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In Brief: Intellectual Property Rights in the UAE
Protection of intellectual property is vital in the present world to safeguard its continuous growth and evolution. There exists a robust Intellectual Property regime when it comes to the UAE, influenced by the international treaties, such as the TRIPS Agreement and the WIPO Convention, to which the UAE is a signatory.
Copyrights: Copyrights are governed by the Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 On Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights. It includes innovative works of literature, music, theatre, architecture, photography, computer programs, speeches and lectures, audio-visual works, derivative works etc. As such, authors and creators can protect their works for their lifetime and an additional period of 50 years (Article 20, Copyrights Law).
The authors and creators as well as their universal successors have been afforded moral rights under Article 5 of the Copyrights Law, which include:
- The right to decide the first publication of the work
- The right to claim paternity over the work
- The right to prohibit modification of the work
- The right to request circulation of the work on justified reasons
- Stopping the publication
- Provisional seizure on the copies of work
- Provisional seizure on the revenue resulting from publication or display
- Evidencing public performance of the work and preventing the ongoing display
- Describing the infringement, the goods which are the subject-matter of the infringement, and the materials and tools used
- Imposing seizure on the materials and tools
- Preventing goods from entering commercial routes, and preventing their export
- Preserving any evidence related to the subject matter of the infringement