When is copying a copyrighted work justified?
16 December 2022
Manasi Dicholkar
Doctrine of Fair Use under Copyright Law in the UAE
A fair use exception to a creator's rights that allows for the
restricted use of copyrighted material without the author's permission. The
fair use principle prevents a rigorous application of copyright law, which
would be counterproductive to copyright's main objective of fostering creation.
In UAE Article 23 of the legislation defines 'fair use' as the
reproduction of a work. In certain circumstances, the law allows for the
copying of a copyrighted work without infringing on an author's intellectual
property rights. Which means that the author cannot stop a copyrighted work
from being published in publications, such as periodicals or newspapers, or by
broadcasting companies if it fits into one of the following categories.
1. Making a single copy of a copyrighted work for exclusively
personal use, with some exceptions for specific works.
2. Reproduction is a necessary and accidental component of the
work's digital transmission between parties.
3. The relevant work is transmitted or broadcast by a person who
is permitted by the lawful owner or by law to make the reproduction.
4. Reproduction is necessary and incidental to carrying out a
legal action, and it is done in such a way that the copy is automatically
deleted and cannot be recovered.
Therefore, Current-events-related extracts, Debate Publication,
Public Opinion, and Reporting on current events are all examples of Fair Use
under the UAE Copyright Law.
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