ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL 
DEL COMERCIO 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio IP/N/1/BHR/1 
20 de enero de 1998 
(98-0199) 
Original: inglés 
NOTIFICACIÓN DE LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DE CONFORMIDAD 
CON EL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
Bahrein 
En una comunicación de la Misión Permanente del Estado de Bahrein de fecha 19 de diciembre 
de 1997, se ha recibido de Bahrein la siguiente notificación, de conformidad con el párrafo 2 del 
artículo 63 del Acuerdo. 
NOTIFICACIÓN RELATIVA A LOS ARTÍCULOS 3, 4 Y 5 
En relación con los artículos 3, 4 y 5 del Acuerdo sobre los ADPIC, considerados conjuntamente 
con el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 y la Decisión del Consejo de los ADPIC del 21 de noviembre de 1995, 
adjuntamos a la presente una copia del Decreto Legislativo del Estado de Bahrein Nº (10) de 1993, 
relativo a la Ley de Derecho de Autor. 1 
Asimismo, sírvanse tener en cuenta que el Estado de Bahrein se adhirió al Convenio de Berna 
para la Protección de las Obras Literarias y Artísticas en octubre de 1996. 
1Únicamente en inglés. ,IPINIlIBHRll 
Pag~~ 
STATE .PF BAHRAIN 
MINISTRY OF CABINET AFFAIRS & INFORMATION·· 
DJRECrORAT~ OF PUBLICATIQNS 
LEGISLATIVE·D.ECREE NO.(10) 
. OF THE .. YEAR 1993 
WITH RESPECT TO COPYRIGHT LAW IP/N(l~HRll 
Page :3 
.lEGIStATiVE DECREE NO.(10) OF THE YEAR 1993 
WiTH'RESPECT TO COPYRIGHT 'LAW 
We. Isa Bin Sulmsn AJ' Khalifa. Amir of the, State of Bahrain, 
Having reviewed the Constltution. 
And .Amiri Order No.(4) of 1975. 
And. Legislative Decree No.(12).of 1971 with respect to Promulgating 
the Civif and Commercial Procedures Act, as amended, , 
And Legislative Decree No.(io) of 1975 with respec:;t to the Legal 
Deposit of Intellectual Works. 
And Decree No.(5) of 1986 with respect tp the Setting up and 
Organisation of the National' CouncU for Culture. Arts and literature. 
And upon the submission of ,the ·Ministe.~ for Information. 
And with the Approval of the Council" of Ministers. 
HEREBY DECREE THE FOLLOWING LAW: 
Article ill.! 
AFt" a~th6r is a person who produces or Invents a WOrK In Ina Tletes OT 
literaturel science, ans or who writes any written work or produces any 
creative work relating to any kind of knowledge, in which case such 
intellectual work is attributed to him by way of clearly displaying his' 
name on it or with the use of 8 pen-name or by any other method unless 
there is proof to the contrary . 
. Article (2)! 
(1) This Law shall protect authors of crea'iive-works which are of a literary, 
scientific, artistic and culturel nature in general regardless of the nature 
of such works, or the type thereof, or the method of expression used 
therein, or the purpose of writing or creation. 
(2) The aforesaid protection shall be applicable to the authors of the 
following works: . . Jf/NIl/BHRI1 
Page 4 
(8) BookS', brochures, research'works and all print~d materials, 
(b) Speeches, ,seminars and literary scientific and _ artistic lectures . 
. . 
'(C) . Al'l ~orks of drama and musicals. 
(d) 
(e) 
(1) 
(g) 
(h) 
(I) 
(j) 
(k) Songs, musical c9mP'ositions and tl:Jnes of songs. 
Paintings, . .sculptl:Jr~, decorative works, engraving and photography. , . 
Photographs, maps, geographiCal charts, engineering and architectural 
p'lans and designs. 
Plastic art works and works relating'to topography, architecture and 
sciences. 
Choreographic works and pantomime presentations. 
Cinematographic, radio and television works. 
Personally created computer software, including data· bases. The 
aforesaid software is defined as the entire phrases . and instructions 
expressed in any language, code or sign and intended for ,use by 
computers directly or indirectly with the aim of realising specific-reslJlts. 
Works involving cOmpilation and classification of folk heritage items. 
Pt~tectjon shall be ap·plicable to the title of the intellectual work if it is 
characterised by being of 8 creative n~ture and if the words ·are not 
common for indicating the subject of the intellectual work. 
Article (3): 
1. Protection under this Law shall. be I enjoyed by any person who 
translates. summarises,. explains ,or slmplirfe.s the lntellectual property, 
indicated in Article, (2) with the approv,Fof their ~Wl)ers so that the said 
property takes a new form. The same protection shall be enjoyed by 
authors of encyclopedias, language dictionaries and selections of 
intellectual and creative works. However, copyright of photographic 
items shall, not result in prohibiting ,a person IP/N/IIBHRLI 
Page 5 
. , , 
from .taking new pictures of the Cfbject to be photographed even if these 
new photographs' are taken from the same place and in general under 
the same coriditiQns from which,the earlier photographs were ~aken. 
2. ,The proteCtion provided for in the preceding paragraph shall 'not prejudice 
the protection enjoyed by aUlhors of original intellectual property. 
1. 
(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 
2. Article w.: 
Protection provided for In Articles 2 and 3 of this Law shall 'not be 
applicable to: 
Court judgements passed by' the law courts of various degrees and 
translations of such judgements. 
Official documents such as texts of laws, Amiri Decrees, administrative 
orders, international treaties. their transl~tions and all official 
documents. 
News reports'which are published or broadcast to the g~neral public. 
Intellectual works which become part of the public domain. 
However, if the, materials provided for in the preceding Paragraph are 
published in compiled publications for a reason that is attributed to 
creative efforts, arrangement or any other personal effort, they shall be . 
considered as intellectual property whict) shall enjoy protection by this 
Law. 
Article !!t 
, . 
1. Copyrights shall be attributed and ,confirmed in favour of the author 
solely unless there is a written agreement;to the contrary. 
2. .An author shall have the exclusive right to determi'nEt whether to· publish· 
his .intellect~al property and:tq.decide t~e'method of such publication. 
3. He shall have the exclusive right to financially exploit his intellectual 
property in the manner he deems appropriate.' ·No third party shaoll 
exercise that .right. except by a written permisSion from him or his 
succe$sor. , IP/NIIIBRRI1 
~age 6 
4.' However, the rights of an author shall not be deemed prejudiced by the 
mention of his intellectual property in the course of a radio or television 
presentation of current e~ents. 
Article (6): 
For' the purpose of directly exploiting his inteUectual property, an author-, 
shall be entitled to do the'following or to'giv~ a written permission for 
the following: 
, . Reproduce' the Intelfectuai property by, all availa,ble means, including 
ph,otographYt cinematography. audio or video recording, 
2. ' 1'ranslating the aforesaid property into another language, adapting, 
modifying, abridging, summarising, explaining or musically repro,ducing 
it ' 
~, Presenting B:n' intellectual property to :the public by way of a public 
performance. television, cinematographic or theatrical presentation, 
radio broadcasting or any other method, especially publ,ici3tioo. 
4. ~1aking an objection to any addition, deletion or alteration to' his 
intellectual property without obtaining his permission. 
5. Using any other method deemed fit by the, author without being in 
confli~l with the public interest or order, 
Articl. (7): 
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding Article, if an omission, or 
alteration takes place in the translation of an intellectual property, 
modifying or developing it in any ott1'er manner, an author or his 
successor "sh'all not have the right to make an objection unless this shall' 
result in ,affeCting the author's reputation; :honour or ,academic or artistic 
status or If -the 'content of the rele.vant w9rk is prejudiced. ' 
In all eases. mention shall be made about whallh~ modified intellectual 
property contains in'terms of alteratio~ to the original property, Article (8): IPiNIllBHRt1 
Page 7 
1. Government ministries, and organlsation$ sha,lI have the right to make 
use of any intellectual property which was previously pUblished for 'using 
it for educational information, coltural Of reiigious purposes in order to 
serve the· public interest, 'provided that the source of that intellectual 
property shari be in'dicated. or the name of its author in a manner that ' 
shall not prejudice the' author's financial rights. . 
2. The media. newspapers fiind. official magazines may,quote, publish or, 
broadcast parts or extracts from any . intelJectual property without the 
approval of its' owner 'if such action contributes to enhancing. the 
,awarene.ss or education of the 'public opinion, provided that credit 'shall 
be given to the intellectual property in question and the name of its 
author in a manner that shall not prejudice the autho~s financial rights. 
Article (9): 
An auttior or his -public or private suCcessor may oppose the acts 
indicated in Article (8) should they have the effed .of damaging the 
author's reputation. literary or 'artistic fame or cause harmful effects to 
his financial rights. 
Article (10): 
1.' A~'aemic and cultural institutes and universities, official documentation 
and research 'centres and public libraries' shall be entitled to reproduce 
or photocopy literary; scientific and artistic intellectual property to the 
extent of the-number of copies required for meeting the requirements 
and activities of, these institutions and serving-their objects without. 
obtaining a prior permission from the author, provided that this shall not 
prejudice their legitimate financial interest~. 
, 2. The', military forces music band shan Jl,Bve'the right to play· musical 
compos'itions without being under an ·obligation to pay any consideration 
to the composer so long as such plSying does not yield any financial 
pro~eds, IP/N/IJBHRll 
Page 8 
Article (11 ): . . 
Once an author has published his intellectual property. he shall not be 
~ntitled to bar any p~rsoh who reproduces his intellectuai property, 
translates. abridges, photocopies or produces extracts therefrom. 
provide~ that such act shall be·for his own personal use ~r:1d shall not 
have the intent of reaping any financial returns. provided that credit 
shall be given to that particular property and the name of its author. 
However, publication of the aforesaid property shall not take place 
except after obtaining a permissi.on from the original owner and author. 
Article (12): . 
Owners of original fine art works and writers of original music notes 
shall be empowered. despite having assigned the ownership of their 
inte1lectual property in favour of another person without consideration, 
to claim a compensation·which shall not exceed one half of the valUe of 
such work of art if it is sold at a publ,ic auction or if it makes financial 
returns as a cons~quence of the sale or· disposal thereof. This provision 
shall not be ap~licab.le to works of architecture or app~ied art. 
Article (13): 
If the public interest requires the publication of an intellectual property 
which has not been' published or republished by the authors heirs in 
spite of formally requesting them to do so by the National Council for 
Culture, Arts and Literature. the Minister fqr Information may by virtue of 
an order to. be issued by him instruct the' aforesaid National Council to 
publish the said -property after the lapse of one year from the date of the 
formal request to the heirs while giving them a fair compensation without 
prejudice to their right to contest the aforesaid ordfj!r of the Minister for 
Information before the High Civil Court within thirty days from the date of 
becoming aware of such order. 
The Ministry of. Information .·may .seek .. the 1ssue Of an order-from the 
. High· Civil Court to oblige the heirs to qeliver the intellectual property. to 
the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature. if necessary. 
Articlt (14): 
An author may 'do any legal act that has the effect of transferring all or 
some of the rights provided for in this Law. . . IP/NI 1 IBHRI 1 
Pag~ 15 . 
translated intelledual· prope'rty 4nder the terms to be determined' by the 
NCCAl, provided th~t consideration shall be given to the right of the 
aut~or or his successor to a fair compensation. 
Article (33): 
(1) An author's will shall b~ implemented with resped to prohibiting 
the pUblication of. his intellectual work or adhering to the conditions 
of such publication and the date fixed therefor. 
(2) Contracts rela'ting to tt")e rights of authors to exploiting their 
intellectual properties. and e~tered into with third parties prior to 
their death shall be carried out without alteration. 
Article 134): 
Every person whose rights set-forth in this Law have been violated shall· 
have the right to compensation. 
Article (35): 
Without prejudice to the provisions of Legislative Decree NQ.(-20) of 
1975 with respect to the legal Deposit of Publications. the pubiishers of 
literary, . artistic . and scientific properties which are· published by 
producing copies thereof in the State of· Bahrain sha:1 prior to the 
distribution thereof t1eposit at their expense three copies of each of such 
properties with the Copyright ProtediQn Office at the Ministry of 
Information and details about the intellectual property shall be published 
in the Official Gazette. 
An ·order of the Minister for Infonnation shall be issued with respect to 
the rules of deposit and the prescribed fees for such deposit after 
securing the consent of the Council 'o~ Ministers with respect to such 
fees .. 
Failure to effect the said deposit sh~lf be punishable· by a fine' not­
exceeding B0100 without prejudice td' the requirement to effect the 
deposit. These provisio~s shall not be applicable to the intellectual 
works published ·in newspapers and magazines unless such works are 
published separately. IP/NI1 IBHRI1 
Page 16 
Article 136): 
AA attachment may not be pla~d over the author's copyright for the 
fulfilment of a court judgement but an attachment may be placed over 
copies of 'the published intellectual property, Further, intellectual 
properties the owner of which dies before their publication may not be '. 
subject to an attachment unless it is conclusively proved that he sought 
to publish them before his death. 
Article (37): 
A punishment of imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and 
a fine of no more than 801,000, or either penalty shall be inflicted upon 
the following: 
(a) Every person who violates the copyrights provided for in Articles '5 and 
6 of this Law. 
(b) Every person who brings into the country with the intent to sell,·s$lIs or 
circulates .with the aim of trading or promotes to the public in any 
manner whatsoever an imitated or forge~ intellectual property. 
(c) Every -person who reveals or facilitates the revealJng 'of computer 
softWare before the publication thereof. 
In case of recurrence of any of the offences provided for in this Article 
'within three' years from the date of passing the jUdgement for the above 
penalty. the court may rule for inflicting the ma~imum penalty. 
Article (38): 
In addition to passing a judgement with respect to inflicting the penalty 
provided for in the preceding Article, the Court· may order the 
confiscation and destruction of all the imitated intellectual works and the 
tools arid facilities apprehended in respect of the case and used in 
committing the offence. 
Atticle (39): 
. ' 
The Summary Proceedings' Judge shall, upon a law-suit filed by the 
author or his successor and following the procedures set forth in the 
Civi-l and. Commercial Procedures,Act. be ~mpowered to order that the 
following steps be taken in respect of every intellectual property which IP/NI 1 IBHRI 1 
Page 17 
has. been published or performed in violation of the provisions' of th'ls Law: . 
1. Giving a detailed desaiption of the intellectual property. 
2. Suspending the publication, performance or. production of the 
intelledua! property. 
3. Placing a precautionary attachment over" the original or copy of the 
intellectual property as well as the items used in republishing the 
aforesaid property. 
4. Proving the public performance in respect of presenting, acting or 
reciting any intellectual p~operty for an audience and barring the 
continuation of the current performance or prohibiting it from taking 
place in the future. . 
5. Appointing a court receiver in respect of the intellectual property 
subject to the dispute to undertake the task of republishing or resume 
performance, making or reproducing copies of the intellectual 
property, provided that the proceeds shall be deposited in the Court 
Treasury. The receivership shall be terminated upon a mutual 
agreement to be reached by the concerned parties or by a court 
judgement. . . 
6, Drawing up an account of· the proceeds arising from publication or 
performance through an expert to be nominated for this pqrpQse if 
required and plaCing a precautionary attachment over the-revenues 
arising in all cases. 
The Summary Proceedings Judge shall be empowered to order the 
aljpointment of an expert to enforce it' the execution of the above 
actions and to instruct the plaintiff to deposit an appropriate 
guarantee. The plaintiff shall refer the fundamental dispute' to the 
relevant court within the fifteen days following the passing of the 
judgement. If an action is not. brought during this time limit. a 
judgement shall cease to have effect. 
Article (40): 
The court of law before which the iss~e of dispute is being heard may, 
at the request of the author or who£Ner acts on his behalf, resolve to 
destroy copies or reproductions of the intellectual property published in 
. an illegal manner together with the materials used in its publication. 
provided that they shall not be fit for another work or by alterfng the 
features of the copies, repr~ductions and materia's or rendering them 
. unfit for business all of which shall be at the cost of the party rendered 
liable. IP/N/IIBHRJI 
Page 18 
H~ever, where the copyright will lapse after a period of less than two 
years with effect from the date of passing the judgement and without 
prejudice to the .copyrights. provided for in Articles 5 and 6 of this'law, 
the court may replace the judgement for destruction or altering the 
features P?lSs a ruling for confirmation of the precautionary attachment 
for settlement of any award of compensation adjudged in favour of the 
author. ". 
Nevertheless, a judgement for destruction or altering the features may 
not be handed down if the dispute in question relates to the translation 
of an intellectual property into Arabic in violation of the provision of 
Article' (30) Paragraph 2. a,nd the judgement shall be restricted to 
confirming the, precautionary aUachment over. the translated work for 
settlement of compensations adjudged by the court in favour of the 
author. 
In all cases, for the author's debt arising from his claim for 
compensation he shall have ·s lien over the net proceeds of selling 
things and cash" funds subject to attachment for settlement ot dues 
thereto and no priority shall exist over such lien save for the legal"costs 
and expanses incurred towards the safekeeping and maintenance of the 
said items and for the collection of such amounts. 
Article (41 ): 
An author shall have the exclusive right to request the High Civil Count 
should there be serious reasons deemed appropriate by the Court, to 
withdraw his intellectual work from circulation or make alterations 
thereof in spite of' the legal disposal a~ecting the right of explOitation 
while the author shall express willingness to pay a fair compensation to 
whoever has been transferred the right of financial exploitation to be 
paid within a term to be determined by the Court otherwise the 
jUdgement shall cease to have ,effect.· 
Article (42): 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 36, 37 and 38 of this Law, it 
shall not be permitted to place an attachment over, alter the feature, 
confiscate or damage properties and buildings carrying architectural 
designs with the excuse of preserving the architect's copyright even if it 
has been proved that there is a breach of copyright to the drawing and 
deSign, "but his right to ~Iaim ~amages ~tlall be reserved. Article (43): 
The provisions of this Law' shall be ap~licable to: IP/NI1IBHRI 1 
Page 19 
1. Intellectual properties of Bahraini authors that are published for the first· 
time in Bahrain or outside it. '. 
2. Intellectual proper:ties of foreign authors that are published for the first 
time in ·Bahrain. 
3. Intellectual properties of Arat,> authors who are' nationals of the member 
states that ratified th~ Arab Copyright Protection Agreemer)t ofJ.958~ \ q '6 6 
that are published for the first time in one of the member states that 
ratified the Agreement. 
Article (44): 
Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding Article. the 
provisions of this law shall be applicable to a11 th~ intellectual 
propenies in exIstence. on the effective date thereof. However. for the 
calculation of the period for protedion of such propertie;S,'il shall include 
the period which lapsed from the date of the fixed event for the 
commencement of the effective period untillhe date on which this· Law 
comes into force. 
The provisions of this Law shall be applicable to. all the facts and 
agreements SUbsequent to the date of its coming into force even if they 
relai'e to intellectual properties published, screened or performed prior 
to that date. 
For the agreements which were made before the effective dale of this 
Law. its provisions shall not be applicable thereto but shall remain· 
subject to the provisions in force at the time of completing the",. 
Article (45): 
The Minister for Information shall Issue the necessary orders for 
implementing the provisions of this Law. Every provision which conflicts 
with its provisions shalt be revoked, IP/NIIIBHRI1 
Page 20 
Article (46): 
The Ministers, each in his respective capacity, shalf implement thiS Law 
which shall come Into effect from the date of Its P4bllcation In the Official 
Gazette. 
Signed: Isa Bin Sulman AI Khalrra, 
Amir of the State. of Bahrain •. 
Issued .at Rifes Palace 
Dated: 17th Thilhija,1413 Hijra 
Corresp. 7th Juns,1993. 
* it * •• *~ 