Manal Ataya is an adviser to the Sharjah Museums Authority
July 16, 2021
In April, I read something that caught my eye on Twitter. It was a series of announcements made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to double the GDP contribution of creative industries to five per cent of Dubai’s economy by 2025.
Sheikh Mohammed said: “The UAE is a global economic capital and creativity is part of our economy and of our quality of life, and a major engine for the future of our country”.
This included a plan to make a creative zone in Dubai’s industrial district of Al Quoz that would transform the Emirate, making it an artistic and cultural city.
In parallel, a month earlier, the conferment of the ten-year Golden Visa for distinguished cultural professionals and those in creative fields was established, another excellent move that will attract creatives from a number of fields to the UAE, a place from which they can set up businesses and realise their ambitions.
Besides Dubai, other Emirates also support the work and requirements of people in cultural industries, with the common goal of encouraging art and culture in the UAE, and to protect and provide incentives to people in creative fields.
These industries comprise, but are not limited to, publishing, writing, audio and film, and also pertain to the fields of software, fashion, gaming, design and architecture.
When looking out for creatives, one area that is worth further examination is copyright law and its legal framework. In my professional capacity, I have come across numerous incidents over the years where copyright infringement issues have arisen.
From cases such as a photographs being used without the permission of the photographer, to disputes over fees to reproduce a segment of, say, a documentary film, especially if the author behind the work cannot be traced. There have been a number of such cases.
People checking out artworks at Sharjah Biennial 14. The National
It is frustrating to hear the stories from artist friends asking my advice when they find themselves victims of copyright violations, instances where their art work has been used in advertisements or printed on products without their knowledge or permission.
I recall a recent example of a young jewellery designer’s beautiful and unique work copied from her website by another person, who had then manufactured very similar pieces and passed them on as their own designs.
This makes the creator of the original work feel helpless, unsure of what to do and from whom to seek help. This is where tightening existing laws comes into play.
So, what exactly is copyright and why is it important to artists, and by extension, to the very cultural fabric of a society?
Copyright describes the legal rights of the owner of intellectual property (IP), giving them exclusive rights to share or make copies of their creative work. It is to protect the artist’s expression of an idea, but not the idea itself.
Copyright applies to a broad range of expressions, from literary work, software, art, paintings, music, dramatic pieces and audio-visual expressions that include, but are not limited to, photography, film and so on. It is essential to sustain the morale of artists and ensure they have rights – although with limitations and exceptions – for how their work is reproduced, shared, copied or published. This is to prevent the exploitation of artists and to give value to their work. Robust copyright laws help develop and protect cultural industries by encouraging innovation. So, having these laws in place perpetuates a culture where freedom of creative expression is respected.
In today’s age of non-fungible tokens or NFTs, the digital revolution has made the issue of copyright implementation especially urgent. With easy accessibility and frequent cases of copying or sharing without consent, it is imperative for copyright laws to be properly defined.
The UAE has strong copyright laws. As a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the UAE has adopted measures similar to those in a number of jurisdictions, such as Egypt, the UK and France, to form the basis for a number of its own laws.
Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, Ruler of Sharjah, at 56th Biennale Venice in Italy. Wam
However, infringement still occurs across the region for two main reasons.
The first, which can be difficult to tackle, is that regulations differ from country to country and, therefore, the matter of which laws apply in which jurisdictions often comes up. Secondly, some of the existing laws can be obsolete.
Fortunately, we can do something about this. We can update the current UAE copyright laws and enforce them as a way to protect creatives. This would then give them a sense of relief, as artists and creatives are assured that a clear legal recourse is available, if and when the need arises.
Despite the many legal protections already in place, the UAE will benefit by keeping up with the new direction and vision of the world’s creative industries. As Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation and an academic, said: “In order for the UAE to keep attracting creative talents from the region and beyond, we have to continuously update our IP and copyright laws and regulations, especially in a fast-changing environment.”
In recent years, the EU and US have made improvements to offer further legal protection to artists, especially to those whose medium is the relatively new space of digital art. In keeping with the global trend to safeguard creativity, it would be in the UAE’s interest to revise existing laws and modify them where necessary.
Moreover, disseminating information to artists and creatives about their rights empowers them to seek appropriate action. In instances where their work or ideas have been used without permission, an author would be shielded from infringement. The message would be clear: creative work cannot be arbitrarily transferred without the permission of its creator.
There are other facets to the law that empower creative professionals. For example, the law gives authors or creators the right to protect their anonymity, if he or she so wishes. Anyone who then exposes their identity can be prosecuted.
Creatives also have the legal right to be remunerated for when their work is reproduced. The federal law on copyright in the Emirates already goes a long way to defend the moral and economic rights of a creative, be it a writer, a musician or a designer. Any creative is given automatic protection, though registration with the UAE Ministry of Economy is recommended to reinforce the authenticity of their work.
The Emirates has already gained global recognition for its flourishing arts ecosystem, whether it is for the UAE pavilion in the Venice Biennale, the Sharjah Biennial, all the museums in the UAE – there are more than 50 – the art fairs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the various festivals, or the public installations and commercial galleries that prosper in almost every emirate of the country.
Given these world-class institutions and cultural spaces, a stronger and more strongly executed copyright law will certainly add to the glow of the UAE’s art world.
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister. "We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know. “All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.” It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins. Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement. The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11 What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time. TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
