Copyright

As liable members of the American University of Sharjah, faculty, staff and students are obligated to abide by the provisions of the copyright law as far as possible.

Penalties for Copyright Infringement

Under UAE law, infringement of rightsholders’ economic or moral rights “gives rise to criminal liability and provides for imprisonment and penalties ranging from AED 10,000 to AED 1,000,000. Criminal liability even extends to those who alter digital rights management information or who deal in devices intended to circumvent technological protection measures.”

(Source: The Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association, Copyright Guide, 2025. Reproduced with permission)
 

Our Services

AUS Library offers the following services to AUS faculty, students, and staff:

• Providing information about UAE and International copyright laws
• Answering copyright questions
• Helping faculty use copyrighted materials in the classroom legally
• Obtaining permissions for use of copyrighted materials for educational use
• Arranging coursepacks and case studies

Please note that the information on the website is not meant to be legal advice.

Contact Us: copyright@aus.edu

Copyright is a form of legal protection that covers both published and unpublished works such as books, sound or video recordings, art works, photographs and other printed or digital material. The copyright owner of a work could be the author, the publisher or any other person or entity having legal ownership. In most cases, permission must be obtained from the current copyright owner in order to use any of these works.

Copyright can be a complex issue but it’s very important that we try to understand how it works so copyrighted materials can be used legally at AUS. Although we provide services to help you comply with copyright law, the ultimate responsibility for respecting copyright rests with you.

Here at AUS we consider UAE copyright law. Please use this guide to learn more about copyright practices at AUS and email copyright@aus.edu if you have any questions.

Most UAE copyright law is based on Federal Decree-Law No. 38 (2021), which builds upon Federal Law No. 7 (2002) Amended by Law No. 32 for the year 2006 Regarding Copyright & Related Rights. 

Cabinet Decision No.47 (2022) clarifies the registration, management, and licensing of copyrights. In the UAE, these activities are under the jurisdiction of the Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association (ERRA).

Limitations and exceptions

Article 22 of UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 38 (2021) lists the limitations and exceptions of copyright law. These are cases where people may use copyrighted works without needing permissions. These include:

• You can make one personal, non-commercial copy of a work, except for:
  • Fine and applied arts unless publicly displayed with permission.
  • Architecture permanently located in public places.
  • Software, applications, and databases (except as stated below).
• Software, applications, and databases can be copied by the rightful owner for personal use, within license limits, or for backup if the original is lost or unusable. Any backup must be deleted if ownership ends.
• Short quotes, excerpts, or analyses can be used for criticism, discussion, or information, as long as the author and source are credited.
• Performing a work is allowed in family gatherings or educational settings if no fees are charged.
• Public art (fine, applied, plastic, or architectural) can be shown in broadcasts if it is permanently in a public place.

No Exceptions for Copying in Educational Institutions

“Unlike in the United States of America, the copyright law of the UAE does not provide exceptions for using literary works-such as books, articles, and essays-in educational institutions without obtaining authorization from the rightsholder. Fair dealing in the UAE copyright law should not be confused with the broader concept of "fair use" in the USA which is not relevant in the UAE. In the U.S.A., certain classroom uses can qualify as fair use, but the UAE law does not include similar provisions. There is no general right for educational institutions to reproduce copyrighted materials for students or faculty. Even copying short parts for educational purposes requires a license under UAE copyright law. For example, if a lecturer wants to include specific pages or chapters from a work in their course materials, they must obtain the appropriate license from the rightsholders.” 

(Source: The Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association, Copyright Guide, 2025. Reproduced with permission)

“The UAE is a signatory to various international copyright agreements and treaties such as the Berne Convention and WIPO Copyright Treaty. International copyright protection is established based on the principle of 'national treatment' outlined in such conventions. This means that each member country grants the same rights to nationals from other member countries as it provides to its own citizens under its domestic laws. So, when an original work is created in the UAE, it is protected by the local laws of the UAE and automatically enjoys copyright protection in other participating countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia. Likewise, works originating from and/or first published in those countries are also protected in the UAE as per the local laws of the UAE. 

The UAE copyright law has many similarities with the copyright laws in other nations. The international treaties and agreements set minimum standards of protection that participating countries must follow. However, there can be notable differences, especially regarding copyright duration, ownership, and exceptions to infringement. To understand the copyright protection offered in a specific country, it is important to examine that country's copyright laws. Therefore, any use of copyrighted materials in the UAE, including foreign materials, is subject to the local laws of the UAE.”

(Source: The Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association, Copyright Guide, 2025. Reproduced with permission)
 

Showing a video, movie, or DVD in a face-to-face classroom setting is allowed under Fair Use, provided that:

• The teaching activities are conducted by a non-profit education institution
• The performance is in connection with face-to-face teaching activities.
• The performance takes place in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction.
• The person responsible for the performance has no reason to believe that the videotape was unlawfully made.
• Taped broadcast television: may be shown up to 45 days after the date of recording. After this period, off-air recordings must be erased or destroyed. (https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED232644)
• Netflix permits one-time educational screenings provided the film is a Netflix Original. To find out which titles are available for educational screenings, check that the item is listed as “Global Original” at the Netflix Media Center. AUS Library cannot provide Netflix access; faculty need to use their own Netflix accounts.
• Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, and OSN+ do not include provisions for educational screenings of their videos.
• YouTube and other online videos: Before showing a video or clip, it is the faculty’s responsibility to verify the website’s policy or the copyright statement that appears with the video. Many videos available from websites such as YouTube and the CBC have usage restrictions. In addition, many videos may not be posted with the permission of the actual copyright owner, and therefore cannot be used without obtaining special permission.
• AUS Library has a subscription to Academic Video Online, which provides films, documentaries, interviews, performances and news programs that can be shown in class.
• Audio clips and podcasts can be used in class for educational purposes. You can also post a link on iLearn. However, this is only OK if the site allows for free downloads.

Streaming Video Reserves – AUS Library offers a service for Faculty to encode material to digital format for use in iLearn.

Refer to https://libguides.ala.org/copyright/video for more information on Classroom use of videos.

AUS Library ILL service adheres to guidelines developed by the Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU):

• The CONTU guidelines only apply to publications that are less than five years old.
• Libraries may provide one article, per issue, per patron without requesting copyright permission; you must request copyright permission and pay any applicable royalty fees for the second and subsequent copies.
• The borrowing library may receive copies of up to five articles from a single periodical title (as opposed to a single issue) per calendar year. Starting with the sixth copy, copyright permission and royalty fees may be required.
• No more than five copies of articles, chapters or other small portions of a non-periodical work may be received by a library in a given calendar year, during the entire period of copyright of the book. Starting with the sixth copy, copyright permission and royalty fees may be required.

Source: Interlibrary Loan: Copyright Guidelines and Best Practices

You can post links to articles and e-books that are available electronically through the AUS library. Linking is always the best solution because it avoids most copyright issues and the links can stay in iLearn for multiple semesters. For instructions on how to link to library resources please see our Linking to Resources page. You may also post links to freely available/open access material on the Internet.

Videos have to be streamed on iLearn, not made available for download. For more on the library’s streaming procedures please see our Streaming Video Reserves page. 

If you want to post a document or PDF, such as a scanned excerpt from a print book or an article uploaded from a library database, you need to contact copyright@aus.edu so our copyright team can check the permissions. Please follow this procedure before uploading library materials onto iLearn or integrated applications:

• Do we have access to the online version? Provide a link instead.
• Can the library purchase the e-book version? We will opt for that instead. See our Suggest A Book request form.
• Email copyright@aus.edu to request permission. We can scan the work and add the necessary citation and terms of use disclaimer to the PDF.