Civil Law and UAE Simple Copyright Issues

1. Introduction

Copyright law in the UAE protects original creative works and gives authors and right holders legal control over specified uses of those works.

The principal current legislation is Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights, which entered into force on 2 January 2022 and repealed the earlier Federal Law No. 7 of 2002. (UAE Legislation)

Copyright has a strong civil-law dimension because infringement can lead to:

injunctions and precautionary measures;

cessation of unauthorized use;

compensation;

seizure of infringing copies;

destruction of infringing materials;

accounting or recovery of profits in appropriate cases; and

contractual disputes concerning ownership and licensing.

The basic formula is:

Creation → Ownership → Exclusive right → Unauthorized use → Infringement → Remedy

2. What Is Copyright?

Copyright protects the expression of a creative work, rather than an abstract idea.

The UAE legislation covers, among other things:

books and written works;

software and smart applications;

databases;

lectures and speeches;

musical works;

audiovisual works;

architectural works;

drawings and designs;

photographs;

applied and plastic arts;

maps and illustrations; and

qualifying derivative works. (Wikisource)

Simple example

An idea such as:

"Create an app connecting students with tutors"

is not itself the same thing as copyright protection.

But the original software code, graphics, written content and other protected expression created for the application may receive copyright protection.

3. Copyright Does Not Protect Everything

Article 3 excludes certain categories, including:

ideas and procedures as such;

work techniques;

mathematical concepts and principles;

facts;

official documents such as laws and judgments;

purely factual news; and

works already in the public domain.

However, an innovative compilation, arrangement or selection may itself qualify for protection. (Wikisource)

Important distinction

Idea ≠ protected expression

For example:

idea for a novel → generally not protected as such;

actual original novel → potentially protected.

4. Registration Is Not the Source of Copyright Protection

A very important UAE principle is that failure to register a work does not automatically destroy copyright protection.

Article 4 provides for registration and records concerning works and ownership, but expressly states that failure to register does not prejudice the protection or rights established under the law. (Wikisource)

Therefore:

Creation of a qualifying work is more important than merely obtaining a registration certificate.

Registration can nevertheless be highly useful as evidence of ownership and the history of the work.

5. Moral Rights

Copyright has both moral and economic dimensions.

Under Article 5, moral rights include rights concerning:

first publication;

attribution to the author;

objection to distortion or modification that harms the author's reputation; and

in appropriate circumstances, requesting withdrawal of a work from circulation.

The legislation treats these moral rights as personal rights that are not subject to prescription or assignment in the ordinary way. (Wikisource)

Example

An artist creates a painting.

A company acquires economic rights to exploit it.

That does not necessarily mean another person can falsely claim:

"I am the artist."

Authorship and economic exploitation are different questions.

6. Economic Rights

Economic rights concern the commercial exploitation of a work.

They can include rights relating to:

reproduction;

publication;

distribution;

communication to the public;

performance;

translation;

adaptation; and

other legally protected forms of exploitation.

The commercial value of copyright often lies in the ability to license these rights.

7. Copyright Assignment vs Licence

These concepts should be separated.

Assignment

An assignment generally transfers specified economic rights.

Licence

A licence gives another person permission to use specified rights while ownership may remain with the original right holder.

Example

A photographer owns photographs.

He gives a magazine a licence:

"The magazine may publish these photographs once in its UAE edition."

The magazine does not necessarily acquire ownership of the copyright merely because it has permission to publish.

8. Copyright and Contracts

Many UAE copyright disputes are actually copyright + contract disputes.

For example:

A company hires a developer to create software.

The parties later disagree about:

who owns the source code;

whether the developer transferred the economic rights;

whether the company has an exclusive licence;

whether the developer can reuse the software;

whether the contract covers future updates.

Therefore, the court may have to examine:

Copyright statute + employment/contract relationship + contractual wording + evidence.

This issue is particularly important in software and commissioned creative works.

9. Employee-Created Works

A common copyright question is:

Who owns work created by an employee?

The answer cannot always be obtained simply by asking who physically created the work.

Courts may need to consider:

the employment relationship;

the employee's duties;

the employer's instructions;

supervision and control;

resources provided by the employer;

contractual provisions; and

the applicable copyright statute.

This issue has been considered in UAE jurisprudence concerning employee-created works.

10. Software Copyright

Software is expressly included within the UAE copyright framework. (Wikisource)

Common disputes include:

unauthorized copying;

unauthorized installation;

source-code copying;

unauthorized distribution;

copying software for multiple users;

use beyond the licence;

database copying; and

unauthorized modification.

The current law also specifically addresses unauthorized downloading or storing of software, software applications and databases. (UAE Legislation)

11. Copyright Infringement

A simple copyright infringement analysis can be written as:

Step 1 — Protected work

Is there a legally protected work?

Step 2 — Ownership

Who owns the relevant right?

Step 3 — Protected right

What exclusive right is being relied upon?

Step 4 — Unauthorized act

Did another person reproduce, distribute, communicate, adapt or otherwise exploit the work without authorization?

Step 5 — Evidence

Can the claimant establish the copying/use?

Step 6 — Remedy

What civil or statutory remedy is appropriate?

12. Copyright Infringement Through the Internet

Digital technology has made infringement easier.

Examples include:

uploading another person's photographs;

copying an online course;

distributing pirated software;

uploading films without authorization;

copying music;

copying website content;

reproducing digital illustrations;

unauthorized use of videos; and

distributing copyrighted material through social-media platforms.

The physical location of the server is not necessarily the only relevant factor. Jurisdiction, governing law, contractual arrangements and location of infringement may all become important.

13. Copyright and AI

Modern copyright disputes can also involve AI.

Potential issues include:

training AI systems using copyrighted works;

AI-generated adaptations;

copying protected material into prompts;

ownership of AI-assisted outputs;

infringement through automated reproduction;

database use; and

attribution.

The current UAE Copyright Law expressly protects qualifying software, applications and databases, but not every AI-generated output automatically qualifies as a copyrighted work. The specific facts and human creative contribution may therefore matter.

14. Civil Remedies

Article 43 expressly provides that the author or right holder may claim compensation when moral or economic rights are infringed, according to the general rules. (Visit Dubai)

The law also provides important precautionary measures.

Under Article 35, a competent civil court judge may, upon the appropriate application, order measures such as:

suspending publication or manufacture;

seizure of originals or copies;

preventing continued public performance;

attachment of revenues;

establishing evidence of infringement.

The applicant must then commence the substantive case within the statutory period where required. (UAE Legal Notes)

15. Compensation

Compensation is particularly important from a civil-law perspective.

The claimant may need to establish:

Right + infringement + damage + causal connection

Possible economic consequences may include:

lost licensing revenue;

lost profits;

unauthorized exploitation;

damage to commercial interests; and

other legally established losses.

In some circumstances, courts may also consider profits attributable to infringement.

16. Six Important UAE Copyright Cases

A caution is important here: published UAE decisions specifically applying the 2021 Copyright Law are still relatively limited. Some important authorities concern the earlier copyright legislation because the disputed works or conduct pre-dated the 2021 Law. They remain useful for understanding UAE copyright principles but should not be treated as decisions interpreting provisions that did not yet exist.

Case 1 — Federal Supreme Court Decision No. 51/2013

Issue: Employee-created works and ownership

This UAE Federal Supreme Court authority is cited in academic analysis of UAE copyright jurisprudence concerning the relationship between creation, employment and economic ownership.

Principle

The person who physically creates a work is not necessarily the only question.

The court may need to examine:

employment;

duties;

employer direction;

supervision;

resources; and

statutory ownership rules.

Importance

This is particularly relevant to:

software developers;

designers;

architects;

advertising employees;

photographers; and

other creative employees.

The case is an older-law authority, so the current 2021 statute must be checked for the precise present-day rule. (Law Gratis)

Case 2 — Federal Supreme Court Decision No. 377/2014

Issue: Employment and economic copyright

This decision is also cited in UAE copyright scholarship concerning copyright ownership in an employment context.

The relevant inquiry can involve:

who created the work;

the nature of employment;

employer supervision;

direction;

resources; and

contractual arrangements.

Principle

Physical creation and legal ownership are not necessarily identical concepts.

This is especially important where an employee creates material during employment.

Again, because the decision predates the current 2021 legislation, its historical statutory context must be respected. (Law Gratis)

Case 3 — Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation Decision No. 197/2015

Issue: Employment-related copyright ownership

This Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation authority is likewise cited in discussions of UAE copyright ownership involving employment.

The case illustrates the importance of determining:

Under what legal and contractual circumstances was the work created?

The court's analysis cannot necessarily be reduced to simply:

"Person X physically created it, therefore Person X owns everything."

The applicable statutory rules and contractual relationship must be examined. (Law Gratis)

Case 4 — Business Software Alliance v National Engineering Company

Issue: Software copying

This Dubai copyright litigation concerned allegations that software had been copied and used without proper authorization.

The dispute illustrates the difficulty of proving software infringement, including questions concerning:

authorization;

number of copies;

licensing;

actual use;

technical evidence; and

statutory interpretation.

The reported Dubai Court of Cassation outcome was in favour of the company accused in that particular case. (Gulf News)

Principle

Copyright infringement must be established through evidence; an allegation of copying is not automatically sufficient.

This case is especially useful for understanding software licensing disputes.

Case 5 — Albulaihid & El Shafaei v Shehata & Others [2023] DIFC CFI 079

Issue: Software authorship and ownership

This is a particularly useful modern UAE-connected authority.

The DIFC Court considered questions of:

authorship;

initial ownership;

software;

collective work;

UAE copyright law; and

the temporal application of copyright legislation.

The Court concluded that UAE law was the law with the closest and most real connection to the creation of the relevant software. It further held that because the software was created before the 2021 Law entered into force, the 2002 copyright legislation governed authorship and initial ownership of rights arising at that time. (DIFC Courts)

Principle

Copyright law generally does not retrospectively change ownership rights that had already arisen under an earlier statute unless the legislature clearly provides otherwise.

Importance

This case is highly useful for:

software disputes;

employee/contractor ownership;

multi-party development;

applicable-law questions; and

transition from the 2002 Law to the 2021 Law.

Jurisdiction note: This is a DIFC Court decision, so it is not a binding mainland UAE precedent.

Case 6 — Miran v Motab [2023] DIFC SCT 213

Issue: Profits from digital copyright exploitation

The claimant owned artistic/music content that had been distributed through digital platforms.

The DIFC Small Claims Tribunal dealt with the financial consequences of the infringement, rather than reopening the underlying copyright liability that had already been determined in Saudi Arabia.

The Court awarded AED 14,223.99 in gross profits attributable to the relevant infringement period and also awarded the claimant AED 7,500 representing the expert cost. (DIFC Courts)

Principle

Copyright disputes involving digital content can involve an accounting of revenue or profits attributable to unauthorized exploitation.

Importance

This is particularly relevant to:

music streaming;

online platforms;

digital publishing;

social-media content;

video distribution; and

other digital copyright businesses.

Jurisdiction note: This is a DIFC decision involving a contractual arrangement governed by DIFC law and a foreign copyright judgment. It should not be treated as a general binding precedent for mainland UAE copyright cases. (DIFC Courts)

Case 7 — Dubai Video-Game Copyright Litigation, Court of Cassation, 2024

Issue: Video-game ownership and contractual copyright claims

A major Dubai copyright dispute concerned a UAE publisher's claim against a US video-game company.

The litigation involved:

ownership of a popular video game;

different versions and updates;

contractual relationships;

copyright;

technical evidence; and

multiple jurisdictions.

The Dubai Court of Cassation ultimately upheld the rejection of the publisher's approximately US$100 million claim, while the publisher was ordered to pay approximately AED 18.7 million to the game creator/company according to contemporary reporting. (Gulf News)

Principle

In complex digital copyright litigation, courts may need to examine contracts, ownership documents, technical evidence and the actual history of creation and development, rather than merely asking who currently possesses the digital product.

17. Case-Law Comparison

18. Simple Copyright Examples

Example 1 — Photograph

A photographer takes an original photograph.

A company downloads it from social media and uses it in paid advertising without permission.

Possible issues:

copyright ownership;

reproduction;

communication/public use;

unauthorized commercial exploitation;

compensation.

Example 2 — Software

A company buys 10 software licences.

It installs the software on 100 computers without authorization.

Potential issues include:

licence breach;

copyright infringement;

unauthorized reproduction/use;

contractual liability; and

statutory remedies.

Example 3 — Employee Design

An employee designs a logo during employment.

After leaving the company, the employee claims:

"I personally created it, so I can sell it to someone else."

The legal answer requires examination of:

employment terms;

duties;

contractual provisions;

applicable copyright rules;

ownership arrangements; and

the circumstances of creation.

Example 4 — YouTube Video

A person copies another creator's entire video and uploads it to another channel.

Potential issues include:

reproduction;

communication to the public;

unauthorized exploitation;

moral rights;

economic rights; and

compensation.

19. Copyright vs Trademark vs Patent

One product can involve all three.

For example, a mobile application may have:

Copyright → source code and graphics

Trademark → application name/logo

Patent → potentially qualifying technical invention

20. Copyright and Civil Law

Copyright legislation operates alongside general civil-law principles.

A dispute may therefore contain several causes of action:

Copyright

Unauthorized exploitation of protected work.

Contract

Violation of licence or assignment agreement.

Tort/civil liability

Damage caused by unlawful conduct.

Unjust enrichment

Potential recovery where one party has improperly benefited, subject to the applicable requirements.

Evidence

Proof of ownership, copying, authorization and damage.

Therefore:

Copyright law supplies the special protection; civil law supplies important general principles concerning obligations, damage, causation and compensation.

21. Important Documents in a Copyright Dispute

A copyright claimant should preserve:

original files;

source code;

metadata;

drafts;

dated versions;

contracts;

employment agreements;

licences;

assignment documents;

invoices;

registration records;

emails;

platform records;

screenshots;

expert reports; and

evidence of unauthorized use.

For digital copyright disputes, technical evidence can be particularly important.

22. Quick Copyright Checklist

When analysing a UAE copyright dispute, ask:

What is the work?

Is it protected?

Who created it?

Who owns the economic rights?

What moral rights exist?

Was there an assignment or licence?

What exactly did the defendant do?

Was authorization given?

Can copying or unauthorized use be proved?

What damage or profits resulted?

What precautionary measure is available?

What compensation or other remedy is available?

23. Key Principles for Examination

Copyright protects original creative expression, not every underlying idea.

The UAE's principal current copyright statute is Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021. (UAE Legislation)

Copyright can cover software, databases, photographs, music, films, writing and architectural works. (Wikisource)

Registration is not generally the source of copyright protection. (Wikisource)

Moral rights and economic rights are distinct.

Economic rights can be commercially licensed or transferred subject to the law.

Employment and contractual arrangements can be crucial in determining ownership.

Software copying can create both contractual and copyright issues.

Digital exploitation can produce claims based on revenue or profits. (DIFC Courts)

Copyright infringement can justify civil precautionary measures. (UAE Legal Notes)

A right holder can claim compensation for infringement of moral and economic rights. (Visit Dubai)

Older copyright cases must be read in light of the legislation applicable when the relevant work or infringement occurred.

24. Exam-Ready Conclusion

UAE copyright law protects creative works by giving authors and right holders moral and economic rights and providing remedies against unauthorized exploitation. The modern framework is Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021, supported by its implementing framework.

The most useful analytical formula is:

Protected Work → Author/Owner → Economic/Moral Right → Unauthorized Use → Infringement → Damage/Profit → Civil Remedy

The major UAE cases also demonstrate that copyright disputes are not limited to simple copying. They frequently involve employee ownership, software licensing, contractual assignments, digital platforms, technical evidence, applicable law and calculation of financial consequences.

Revision line:

“In UAE copyright law, identify the protected work, establish authorship and ownership, determine the exclusive right involved, prove unauthorized exploitation, and then identify the appropriate civil and statutory remedy.”