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Jordan

Submitted by Rami Olwan Ziad... on Sun, 28/02/2010 - 06:53

Legal background

Scope and duration of copyright

Does copyright end immediately after the minimum period mandated by the Berne Convention? Yes
The CL does not prescribe more than the term of protection under the Berne Convention. The JUSFTA entered into force in 17 December 2001 does not require Jordan to adopt higher copyright term of protection(70 years instead of 50 after author’s death).		 Arts 23E, 30, 32
Has a court or tribunal ever limited the exercise of IP rights under competition law, for example by imposing compulsory licensing or regulating royalties charged by dominant rights holders? In part
The CL does not mention taking such action, but this could be possible under the Unfair Competition and Trade Secret Law No. 15 for 2000 if all the conditions of the case are present.
Has a court or tribunal ever limited the exercise of IP rights pursuant to a bill of rights or similar human rights instrument, for example by preventing copyright from being used to stifle protected speech? No
This is not mentioned.
Can databases of non-original material be reproduced without infringing a copyright or sui generis database right? In part
It is not totally clear under the CL the level of originality that is required. Arts 3 and 7 require any work to be innovative to gain protection, but protection is also given to collections containing selective extracts of poetry, prose, music or other materials.		 Arts 3, 7
Are rights holders prohibited from excluding user rights under copyright law? No
Not mentioned under the CL.
Is computer software excluded from the scope of patentable subject matter?

Freedoms to access and use

By Home UsersIs there any general user right that is based on a set of balancing criteria, such as a "fair use" right? No
The CL has its influences in the French continental European legal system that does not use the term fair use, but exceptions to author’s exclusive rights. Unlike the US open - ended fair use; the limitations and exceptions under the CL is subject to rigid application and determined on a case- by- case basis.		 Arts 17/20
Is time, space and format shifting allowed (such as ripping music from CD to an MP3 player)? No
Not dealt with under the law.
Can consumers reproduce copyright material for their own use in the original format, for example for backup purposes? No
Software backup is not given any exception under the CL.
Can works be communicated to a limited public (for example, family and friends) without infringing copyright? Yes
The CL allows reproduction of a work exclusively for private purposes without the need to obtain an authorisation from the author or payment of any remuneration. 		Arts 17/A/B
For EducationMay students copy works for private research or study? Yes
Art 17/C/D is one of the most important limitation and exception in relation to Access to Knowledge(A2K). 		Art 17/C/D
Does any such research and study provision cover distance and online education? No
The CL does not mention distance and online education.
May translations of works be made for educational purposes? In part
Art 11/A of the CL gives any Jordanian who is working in a pre- college or a college and for research purpose, the right to obtain a non-exclusive and non-assignable licence from the Minister of Culture to translate any foreign work to Arabic and to publish that work in any form.		 Art 11/A
May educators copy works for use in the classroom? In part
No specific provision, but libraries, non-commercial documentation centers, educational institutions, scientific and cultural institutions are allowed to reproduce entire works through photocopying or otherwise if their activities are not profit- making. 		Art 20
OnlineAre temporary or transient copies, incidental to a lawful use, excepted from copyright? No
The CL does not allow making temporary copies in RAM as the author is given the right to control all reproduction of his work whether temporary or permanent. 		9/A
Does the law exclude or limit the liability of intermediaries such as ISPs for copyright infringements carried out on their network? No
No mention under the CL, but the Civil Law No 43 of 1976 could be used to limit their liability. 		Art 256 and 288 of the CL
Is Internet access free of ISP filtering or monitoring for potential copyright-infringements? Yes
There are no specific laws or polices that reguire them to do so.
By content creatorsIs there any protection for consumers who non-commercially remix or mash up copyright works? No
Not mentioned under the law.
May computer software be reproduced or transformed for the purpose of reverse-engineering interoperable software? No
No provision under the CL on reverse engineering.
Is the incidental inclusion of a work in other material permitted? No
No provision under the law.
Is there are copyright exception for parody or satire? No
No provision.
By the pressIs there a copyright exception for the news of the day? Yes
There is a general exception for news that can be published without the consent of the author if it is of general public interest. 		Art 18
May copyright material be reproduced for the purposes of review and criticism? Yes
See above explanation of Art 17/D.
May quotations be used for any purpose? No
It can only be used for research and private study.		 17/D
By LibrariesMay libraries copy works if they cannot reasonably be obtained commercially? In part
There is no clear provision that allows libraries to do that, but see below.
May librarians copy works for users for the purpose of research or study? In part
Libraries, non-commercial documentation centers, educational institutions, scientific and cultural institutions are allowed to reproduce part or entire works through photocopying or otherwise if their activities are not profit- making. 		Art 20
Are libraries allowed to make preservation or archive copies of materials in their collections? In part
Not clear under the CL as there is no mention of preservation and archiving for library purposes.		 Art 20
Can lending libraries operate without incurring public lending rights fees to copyright owners?
By disabled usersIs it permissible to copy or adapt work for the use of those with disabilities? No
No mention of people with disabilities under the CL.
In public affairsAre laws excluded from copyright? Yes
There is no copyright in the official texts of legal, administrative or judicial nature. 		Art 7/A
Are other governmental works either excluded from copyright, or routinely shared under permissive licences? In part
Not clear under the law the status of all govermental work, but judgments decisions are not copyrighted. 		Art 7/A
Are the results of publicly funded research required to be published under an open access licence? No
Unfortunately, there is no policy on that in Jordan.

Freedoms to share and transfer

Do copyright owners have the right to release their works to the public domain, without any limitation on how those works may be used? No
No mention of that under the CL, but any person who is interested in printing or publication or translating of a work in Jordan that went into the public domain, needs to obtain a license from the Minister of Culture.		 34/B
Can public domain works be used without the need for any payment or registration of the use?
Does the law make special provision for the legal use of orphaned works? No
No different treatment.
Is parallel importation of copyright works permitted? No
The CL gives author the right to control importation of commercial quantities of his work. 		Art 9
Are there national programmes or policies to promote the use, production or dissemination of openly-licensed material such as free and open source software or open educational resources? No
There is no mention of that in any law in jordan. The Jordanian government is more interested in proprietary software rather than open source software. They have singed several agreements with Microsoft to provide software for government and not with Linux or any other open source software corporation.
Are there national programmes or policies that specify or promote the use of open document formats? No
This is not neither discussed nor considered.

Administration and enforcement

What is the maximum penalty for copyright infringement for an individual? 6000 JD (8,460 USD) Art 51
What is the maximum penalty for copyright infringement for a corporation? 6000 JD (8,460 USD) Art 51
Is innocent infringement of IP treated differently by the law? No
No difference, although there might be the maximum penalty applied in the context of large- scale commercial use.		 Art 51/52
Is the creation or distribution of devices that can circumvent technological protection measures (TPM) permitted, where such devices can be used for legal purposes? No
The CL does not permit the creation and distribution of circumvention devices.		 Art 51
Is the use of such devices by consumers or intermediaries permitted in the legal exercise of user rights? No
The CL does not contain any limitation and exception for TPMs for any lawful purpose.
Does national copyright or consumer protection law require that the effect of TPMs distributed with copyright works be disclosed to consumers? No
Not reguired.
Are there cases in which the availability of injunctive relief for IP infringement is limited by the law on public policy grounds?
Does the law protect a user's Internet access from being suspended for alleged copyright infringement, except after a hearing in court? Yes
There is no law that requires ISPs to take any act.
Are criminal sanctions limited to cases of large-scale commercial counterfeiting? No
Criminal sanctions could be applied in all contexts and not only on large- scale commercial counterfeiting. 		Art 51/2
Are damages for copyright infringement limited to the loss sustained, rather than a pre-established or statutory damages award? No
It is based on a statutory award deremined in accordance with the CL. 		Arts 51/52
Is there provision to penalise the wrongful allegation of copyright infringement? In part
Not really. But in case of taking a preliminary measure (injunction) that proved to be unjustified under the CL, the party requesting the measure may lose his warranty that he has paid.		 46/E/H
Is there provision to penalise the obstruction of consumers' exercise of user rights?
Does the patent system allow for pre-grant opposition?

Recent or upcoming changes

Summary of position

The CL in Jordan is restrictive and does not take into account the local conditions and development needs of the country. It is also aligned more toward the interests of copyright owners and not users. Jordan was very quick to enter into a Free Trade Agreement with the USA, which has constrained its ability to develop copyright law according to its own requirements. The law should be revised to take full advantage of Internet participatory culture and Web 2.0. The use of voluntarily mechanisms (open source software and Creative Commons) must be widely encouraged in Jordan to promote the development of local content production and expertise.