Copyright is the exclusive right granted to authors or artists over the literary or artistic works they create to publish, disseminate, assign or sell their work for a certain time. Copyright protection is granted for the expression of ideas and not for the ideas themselves. One person who has an idea about a flying horse communicates the idea to another who creates a sketch of it. Here copyright protection is given to the second person who expressed the idea of a flying horse through a sketch and not to the first person even though the original idea about the flying horse had come from him. Also, each different form of expression receives separate protection.
In the example mentioned above, if a third person looks at the sketch of the flying horse and writes a poem describing it, again this third person is granted separate copyright protection for their work. Here it is noted that the idea of the flying horse is one but the manner and form of expressing it varies from person to person. Two people can be inspired by the same idea and express it in their own original ways. It is essential that the expression is original.
In the example mentioned above, a fourth person who is inspired by the painting also composes a poem describing the flying horse, also granted copyright protection. The mode of expression of the third and fourth person is the same and both were inspired for the poem by the sketch of the flying horse, but their expression is original and comes from their own mind. If the fourth person had copied the third person’s poem, it would amount to infringement and would not be granted any copyright protection. The reason for granting protection only to expressions of ideas and not to the ideas themselves is that if one person is given a monopoly on ideas, this would greatly hamper various creative expressions. Also, there is no way to record and evidence the emergence of an idea in a person and therefore it would create confusion and lead to further violations.
According to the Berne Convention, all “literary and artistic works” are protected by copyright. The expression “literary and artistic works” according to article 2 of the Berne Convention includes all production in the literary, scientific and artistic field, whatever the mode or form of its expression, such as books, pamphlets and other writings; lectures, speeches, sermons and other works of the same nature; dramatic or dramatic-musical works; choreographic works and silent entertainment; musical compositions with or without lyrics; cinematographic works to which works expressed by a process analogous to cinematography are assimilated; works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving and lithography; photographic works to which those expressed by a process analogous to photography are assimilated; works of applied art; illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works related to geography, topography, architecture or science.
The Berne Convention also establishes that it is up to the laws of the country to decide the exact scope and extent of copyright protection that it will grant. This article analyzes the scope of copyright protection granted by the UAE through its federal law no. 7 of 2002 (hereinafter, “the law”).
Article 2 of the law establishes a list of works created by authors that will enjoy copyright protection. Authors, assignees and licensees, where appropriate, enjoy this protection. The list provided by law is as follows:
1. Books, brochures, articles and other written works.
2. Computer programs and applications, databases and similar works determined by a ministerial resolution.
3. Conferences, speeches, sermons and any other work of a similar nature.
4. Theatrical works, musical shows and pantomimes.
5. Musical compositions with or without lyrics.
6. Sound, visual or audiovisual works.
7. Architectural works, plans and engineering plans.
8. Works of line or color drawing, sculpture, engraving, lithography, printing on cloth, wood and metal, and any similar plastic works.
9. Photographic and similar works.
10. Works of applied arts and plastic arts.
11. Illustrations, geographical maps, sketches and three-dimensional works related to geography, topography or architecture and others.
12. Derivative works (works derived from other works, the poem that was inspired by the painting in the discussed example is considered a derivative work). The protection granted to the derivative work does not prejudice in any way the protection of the original work.
13. Title of the works when they contain innovation and creativity.
14. Write innovative broadcast shows.
Article 3 further defines the scope of copyright protection by specifying the works that are excluded from protection. It provides that protection is not granted to ideas, procedures, work methods, mathematical concepts, abstract principles and facts themselves. However, copyright protection is granted to the innovative expression thereof.
There are certain works that are intended for public use, and therefore allowing any monopoly right to any person in such works would be detrimental to the general public. Said works are enumerated by law as follows:
1. Official documents, regardless of their original language or the language in which they were reproduced, such as texts of laws, regulations, decisions, international conventions, judicial decisions, arbitration awards and decisions issued by administrative committees with judicial jurisdiction.
2. News and reports on incidents and current events that constitute mere informative releases.
3. Works that have entered the public domain.
No copyright protection may be granted to the information or content of such work, but protection may be granted to the creative expression thereof. Creative expressions can take the form of compilation, arrangement, or any other innovative method.
Copyright protection is granted from the date of the first publication of the work. It is not necessary for the work to be registered with the Ministry of Economy to receive protection. But the record of the work has better probative value and therefore recommendable.