Copyright law of Syria

Copyright law in Syria is regulated by the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law issued by Legislative Decree No. 62 of 2013.[1] The Syrian Ministry of Culture, through its Copyright Office, is generally in charge of proposing copyright legislation to Parliament.[2]

History

On January 17, 1924, during the French Mandate over Syria and Lebanon, Decree 2385 was issued in which Article 145 defined works of art and literature as intellectual production.[3]

On February 23, 1987, the Arab Society for Intellectual Property was founded, known at the time as the Arab Society for the Protection of Industrial Property with the mission of "promoting and developing Intellectual Property protection in the Arab world...".[4] At the time, Syria was on the board alongside nine other Arab states.[4] As of August 2017, Syria has one representative on the Society's board.[5]

Syria's first copyright law was issued in 2001.[6] This law was repealed in 2013 by Legislative Decree No. 62 of 2013 on Law for the Protection of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights.[1]

Main features

The Syrian copyright law grants copyright protection automatically without the need for any formalities to all literary, scientific, and artistic works irrespective of the value of the work, the purpose for which it was created or whether or not it is reduced to a material form. The law protects all forms of human expression including computer software and databases.[7] In addition to the classic forms of copyright protection, the law also protects neighbouring rights such as performers rights,[8] audio-visual producers rights,[9] and broadcasting rights.[10] The law also provides a mechanism for compulsory licensing[11] and a collective rights management.[12]

Exclusive rights

The Syrian copyright law provides a number of moral and economic rights.

Moral rights

The Syrian copyright law provides the author with following moral rights:[13]

  • The right to decide the publication of the work for the first time and the method and timing of this publication.
  • The right to attribute the work to himself, to choose not to disclose his identity, or to use an pseudonym.
  • The right to reject any mutilation or change applied to his work.
  • The right to reject any interference with his work in a way that affects his honour or reputation.
  • The right to stop the circulation of his work if serious reasons emerged to justify this action.

Economic rights

The Syrian copyright law provides the author with the following economic rights:[14]

  • The right to copy the work using any medium.
  • The right to translate a work, arrange it musically, or adapt into any other way.
  • The right to distribute the work to the work by sale or any other disposition.
  • The right to publicly perform the work.
  • The right to make the work available to the public using the internet or any other method.

Moral rights under the Syrian law are protected in perpetuity, but economic rights last only for a specific period of time as follows:

  • Generally, all works are protected for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years.[15]
  • Audio visual works and collective works are protected for 50 years from the date of publication, if not published within 50 years from creation, then they are protected for 50 years from the date of creation.[16]
  • Applied art works are protected for 25 years from the date of the creation of the work.[17]
  • Databases are protected for 15 years from the date of the creation of the database.[18]

Syria is a member to following copyright treaties:

References
  1. "Legislative Decree No. 62 of 2013". Legislative Decree 132/2008. General Organization of Radio and TV. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  2. "Legal Provisions | Heritage for Peace". www.heritageforpeace.org. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  3. IFACCCA. "Syria : 5.1 General legislation : 5.1.7 Copyright provisions". www.worldcp.org. Archived from the original on 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  4. "Arab Society for Intellectual Property | ASIP's Foundation". www.aspip.org. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  5. "Arab Society for Intellectual Property | ASIP's Board of Directors". www.aspip.org. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  6. Law No. 12 of 2001 Relating to the Protection of Copyright
  7. Article 2 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  8. Article 25 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  9. Article 27 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  10. Article 28 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  11. Article 47 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  12. Article 49 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  13. Article 5 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  14. Article 6 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  15. Article 20 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  16. Article 21 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  17. Article 23 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  18. Article 24 of the Syrian Copyright Law
  19. Membership to Berne Convention on WIPO
  20. Membership to Rome Convention on WIPO
  21. Membership to Beijing Treaty on WIPO
  22. Membership to Marrakesh Treaty on WIPO
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