a period of fifty (50) commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which the recording has been published or the year in which the recording has been fixed, if not published.
10- The economic rights of Broadcasting Organisations shall be protected for a period of twenty (20) years commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which the radio and television programme was first broadcast.
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Actions to be Taken by the Court Against Infringing Works
Notwithstanding the provisions of Federal Law no. (11) of 1992, the Magistrate of Summary Justice of the Competent Civil Court may, at the request of the Author or his successor, and pursuant to an order on a petition, order the following procedures be taken in respect of each Work that has been published or displayed without written permission from the Author or his successor:
- Stopping the Publication, display, or production of the work.
- Effecting provisional seizure on the original or copies of the work, as well as on the materials that are used in re-publishing or reproducing such work, provided that such materials are not valid except for re-publishing or reproducing of the work.
- Evidencing Public Performance as regards playing, acting, or reciting a Work to the public and preventing the going display or prohibiting it in the future.
- Effecting provisional seizure on the revenue resulting from Publication or display.
- Proving the fact of the infringement of any of the rights protected in accordance with the provisions of this Decree-Law.
The Magistrate of Summary Justice may order the petitioner to deposit an appropriate surety, and the petitioner shall file a lawsuit as regards the dispute with the Civil Court within (20) twenty days following the issuance of the order, otherwise, it shall be deemed of no effect.
copyright protection in Dubai|Penalties
Article 39 1- Without prejudice to any more severe penalty provided for in any other law, a penalty of imprisonment for a period of no less than (2) two months and a fine of no less than (10,000) ten thousand dirhams and not more than (100,000) one hundred thousand dirhams, or by either of these two penalties, shall be imposed on whomever, without the written permission of the Author or the Holder of the Neighbouring Right, or their successors, commits any of the following acts:
a- Infringing one of the moral or economic rights of the Author or the Holder of the Neighbouring Right stipulated in this Decree-Law, including making public any work, performance, Sound Recording, or broadcast program that is covered by the protection stipulated in this Decree-Law, either through computers, internet, information and communication networks, or other means or devices.
b- Selling, renting, or putting into circulation, in any manner, a Work, Sound Recording, or broadcast protected under the provisions of this Decree-Law, and the penalty shall be multiplied by the multiplicity of the Work, performance, program, or recording, subject-matter of the crime.
2- In case of recidivism, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period of no less than six months and a fine of no less than (100,000) one hundred thousand dirhams and not more than (500,000) five hundred thousand dirhams.
Article 40 1- Without prejudice to any more severe penalty stipulated in any other law, a penalty of imprisonment for a period of no less than (6) six months and a fine of no less than (100,000) one hundred thousand dirhams and not more than (700,000) seven hundred thousand dirhams, or either of these two penalties, shall be imposed on whoever commits any of the following acts:
a- Unlawfully manufacturing or importing, for the purpose of sale, rental or circulation, any counterfeit Work or copies thereof, any apparatuses, equipment, devices or materials specially designed or prepared for defrauding protection or technology used by the Author or the Holder of the Neighbouring Right for transmitting, putting into circulation, regulating or managing such rights, or preserving a specific standard of purity of the copies.
b- Unlawfully disrupting or impairing any technical protection or electronic data aiming at regulating and managing the rights prescribed by this Decree-Law.
c- Downloading or storing in the computer any copy of the computer program or applications thereof or databases, without obtaining a license from the Author or right holder or successors thereof.
2- In case of recidivism, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period of no less than (9) nine months and a fine of no less than (500,000) five hundred thousand dirhams and not more than (1,000,000) one million dirhams.
Article 41 Whoever uses a computer program, applications, smart applications, or databases without prior permission from the Author or his successor, shall be punished with a fine of no less than (30,000) thirty thousand dirhams and not more than (100,000) one hundred thousand dirhams, for each program, application, or database.
In case of recidivism, the penalty shall be a fine of no less than (100,000) one hundred thousand dirhams, and not more than (1,000,000) one million dirhams. If the crime is committed in the name or for the account of a juristic person or a commercial or professional establishment, the court may order the closure thereof for a period not exceeding (3) three months.
Article 42 Without prejudice to the penalties prescribed in Articles (39), (40), and (41) of this Decree-Law, the court shall order the confiscation and destruction of counterfeit copies, the subject matter of the crime, or copies reproduced therefrom, as well as the confiscation of the equipment and devices used in the perpetration of the offense, and which cannot be used for any other purpose, and may order the closure of the establishment in which the counterfeiting has been committed, for a period not exceeding (6) six months and the Publication of the summary of the conviction judgment in one or more daily newspapers at the expense of the convict.
conclusion
To speak to us in relation to the copyright and related rights in Dubai, please feel free to contact one of the best lawyers in Dubai at Khairallah Advocates & Legal Consultants, which offers comprehensive business and corporate legal services, handling and advising on all aspects of UAE and international business transactions and serving as legal advisers implementing client values by working with them. Their in-house counsels yield a greater understanding of their needs and more effective management of their work.
