Jordan

Sun, 28/02/2010 - 06:53 — Rami Olwan Ziad...

Legal background

Copyright legislation	The Copyright Law No. 9 of 2005 as amended ("CA") From http://www.agip.com/country_service.aspx?country_key=50&service_key=C&SubService...
Other relevant laws
Copyright treaties	Berne Convention	Rome Convention	Berne Appendix	TRIPS	WCT	WPPT
Other relevant treaties	Jordan US Free Trade Agreement ("JUFTA") From http://www.jordanusfta.com/free_trade_agreement_text_en.asp

Scope and duration of copyright

Is the period of protection of each type of copyright work limited to the minimum duration 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
Must a work be fixed in some material form before copyright attaches?	YES Two conditions must be met to qualify for protection and that is originality and fixation.	Art 3
Is the exercise of copyright subject to competition law, for example by compulsory licensing or regulation of royalties in the case of copyright holders who misuse their monopoly power?	LIMITED 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.
Is the exercise of copyright subject to compliance with 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.
Does the compilation of a database of non-original material fall outside the scope of copyright?	LIMITED 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
Do exceptions and limitations in national copyright law prevail over contracts purporting to limit or override them?	NO Not mentioned under the CL.

Freedoms to access and use

By Home Users	Is there a general exception for the fair use of copyright material for any purpose that satisfies a set of balancing criteria?	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
	Does a collective licensing scheme permit the copying or sharing of copyright material by consumers in exchange for a media or equipment levy?	NO Collective licensing scheme does not exist in Jordan.
For Education	Is reproduction permitted for the purposes of 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?	LIMITED 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 works be reproduced and published by educational institutions in connection with systematic instructional activities?	LIMITED 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
Online	Is hyperlinking to a Web site allowed without permission of the site's owner?	NO This is not determined under the law and Jordanian courts has not yet answered this question.
	Are 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
	Are ISPs protected from liability for infringements by third parties, because the law either does not impose liability upon intermediaries or limits their liability in certain circumstances?	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
	Do ISPs provide Internet access without conducting filtering or monitoring for potential copyright-infringing material?	YES There are no specific laws or polices that reguire them to do so.
	Are the names and personal information of customers who are alleged to have engaged in copyright-infringing behaviour protected from disclosure by their ISPs?	LIMITED No released polices that ISPs should adhere to.
By content creators	Can copyright works be non-commercially remixed or mashed up into new works?	NO Not mentioned under the law.
	May computer software be reverse engineered for the purpose of creating 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.
	Do creators who license their work retain the moral right of attribution?	YES The CL treats a protected work as an extension of the personality of the author. As any other civil law system, moral rights are very important under the law and can not be waived.	Art 8
By the press	Is 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 political speeches, speeches in judicial proceedings and/or other public speeches be used for any purpose?	YES under the CL, newspaers are allowed to publish, without the consent of the author, the speeches, lectures, interviews and other similar works which are presented openly or are directed to the public.	Art 19
	May quotations be used for any purpose?	NO It can only be used for research and private study.	17/D
By Libraries	May libraries copy works that cannot reasonably be obtained commercially?	LIMITED There is no clear provision that allows libraries to do that, but see below.
	May libraries copy works for users for the purpose of research or study?	LIMITED 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?	LIMITED Not clear under the CL as there is no mention of preservation and archiving for library purposes.	Art 20
	In making permitted copies, are libraries entitled to circumvent technological protection mechanisms (TPMs)?	NO There is no excpetion under the law for TPMs for libraries or otherwise.	Art 55
By disabled users	Is 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 affairs	Are 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 excluded from copyright?	LIMITED Not clear under the law the status of all govermental work, but judgments decisions are not copyrighted.	Art 7/A
	Is there a copyright exception for use of material in judicial proceedings?	YES See above.	Art 7/A
	Are the results of publicly funded research required to be published under an open access license?	NO Unfortunately, there is no policy on that in Jordan.

Freedoms to share and transfer

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
Do the penalties for copyright infringement distinguish between personal versus (large-scale) commercial use, other than at the discretion of a judge?	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 purposes that would not infringe copyright?	NO The CL does not permit the creation and distribution of circumvention devices.	Art 51
Is the use of such devices by consumers permitted for any purpose that would not infringe copyright?	NO The CL does not contain any limitation and exception for TPMs for any lawful purpose.
Does national copyright or consumer protection law require disclosure to consumers of the existence of TPMs and any potential limitations on the use of TPM-protected material?	NO Not reguired.
Are the operations of copyright collectives subject to public oversight?	NO Not reguired.
Are ISPs independent of copyright owners, to the extent that no law or industry code of conduct requires them to notify their users who are alleged to have committed a copyright infringement online?	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 based on the loss sustained, rather than by 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?	LIMITED 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

Conclusions

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 copyrightⁱ 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 softwareⁱ and Creative Commonsⁱ) must be widely encouraged in Jordan to promote the development of local content production and expertise.

This work is licensed under a Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike Creative Commons license

May copyright works be freely offered for commercial rental?	NO The CL law gives the author an economic right to control the commercial rental of his work.	Art 9
Does the law permit a work to be released to the public domain before the copyright term expires, without any formality other than an overt act of relinquishment?	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
Are orphaned works treated differently in the law to other copyright works, for example by allowing them to be compulsorily licenced, limiting remedies, or by releasing them into the public domain?	NO No different treatment.
Is parallel importation permitted?	NO The CL gives author the right to control importation of commercial quantities of his work.	Art 9
Are there incentives for the use, production and dissemination of free and open source software within copyright law or elsewhere in national law/policy?	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 incentives for the use, production and dissemination of open access material (e.g. textbooks) within copyright law or elsewhere in national law / policy?	NO This is not yet considered.
Are there specifications or incentives in national law/policy for the use of open document formats?	NO This is not neither discussed nor considered.