Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Bahrain

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of Bahrain relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in Bahrain must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Bahrain and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from Bahrain, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.

Background

Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf, became a British protectorate in 1892. On 15 August 1971 the country became independent.

Bahrain has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 1 January 1995, the Berne Convention since 2 March 1997 and the WIPO treaty since 15 December 2005.[1]

As of 2018, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed Law No. 22 of 2006 relating to the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights as the main copyright law enacted by the legislature of Bahrain.[1] WIPO holds an English version of the text of this law in their WIPO Lex database.[2] This repealed Legislative Decree No. 10 of June 7, 1993 in respect of Copyright Law.

The law was modified by Law No. 5 of 2014 amending some Provisions of Law No. 22 of 2006 relating to the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights. WIPO holds the Arabic text of this law in their WIPO Lex database. It does not appear to affect the definitions of works or durations of protection.[3][4]

General rules

According to the former Legislative Decree No. 10 of June 7, 1993 in respect of Copyright Law,[5]

  • Copyright protection for an intellectual property lapsed 50 calendar years after the death of the author.[10/1993 Art.31(1)]
  • For jointly owned intellectual properties, the period was calculated from the date of the death of the last survivor of the co-authors.[10/1993 Art.31(1)]
  • Copyright protection lapsed upon the expiry of 50 calendar years from the date of publication for the following intellectual works:
    • Cinematographic films, applied arts works and photographs.[10/1993 Art.31(2a)]
    • Intellectual properties published under a pseudonym or without carrying the author's name unless the identity of the author has been revealed during that period.[10/1993 Art.31(2b)]
    • Intellectual properties belonging to public or private corporate entities.[10/1993 Art.31(2c)]
    • Intellectual properties published for the first time after the author's death.[10/1993 Art.31(2d)]
  • Protection period for computer software lapsed upon the expiry of 50 years from the date of completing the work or 40 years from the date of publication, whichever was earlier.[10/1993 Art.31(3)]
  • Works that had entered the public domain under the 1993 law before the 2006 law took effect remained in the public domain.[22/2006 Article 78]

Under Law No. 22 of 2006 relating to the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights,

  • An author's economic rights are protected throughout his lifetime and for 70 years beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year of his death, except where other provision is made in this subsection.[22/2006 Article 37]
  • The economic rights of authors of joint works are protected throughout their lifetime and for 70 years beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which the last surviving author dies.[22/2006 Article 38]
  • The economic rights to collective works and audiovisual works are protected for 70 years beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which those works were first legally published. If such publication does not take place within 50 years of the date the works were created, the economic rights to those works are protected for 70 years beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which they were created.[22/2006 Article 39]
  • The economic rights of works published anonymously or under a pseudonym are protected for 70 years beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which those works were first legally published. If such publication does not take place within 50 years of the date the works were created, the economic rights to those works are protected for 70 years beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which they were created.[22/2006 Article 40]
  • The economic rights to works of the applied arts are protected for 70 years beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which those works were first legally published. If such publication does not take place within 50 years of the date the works were created, the economic rights to those works are protected for 70 years beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year in which they were created.[22/2006 Article 41]

Not protected

Shortcut

See also: Commons:Unprotected works

Protection is not accorded to: (a) Mere ideas, procedures, working methods, mathematical concepts, principles, discoveries or data, (b) Legislation, judgements and judicial decrees, the judgement of arbitrators, decisions issued by administrative committees possessing judicial prerogatives, international treaties and all other official documents and official translations thereof, (c) News of current affairs when of a purely informative nature. Nevertheless, collections of the above elements do enjoy protection if creativity exists in the selection or arrangement of the contents.[22/2006 Article 4]

See also: Commons:Copyright tags

  • {{PD-Bahrain}} – for films 70 years from publication, for other works 70 years after the author's death.

Freedom of panorama

See also: Commons:Freedom of panorama

  Not OK {{NoFoP-Bahrain}}, Only non-commercial use is allowed. Under Law No. 22 of 2006,

  • It shall be permissible, without a permission from the author and without payment of a compensation but subject to the condition of mentioning the author’s name, to transmit works of fine, applied, plastic or architectural arts to the public through radio broadcasts for non-commercial purposes if such works are permanently displayed at public places.[22/2006 Article 25]
  • Copyright expires after 70 calendar years from the death of author or last surviving author (Joint work).[22/2006 Article 37–38]

See also

Citations

  1. a b Bahrain Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights). WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization (2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-03.
  2. Act No. 22 of the Year 2006 relating to the Protection of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights. Bahrain (2006). Retrieved on 2018-12-16.
  3. Law No. 22 of 2006 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights (as amended up to Law No. 5 of 2014). Bahrain (2006). Retrieved on 2020-12-31.
  4. Law No. 5 of 2014 amending some Provisions of Law No. 22 of 2006 relating to the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights (in Arabic). Bahrain (2014). Retrieved on 2018-11-03.
  5. Legislative Decree No. 10. Bahrain (June 7, 1993). Retrieved on 2019-01-22.
Caution: The above description may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or out of date, so must be treated with caution. Before you upload a file to Wikimedia Commons you should ensure it may be used freely. See also: Commons:General disclaimer