SOMALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Fahad Arteh, Just Legal Services
3.3 Copyright Authorship Authorship is attributed to the natural person who cre - ates a work. The law does not recognise authorship for works that are not produced by a human creator. Joint authorship arises when two or more authors collaborate in creating a work and their contribu - tions form a single, integrated whole. In such cases, each joint author holds rights in the entire work, and any exploitation of it generally requires agreement between all co‑authors, unless they have arranged otherwise. Where the individual contributions are dis - tinct and separable, each author retains rights only in their own contribution. The law also recognises works created within the scope of employment or commissions, including those produced for the state or public institutions. In practice, ownership of these works is primarily deter - mined by the terms of the relevant contract, as legisla - tion does not set out a comprehensive default regime governing works created by employees or commis - sioned creators. 3.4 Copyright Rights The 1977 Law grants authors both economic and mor - al rights. Economic rights include the exclusive abil - ity to reproduce, publish, distribute, translate, adapt, perform, broadcast, and otherwise communicate the work to the public. Moral rights include the right to be identified as the author and the right to object to any distortion, mutilation, or other modification of the work that could harm the author’s honour or reputation. Moral rights are personal to the author and are sepa - rate from economic rights. These rights arise automat - ically under the law and remain in force for the entire duration of copyright protection, subject to statutory limitations and permitted uses. 3.5 Term of Protection and Termination According to the Copyright Law of 1977, copyright protection for literary, artistic, and scientific works lasts for the lifetime of the author plus 30 years after their death. In the case of joint authorship, the term is calculated based on the death of the last surviving author.
For anonymous or pseudonymous works, as well as works owned by legal entities, the duration of protec - tion is determined by the date of publication or public disclosure, in accordance with statutory provisions. Once the statutory term expires, the work enters the public domain. The law does not provide an author termination right similar to those found in some common-law jurisdic - tions. Economic rights end upon the expiration of the statutory protection period or under circumstances explicitly defined by law, while moral rights continue to be protected as prescribed by statute. 3.6 Collective Rights Management Systems The 1977 Law envisions the collective management of copyright in certain sectors, particularly for music and public performances. However, Somalia does not currently have a fully functioning collective rights man - agement organisation. As a result, collective licensing and royalty collection remain limited in practice. Rights holders typically manage and enforce their rights individually through contractual agreements, direct licensing, or legal action. 3.7 Copyright Registration Copyright protection arises automatically when a qualifying work is created; registration is not required for rights to exist. Although the law provides for a cop - yright register and a legal deposit system – requiring publishers to deposit copies of works with designated public institutions – there is currently no fully opera - tional or publicly accessible registration system. As a result, registration is not commonly used to establish or enforce rights. Copyright may be held by both individuals and legal entities. Foreign authors are also eligible for protection under the conditions set out in the statute. However, because there is no functioning registration frame - work, foreign rights holders rarely pursue formal reg - istration. 3.8 Copyright Application Requirements The 1977 Law establishes formal requirements for copyright registration and legal deposit, including the
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