UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Maria Farrukh Khan, Fatima Shah, Heera Sandeep and Essam Abdel Khaleq, United Trademark & Patent Services
The author must create work in letters, arts or sci - ences with original content. Works for hire belong to the employer if created with employer resources or in the course of employment; otherwise, the employee retains authorship. Only natural/legal persons can be authors; AI, ani - mals and non-humans are excluded. Joint authorship arises when contributions are inseparable. Co-authors include scenarists, composers, directors and modifi - ers. Equal authorship is presumed without agreement. Each author can exploit their portion if it does not affect the others and take infringement action. Owner - ship shares are modifiable by agreement. 3.4 Copyright Rights The Copyright Law grants economic and moral rights. Economic Rights These include reproduction, distribution, public per - formance, broadcasting, translation, adaptation, rental and other forms of exploitation, and may be licensed or assigned. Rights persist throughout the term. Moral Rights These are personal, perpetual and non-transferable, and include authorship claims, objection to harmful modifications and the decision on first publication/ withdrawal of the work (except software/apps). These rights are protected indefinitely. 3.5 Term of Protection and Termination Copyright protection terms are as follows: • literary, artistic and scientific works – author’s life plus 50 years; • joint works – 50 years after the death of the last surviving author; • anonymous/pseudonymous – 50 years from the first publication; • applied art – 25 years; • performances/sound recordings – 50 years from performance or fixation/publication; and • broadcasts – 20 years from the first broadcast. Rights expire automatically at the end of the term, and works then enter the public domain. Economic rights can be transferred or waived, whereas moral rights are
perpetual and cannot be waived. Unprotected works (ideas, methods, procedures, facts, laws, court judg - ments, news) have no rights. 3.6 Collective Rights Management Systems Collective management is governed by Articles 32–34 of the Copyright Law and Cabinet Resolution No 47 of 2022. Right-holders assign economic rights to licensed collective management organisations (CMOs), which require Ministry of Economy approval and must operate non-discriminatorily. Existing CMOs include: • the Emirates Music Rights Association (EMRA) – music performance, broadcasts and streaming royalties; • Music Nation – a licensed music CMO; and • the Emirates Reprographic Rights Manage - ment Association (ERRA) – copying/reproduction rights for printed works. Functions include licensing, royalty collection and distribution, governance, transparency and internal dispute resolution. Management cannot be refused without a legal basis. 3.7 Copyright Registration As a Berne Convention member, copyright arises automatically upon creation in the UAE, and registra - tion is not required. Registration with the Ministry of Economy, though optional, is recommended as proof of ownership. The Work Right Register maintained by the Ministry and is not publicly accessible. Authors, rights holders, neighbouring rights holders, successors and foreign applicants (who must use a licensed local IP firm) can register. There are no for - malities, and no notices or symbols are required. Reg - istration is solely for evidentiary purposes. 3.8 Copyright Application Requirements Applications are submitted online via the Ministry of Economy’s website. The required information (Article 2, Cabinet Resolution No 47 of 2022) includes: • work – title, type, description and language;
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