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On September 26, 2021, as part of the largest legislative reform in the history of the UAE, Federal Decree Law No. (38) of 2021 in relation to the protection of Copyrights & Neighbouring Rights ("New Copyright Law") was published in the annex of Official Gazette No. 712. The New Copyright Law came into force on January 2, 2022, repealing and replacing Federal Decree Law No. (7) of 2002 Concerning Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (“Old Copyright Law”), and has introduced several significant changes to the legal framework aimed at adapting to the growing digital landscape in the region.
The Executive Regulations that supplement the New Copyright Law, expected to be published later in the year, will provide further clarity on the practical implementation of the New Copyright Law.
Some of the key changes to the New Copyright Law is outlined below.
Article 2 of the New Copyright Law expands the scope of ‘Protected Works’ to specifically cover "smart applications”. In the Old Copyright Law, there was only reference to computer program and its applications, databases and similar works.
However, the New Copyright Law does not provide a definition for smart applications, making it difficult to ascertain what it will include. At this moment, it is not entirely clear if “smart applications” will cover all mobile apps generally or only those which relate to Internet of Things.
With regard to an author’s moral rights to recall the Work from circulation, note the New Copyright Law excludes smart applications computer program and its applications from such right to call.
New Copyright Law expands the scope of “Protected Works” to cover "smart applications”.
Article 22 of the New Copyright law expands the fair use to permit copying that is an incidental and inseparable part of the transmission of the work between parties or within a process that digitally stores and accesses the work as fair-use. Article 22 specifies that the copying of such transmission of process will be considered fair-use only to the extent it is performed:
by a person licensed by the right holder, or is conducted in accordance with applicable law; and
in a manner that ensures the automatic deletion of the copy and renders it irretrievable for purposes other than the transmission and processing stated above.
Additionally, in line with the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, as adopted by the Diplomatic Conference of the WIPO, Article 23 of the New Copyright Law includes a fair-use exception authorising the reproduction of copyrighted works in an alternate manner or format that enables a visually impaired person to easily and smoothly access the work in the following cases:
A visually impaired person or his representative prepares copies for personal use.
A non-profit organization that provides services of education, training, and reading, or otherwise grants access to information to the visually impaired, prepares copies of the work without introducing any unnecessary changes that are unauthorised by the author with the objective of making the work available for visually impaired individuals inside and outside the UAE.
Article 45 of the New Copyright Law provides that where an agreement is made with a person to capture a photo or make an audio or video recording, such person may not keep, show or publish the original or copies of such photos or recordings without the consent of the subject of such photo or recordings. The New Copyright Law provides the following exceptions to consent for the publication of photographs, provided the publication or circulation of the photograph will not offend the honour or reputation of the subject of the photograph:
Incidents occurring in public, unless publication is banned by the relevant authority.
Coverage or photography or videography of government events and activities organised for the public at a public place
Where permitted by a competent authority for public interest.
In addition to the above, where a photograph is taken as a result of the performance of a job, the New Copyright Law also allows the subject of photographs, their successors, or their representative to authorise the publication of the photograph through any means or to other utilise the photograph even without the authorisation of the photographer, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
For further information, please contact Mariam Sabet and Krishna Jhala.
Published in June 2022
