Focus On: Copyrights and Fair Use

Under the Law of Copyright (Royal Decree 65 of 2008), it is necessary to obtain the permission of a copyright owner in order to use, copy, publish, or broadcast a copyrighted work such as a book or audio recording. However, the Copyright Law does provide certain narrow exceptions to this rule which permit the use of a copyrighted work without the author’s permission.

For example, in the following circumstances it is permissible to use the copyrighted work without the owner’s permission:

1. Individuals may quote from a publicly available copyrighted work for clarification, explanation, or criticism purposes but only to the extent necessary for the clarification, explanation, or criticism;
   
   
2. Educational institutions may use a copyrighted work for clarification purposes during face-to-face instruction, but only to the extent necessary for the clarification and also provided there is no direct or indirect compensation;
   
   
3. Public libraries, educational establishments, and scientific and cultural institutions may make a single copy of a published article or short work for study or research, provided there is no purpose of direct or indirect financial gain.

Although the above uses are permitted without the owner’s permission, the user of the copyrighted work must still mention the source of the work and the author’s name. Further, the above uses are permitted only if they do not conflict with the copyright owner’s normal exploitation of the work.

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Associate Sarah Hestad to Speak About IP in Oman

Curtis Oman will be presenting at an upcoming seminar and workshop regarding intellectual property protection on April 13th and 14th at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat. Associate Sarah Hestad from the Oman office will give a presentation on practical considerations for protecting intellectual property in Oman. She will also outline the local legal framework for copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets and discuss case studies and examples for how companies protect their intellectual property in Oman. This is the first seminar of its kind in Oman. Other presenters include a senior official from the European Patent Office and a senior official from the Intellectual Property department of Oman's Ministry of Commerce and Industry. For more information about the seminar, please click here.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Protecting Your Ideas

If you have recently come up with a good idea, you may wonder if you can get legal protection in order to prevent others from using or stealing it. Protection for ideas falls under the category of Intellectual Property, which includes copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets. Determining whether your idea or project qualifies for protection through copyright, patent or trademark law depends on the form your project or idea takes.

Copyright protection applies to creative expression, such as music, art, books, photography, movies and dances. It should be clarified that copyright does not cover ideas and information themselves, only the form or manner in which they are expressed.

Trademarks are marks that are used to show where a service or product comes from and to distinguish those products and services from others. Examples of trademarks include most brand names and logos.

Patents are used to protect inventions. A patent is a right given by a government which allows the inventor to prevent other people from using his idea for a certain period of time. In order to get the patent rights from the government, the inventor must disclose his idea.

Trade Secrets are formulas, processes, practices or compilations of information that companies seek to keep secret in order to obtain competitive advantages. Trade secrets are generally protected by private contracts and agreements.

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