Clients often assume they own everything an agency makes for them, and agencies often assume they own it until they are paid. UAE copyright law, Federal Decree-Law 38 of 2021, in force since 2 January 2022, makes both assumptions risky without a written clause.
What is protected
Written works, software and apps, databases, music, audiovisual works, photographs, applied art and derivative works are all protected, and a title is protected if it is original. Ideas, facts and pure news are not. Registration is optional: not registering does not affect protection. For a record, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism registers works for AED 50 per author and AED 200 per company, in about three working days.
Assignments must be written and specific
- A transfer or licence must be in writing, and state the right, its purpose, and the duration and place of use (Article 9).
- The author owns every right not expressly assigned.
- An assignment of all future work is void. An agreement can cover no more than 10 future works.
- An author can ask a court to revisit a payment that is, or becomes, unfair.
Commissioned and employee work
Unless agreed otherwise in writing, the law gives copyright in a work created for another person to that person, and economic rights in an employee's work that relates to the employer's business, or was made with its tools, to the employer (Article 28). An employee's unrelated work, made without the employer's resources, stays with the employee. There is a visible tension between this default for commissioned work and the rule that unassigned rights stay with the author, and we found no court decision resolving it. Either way, only a written clause is safe.
Moral rights stay with the creator
The right to be named, to decide on first publication and to object to distortion that harms reputation cannot be assigned or lost over time (Article 5). A client can own the economic rights to a campaign while the designer or photographer keeps their moral rights.
People in photos and video
If someone agreed to be photographed or filmed, the maker may not keep, show or publish the material without their authorisation, unless agreed otherwise (Article 45). Get releases that cover the intended use.
Third-party assets and AI
- Software and database licences, which arguably include fonts, are governed by their licence terms (Article 12). Stock, fonts and music need their own licences, and a client cannot receive more rights than you hold.
- The law defines an author as a person who creates a work, meaning a natural or legal person, and says nothing about AI. We found no official UAE position on who, if anyone, owns AI-generated material.
Penalties and how long it lasts
Infringement carries at least two months in prison and/or a fine of AED 10,000 to 100,000, rising for repeat offences, plus civil compensation. Copyright lasts for the author's life plus 50 years, 50 years from publication where the author is a company, and 25 years for applied art.
Clauses worth having
- Assignment of named economic rights to the client on full payment, with purpose, duration and territory stated.
- A licence back to the agency to show the work in its portfolio.
- A list of third-party assets and whose licence covers each one.
- Matching assignments from freelancers, so you can pass on what you promise.
- Model and location releases for the people and places shown.
These are common contract practice rather than requirements of the law, so have a lawyer review your template. The templates section of this site has a starting point for agency paperwork.
