A UAE court has restored to well-known Arab singer Abu Baker Salem the intellectual property rights to 138 of his songs, which were sold illegally by a local art production company, according to the Gulf News.
According to Salem bin Sahouh, Salem's lawyer, the verdict was the first since the UAE Federal Copyright Law took effect.
“[The] courts have ordered the local art production company concerned to stop dealing in Salem's songs, since it sold them illegally,” Bin Sahouh told the daily.
Salem signed an agreement with the company authorizing it to sell his songs for a limited period before the Federal Copyright Law was issued on September 28, 1992.
However, Salem later signed another contract with another local art production company in 1995, authorizing it to deal with his songs for commercial purposes. The miffed first company filed a case with the ministry of information and culture against Salem and the second company, asking for the right to handle 138 of Salem's songs.
“The creativity and copyright section decided that only the second company should handle Salem's songs,” Bin Sahouh said. He added that the first company did not have official written authorization from Salem.
“The new law has guaranteed the intellectual property rights of everyone, since nobody, or any establishment, can use such rights unless they get official authorization to do so,” Bin Sahouh said.
Bin Sahouh expected the verdict to prompt other singers and intellectuals to file similar cases if their material was being used illegally – Albawaba.com
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