summary
According to the Law of the Protection of Copyright andRelated Rights (issued by Legislative Decree No. 62/2013), article (2) whichgrants copyright protection.
Syria is a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary andArtistic Works under copyright.
Under LegislativeDecree No. 62/2013,
- The financial rights of the author are protected throughout his life and for 50 years after the end of the year of his death, unless provided otherwise.[62/2013 Art. 19]
- The financial rights of authors of joint works are protected for the rest of their lives and for 50 years after the end of the year of death of the last surviving person unless the law provides otherwise.[62/2013 Art. 20]
- Audiovisual works and collective works are protected for 50 years from the first calendar year following their publication for the first time.[62/2013 Art. 21(a)] In case of non-publication within 50 years from the date of completion of the work, the period is calculated from the first calendar year following the date of the completion of the work.[62/2013 Art. 21(b)]
- Works published without mentioning the name of the author or a pseudonym are protected for 50 years from the date of their publication for the first time, unless the identity of the author becomes known in this period.[62/2013 Art. 22]
- Works of applied arts are protected for 25 years from the first calendar year following the year in which the work was completed.[62/2013 Art. 23]
- Database works are protected for a period of 15 years from the first calendar year following the year in which the work was completed.[62/2013 Art. 23B]
In orderto be hosted on Commons, all works must be in the public domain in the United States as well as in their sourcecountry. Syrian works are currently in the public domain in the United Statesif their copyright had expired in Syria on the URAA date of restoration (June 11, 2004) and the work was published before this date.[5]
Works not protected
Under LegislativeDecree No. 62/2013, there is no protection for[62/2013Art. 4]:
- Ideas, procedures, methods of work, mathematical concepts, principles, abstract facts, discoveries and data, but protection applies to the innovative expression of any of them.
- Heavenly books except their designs and style of writing and recordings of recitations.
- Laws, regulations, judicial decisions, arbitral tribunal rules, international agreements, administrative decisions and other official documents and official translations thereof.
- News and other events that are characterized as mere press information.