New Copyright and Neighboring Rights Law in Bahrain
05 Jul 2006MANAMA - King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, issued Law No. 22 of 2006 related to Copyright and Neighboring Rights on June 25, 2006, a press release by Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) stated.
The law, which was published in the Official Gazette No. 2745 dated June 28, 2006, provides protection for copyrights including books, pamphlets and other writings, lectures, sermons, dramatic works, musical works, musical compositions, cinematographic works, works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, photographic works, works of applied art, illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works as well as computer programs.
The law also provides protection for neighboring rights including performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations.
In addition, the law asserts the literary and economic rights of the copyright holders and their successors, as well as of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations.
The law elaborates on the protection period of the economic rights of authors. In general, protection consists of two phases, the author’s lifetime and a period ranging from 20 to 70 yeas following his death.
To enforce better copyright protection and deter possible violations, penalties for copyright infringements have been stiffened. Wide spectrum of penalties, including imprisonment ranging between three months to one year and a fine ranging between BHD500- BHD4,000, have been imposed on the violators of the copyright law.
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