Copyright Laws and Brand Protection in United Arab Emirates: Everything you need to know
Copyright is a term we use casually in everyday conversation, but few people actually understand how copyright law works, especially in the context of the United Arab Emirates.
What is copyright?
Copyright is legal recognition of the effort an artist or author puts into expressing an original idea through their craft. Holding a copyright means having the exclusive legal right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, and create copies of that original work.
With rapid technological advancement and a rise in cybercrime, protecting and enforcing copyright law has become increasingly complex.
In the UAE, copyright protection is governed by Federal Law No. 7 of 2002, which covers a wide range of original and tangible works including books, lectures, musical compositions, architectural drawings, photographs, computer software, and other similar creations.
Read more: https://abounaja.com/blog/what-is-copyright-a-complete-introduction-to-copyrights-and-why-they-matter
What are the Performer's Copyright?
The essence of copyright in the UAE is spread between two brackets – copyright and related or neighboring rights. While the UAE law interchangeably uses “Related rights” and “Neighboring rights”, both essentially pertain to allied rights that safeguard the legal interests of particular classes of individuals, who are associated with cultural performances, such as broadcasters, performing artists, and phonogram producers. In 2016, the UAE announced that it is considering establishing a committee for the purpose of providing licenses to music performers and acquiring royalties on behalf of composers.
Moral Rights vs. Economic Rights
UAE copyright law recognizes two distinct categories of rights:
- Economic rights is the right to reproduce, distribute, adapt, translate, publicly perform, or otherwise commercially exploit the work. These rights can be licensed, sold, or transferred.
- Moral rights is the right of the author to be credited for the work and to object to any distortion, mutilation, or modification that would harm their reputation. These rights are personal to the author, generally perpetual, and cannot be assigned or waived even if the economic rights are sold.
Businesses acquiring content, software, or creative work should keep this distinction in mind: buying or licensing a work does not extinguish the original creator's moral rights over it.
What Does UAE Copyright Law Protect?
Categories of protected work typically include:
- Books, articles, and written works
- Computer programs, software, and databases
- Photographs and audiovisual works
- Musical compositions and sound recordings
- Architectural drawings and designs
- Lectures, sermons, and spoken works
- Applied art and works of drawing, sculpture, and design
One important distinction: copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Two businesses can pursue the same concept, but the specific way each expresses it, the text, code, design, or creative execution, is what the law protects.
What is the Process for Copyright Registration in the UAE?
Copyright in the UAE is protected automatically the moment a work is created. That said, filing your work with the Ministry of Economy strengthens your legal position by creating an official record of ownership. We've covered the full registration process, documents, and requirements separately here: Copyright Registration in UAE.
Copyright Infringement Under UAE Law
Using, reproducing, distributing, or adapting copyrighted work without the rights holder's permission constitutes infringement.
Common examples businesses and creators encounter in the UAE include:
- Unauthorized reproduction or resale of software, e-books, or digital media
- Copying website content, product descriptions, or marketing material
- Using copyrighted images, music, or video without a license
- Plagiarizing written or creative work
- Unauthorized use of architectural or design plans
Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 provides for significant penalties for infringement, including fines and imprisonment, with harsher penalties for repeat offenders. Courts can also order the seizure and destruction of infringing copies, along with compensation for damages suffered by the rights holder. Here are some more copyright infringement cases that you can read.
