United States, UAE & International Copyright

U.S. Copyright

AUS considers U.S. Copyright law as a matter of university practice since most materials in the library originate in the U.S. The U.S. Copyright Office is the best source of current information on the law. Copyright is covered under Title 17 of the United States Code. 

UAE Copyright

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. Article 22 lists some fair use-type exceptions.

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).

International Copyright

There is no international copyright law, just international copyright treaties. The best source of information on these treaties is the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The Berne Convention is the main international treaty on copyright. 165 countries have signed this treaty including the UAE and the US. All signatory countries must follow the minimum standard of copyright protection rules laid out in the treaty, but each country is free to add stricter rules or make specific exceptions. 

One of the key points of Berne is automatic protection: a work does not need to be registered, intellectual property (IP) rights are granted automatically and are equally protected in every signatory country. Under Berne, copyright is protected for the life of the creator plus 50 years; many countries, including the U.S. and E.U., follow life plus 75 years. Another key rule in the Berne Convention is national treatment: each country has to give foreigners IP protection that is no less favorable than the protection granted to its own people.