The Legality of Free and Open Source Software Licences: The Case of Jacobsen v. Katzer

In August 2008 one of, if not the most, influential Intellectual Property courts in the USA known as the Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit upheld the validity of a free and open source software licence known as the Artistic Licence. The case is significant because up until this point there has been little judicial discussion of the legal operation of this new type of copyright licensing that is sweeping across the world fuelled by the ubiquity of the Internet. The decision in Robert Jacobsen v. Matthew Katzer and Kamind Associates, Inc. 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 17161 (Fed. Cir. 2008) issued on 13 August 2008 provides a unique and welcomed insight into the legal operation of free and open source software licences and by analogy Creative Commons styled open content licences. This article analyses the judgment and provides commentary on its reasoning

Conflicts Over Domain Names

The study explores legal implications posed by the growth of establishing websites and registration of domain names. The researcher introduces his paper by providing readers with a primary introduction to domain names, their definitions, the Domain Name System (DNS), types of domain names either generic; Top level domains (gTLDS) or country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDS), domain names registration procedures and registration authorities (registrars, registry operators). The researcher also compares trademarks and domain names, mention different types of disputes that occur over domain names including cyber squatting, typo squatting, cyber-smearing and reverse domain name hijacking. The paper includes technical and practical legal measures that may help in resolving the conflict over domain names. It concentrates particularly on the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) that has been implemented from 1999, by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and the approved dispute resolution providers, namely but not limited to: WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (WAMC), National Arbitration Forum (NAF). The paper is concluded by certain suggestions that once implemented, trademarks and unfair competition laws in the Arab world would be developed, serving to increase our understanding of domain names disputes and e-commerce, cyberspace law

A Pragmatic Approach to Intellectual Property and Development: A Case Study of the Jordanian Copyright Law in the Internet Age

On October 4, 2004, Brazil and Argentina requested that WIPO adopt a development-oriented approach to IP and to reconsider its work in relation to developing countries. In October, 2007, WIPO member States adopted a historic decision for the benefit of developing countries, to establish a WIPO Development Agenda. Although there have been several studies related to IP and development that call for IP laws in developing countries to be development-friendly, there is little research that attempts to provide developing countries with practical measures to achieve that goal. This article takes the copyright law in Jordan as a case study and shows how, in practical terms, a pro-development-oriented approach could be implemented in the copyright laws of developing countries. It provides specific recommendations for developing countries to ensure that their IP laws are aligned with and serve their social and economic development objectives

The Legality of Free and Open Source Software Licences: The Case of Jacobsen v. Katzer

In August 2008 one of, if not the most, influential Intellectual Property courts in the USA known as the Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit upheld the validity of a free and open source software license known as the Artistic License. This case is significant because up until this point there has been little judicial discussion on the legal operation of this new type of copyright licensing that is sweeping the world fuelled by the ubiquity of the Internet. The decision in Robert Jacobsen v. Matthew Katzer and Kamind Associates, Inc. 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 17161 (Fed. Cir. 2008) issued on the 13th of August, 2008 provides a unique and welcome insight into the legal operation of free and open source software licenses, and by analogy the Creative Commons styled open content licenses. This article analyses the judgment and provides commentary on its reasoning

Copyright law in United Arab Emirates in the digital age

This article gives an overview of copyright law in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and critically evaluates its operation in the digital era, providing suggestions for reform

The adoption of the American Model of Fair Use in the UAE copyright law: the reconceptualization of copyright

The fair use doctrine is one of the most important and enigmatic doctrines in the copyright law of the United States. IP scholars and experts have suggested introducing flexible open-ended copyright exception such as fair use instead of the restrictive exceptions adopted in many countries to accommodate copyright laws to keep pace with digital and technological developments and suit social and cultural needs. This chapter studies the merits and demerits of this proposal from the perspective of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) that follows the continental European system of author’s rights. It reviews copyright exceptions in the U.A.E Federal Copyright Law No. 7 of 2002, as amended (U.A.E Copyright Law), and compares it with copyright laws in other countries including the United States (U.S), United Kingdom (U.K) and France. It examines the various options available to the U.A.E legislator to reform its copyright regime and suggests the adoption of a liberal system of exceptions to suit the needs of the U.A.E and its citizens in the 21st Century

Contracting and Proving Contracts in Cyberspace (in Arabic)

The article aims to address the legal implications and challenges that Internet technology coins upon the traditional concepts and principles of Jordanian civil law-and is particularly concerned with the formation of Contracts and Evidence laws. The article consists mainly of two parts: A preliminary introduction and two chapters. In the primary introduction the author defines and clarifies the technical aspects of the Internet, its array of different meanings and varied implications, as well as a discussion of its historical development and vital rise. The first part then considers procedures and stages through which contracts will be formed on-line: either pre-contractual or contractual ones. The second chapter deals mainly with Evidence and attempts to discuss that contracts conducted through the Internet and cyberspace remain legally binding. The author concludes his article by presenting proposals and suggestions that-if, and once, implemented-would modernize and significantly update Contract(s) and Evidence laws in Jordan and in other countries of the Arabic world

Copyright and innovation in the digital age : The United Arab Emirates

The UAE has been at the forefront when it comes to the use of digital technologies in the Middle East. It is amongst the most highly Internet connected countries in the Middle East with 2,300,000 Internet users as of March 2008. According to Emirates Internet Multimedia (EIM) this amounts to 49.8% of the population.----- The purpose of this paper is to consider how copyright law in its current form fits the challenges of the digital age and in particular how it might be improved to promote the possibilities for innovation especially in developing countries. We take the Federal Law No. (7) of 2002 (UAE) Pertaining to Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights as our case study.----- حقوق التأليف والإبداع في العصر الرقمي. دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة و رامي علوان براين فيتزجيرالد ظهور التكنولوجيات الرقمية والشبكات يعني أن حقوق التأليف الآن أصبحت ضرورية لكل مانقوم به في الإنترنت سواء كان للبحث او الترفية . يمكن الإعتداء علي حقوق التأليف فى كل مرة نستخدم فيها التكنولوجيات الرقمية. في كل بلد من البلدان قانون حقوق التأليف وليس فقط قانون البراءات ينبغي أن ينظر إليه باعتباره العنصر الرئيسي لتحقيق الابتكار. انه أمر أساسي لتوليد ونقل المعرفة. يحتاج قانون حقوق التأليف في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة لمراعاة مبدأ "تدفق المعلومات" في الاقتصاد المعاصر. أن قانون حقوق التأليف والنشر المفرط في التقييد سيتباطأ ويخفض التطوير والابتكار في حين أن قانون حقوق التأليف التي يمكن أن تسخر قوة التكنولوجيا سيوفر ميزة تنافسية

The adoption of the American fair use in Gulf states: a comparative analysis of authors' exceptions in common law and civil law countries

The fair use doctrine is one of the most important and enigmatic doctrines in the copyright law of the US. Copyright scholars and experts have suggested introducing flexible open-ended copyright exception such as fair use instead of the restrictive exceptions currently adopted in developing countries to accommodate copyright laws to suit social and cultural needs, and keep pace with digital technological developments. The article studies the merits and demerits of this proposal from the perspective of Gulf States that follow the continental European system of author’s rights. It reviews limitations and exceptions in the copyright laws of the Gulf States and compares them to the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France and Germany. The article argues that reforming exceptions in the copyright laws of Gulf States is critically needed to suit the ambitious agenda of these countries to become knowledge-based economies that foster innovation and creativity. It examines the various options available to legislators in Gulf States to reform their copyright regimes, and suggests the adoption of liberal system of exceptions to suit citizens’ digital needs in the 21st century. Finally, the article provides recommendations and suggestions for reforming copyright laws and limitations and exceptions in Gulf States, and concludes with a summary of its main conclusion

The ratification and implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty for visually impaired persons in the Arab Gulf States

Visually impaired persons (VIP) have asked the international community to help end the “book famine” they face and increase the number of books available in accessible formats. After 30 years of negotiations, meetings and consultation between member states delegates, negotiators and non-profit organizations, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted the VIP Treaty on 27 June 2013 in Marrakesh, Morocco, which entered into force on 30 September 2016. Until today, it is mostly developing countries that have ratified the Treaty and only the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embraced its principles among the Gulf States. This article studies the copyright system in the Arab Gulf States and examines the state's readiness for the adoption of the Treaty. It argues that without considering the cultural and legal implications that influence disability and visual impairment in these states ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty and amending copyright laws in the Gulf States will not alleviate the “book famine” for VIPs in these countries. This article proposes legal and policy recommendations to promote and facilitate accessibility to published works for VIPs that can be adopted in the Arab Gulf States and other developing countries