WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE 
ORGANIZACION MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights IP/N/lIJORlC/l 
7 December 2000 
(00-5299) 
Original Englishl 
anglaisl 
ingles 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER 
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
JORDAN 
The present document reproduces the textl of the Law on Copyright, N° (22) of 1992, as 
notified by Jordan under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/JORl1). 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriete 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES A LA 
PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
JORDANIE 
Le present document contient le textel de la Loi sur le droit d'auteur nO 22 de 1992, notifiee 
par la Jordanie au titre de l'artic1e 63'2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/lIJORl1). 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
PRINCIP ALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL pARRAFO 2 DEL ARTICULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
JORDANIA 
En el presente documento se reproduce el textol de la Ley de Derecho de Autor, N° 22 
de 1992, notificada por Jordania en virtud de 10 dispuesto en el parrafo 2 del articulo 63 del Acuerdo 
(vease el documento IP/N/1/JORl1). 
1 In English only. The text in the original language is available for consultation by interested 
Delegations at the WTO Secretariat fEn anglais seulement Les delegations interessees peuvent consulter le 
texte dans sa langue d'origine, au Secretariat de l'OMC fEn ingles solamente Las delegaciones interesadas 
podnm consultar en la Secretaria de la OMC el texto en su idioma original. IP/NI lIJORfCI 1 
Page 2 
Law No. 22 for the Year 1992 
Copyright Protection Law 
We, King Hussein I of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, pursuant to Article 21 of 
the constitution and the resolution of the Houses of Lords and Representatives, hereby 
ratify this Law and order to promulgate it and to add it to the Laws of the State 
ARTICLE (1) 
This Law shall be called 11 Copyright Protection Law for the Year 1992 11 and shall be 
implemented on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette 
ARTICLE (2) 
The following words, wherever they are mentioned in this Law, shall have the 
meanings assigned against each of them unless the context dictates otherwise 
The Minister 
Filing 
The Center 
The Court 
ARTICLE (3) The Minister of Culture 
Handing in a work of art to the Centre pursuant to the 
provisions of this Law 
The Filing Centre in any department or government 
authority accredited by the Minister 
The competent court of first instance 
A) The original works of literature, arts and science shall enjoy protection under this 
law whatever their type, importance or purpose of production 
B) The protection shall comprise the works of art whose mode of expression is in 
writing, sound, drawing, photography or motion and in particular 
1 Books, Booklets and other writings 
2 The works of art which are conveyed orally such as lectures, speeches and 
sermons 
3. Dramatic works, song plays, dramatic-musical works and pantomimes 
4 Musical works whether or not in musical notations and whether or not 
accompanied by words 
5 Cinematic, radio broadcasting and audio-visual works of art 
6 The works of drawing, painting, sculpture, engraving, architecture, applied­
arts and decoration 
7 Explanatory diagrams, maps, plans, blue-prints, and three-dimensional 
works relating to geography and typography 
8 Computer software 
C) The protection shall include the title of the work of art unless the title is a common 
expression which denotes the topic of the work 
ARTICLE (4) 
Any person who publishes a work attributed to himself whether by mentioning his 
name on it or by any other method shall be regarded as the author unless otherwise 
proven. This provision shall apply to the pseudonym, provided that there is no doubt 
as to the real identity of the author. ARTICLE (5) IPIN/lIJOR/C/l 
Page 3 
Without prejudice to the rights of the author of the original work, he shall enjoy 
protection and shall be considered an author for the purposes of this Law 
A) Whoever translated a work of art into another language, or transformed it from one 
type ofliterature, arts or science into another, or abridged, amended, modified, 
explained, commented on, or indexed a work of art, or any other way which 
renders it novel in form 
B) Whoever performed and conveyed to the public a work of art made by others 
whether this performance was through singing, playing, putting into rhythm, 
reciting, taking photographs, painting, pantomiming, choreographic acting, or any 
other way. 
C) Whoever compiled encyclopedias and anthologies which constitute intellectual 
original works as to selection and arrangement of material and whoever/compiled 
collections containing selected chrestomathy of poetry, prose, music, or suchlike 
provided that the sources and authors are mentioned in these collections 
ARTICLE (6) 
If a work of art is made up for the account of another person, then the copyright shall 
belong to the original author, unless otherwise agreed upon in writing 
ARTICLE (7) 
Unless the collections are characterized by personal effort which embody innovation 
or arrangement, the protection provided for in this law shall not include the following 
works of art 
A) Laws, regulations, court judgements, the decisions of administrative bodies, 
international conventions, and all official documents, as well as the complete or 
partial official translations thereof 
B) Published, broadcasted or publicly announced news ofthe day 
C) The works of art which fall in the public domain The national folklore shall be 
regarded as public ownership for the purposes of this Article provided that the 
Ministry shall exercise the rights of the author as regards those works against 
distortion, modification or detrimental to the cultural interests 
ARTICLE (8) 
The author alone shall have the following rights 
A) The right to attribute to himself his work and to have his name mentioned on all 
the produced copies whenever the work is offered to the public unless the work is 
mentioned accidentally during a news presentation of current events 
B) The right to decide publishing his work and to determine both the method and date 
of publication. 
C) The right to make any amendment to his work whether by alteration, modification, 
omission or addition IP/N/lIJORlC/l 
Page 4 
D) The right to shove away any infringement upon his work and to stop any 
distortion, falsification, modification of the work or any violation upon it, which 
is detrimental to his reputation or honour However, ifthere has been any 
omission, alteration, addition or any other modification in the translation of the 
work of art, the author shall have no right to prevent it, unless the translator fails 
to point out the places where this modification took place or if the translation 
entails detriment to the reputation of the author or his cultural or artistic 
standing or contravenes the contents of the work of art 
E) The right to withdraw his work from circulation if there have been serious and 
legitimate reasons thereto In this case, the author shall have to indemnify the 
party upon whom the financial exploitation rights have devolved with a fair 
compensation 
ARTICLE (9) 
The author shall have the right to exploit his work of art financially in any way he 
chooses No other person shall be entitled to exercise this right without written 
authorization from him or his successors and which includes the following 
A) The right to print and to convey and release his work to the public 
B) The right to reproduce his work by all material forms including photographic, 
cinematic or recording means 
C) The right to translate his work of art into another language or to adapt it, or to 
arrange it musically or to make any other alteration thereto 
D) The right to authorize the use of one copy or more of his work to the persons who 
exploit them in leasing or hiring out and other acts relating to offering the work to 
the public 
E) The right to convey his work of art to the public through recitation, delivery, 
display, acting, radio, television and cinematic publication or any other means 
ARTICLE (10) 
The author alone shall have the right to publish his letters However, he or others shall 
not have the right to exercise this right without a prior authorization from the 
addressee or his heirs if publishing those letters is detrimental to the addressee 
ARTICLE (11) 
A) Upon obtaining an authorization from the Minister, any person shall be allowed to 
translate any foreign work of art into the Arabic language after the elapse of one 
year as of the date of a request for an authorization to translate from the author or 
from the party that has translated it into another foreign language, if neither of 
them has translated it into the Arabic language or authorized another party to do so 
If the authorization for translation is issued, the author of the work of art or 
whoever translated it under authorization from the author, shall be entitled to a fair 
compensation from the applicant who obtained an authorization for translation. 
B) The protection period for a foreign work of art as to exploitation through 
translating it into the Arabic language shall expire after the elapse of five years IP/N/1/JORlC/l 
Page 5 
from publishing it for the first time in the language from which it is going to be 
translated . 
ARTICLE (12) 
It shall not be possible to seize the copyright in any work of art. 
However, it shall be allowed to seize the copies of the work which have been 
published Likewise, it shall not be permitted to seize the work whose author dies 
before publishing it unless it is proven that he agreed to publication before his death 
ARTICLE (13) 
The author shall be entitled to dispose of the financial exploitation rights of his work 
The disposal shall be in writing and shall determine in all frankness and detail each 
disposable right, stating its extent, purpose, exploitation period and place 
ARTICLE (14) 
It shall be regarded as null and void the disposal of all author's future intellectual 
output 
ARTICLE (15) 
The transfer of ownership of the original copy of a work of art or a unique copy of it 
or several copies thereof to others shall not include the transfer of copyright in that 
work to others However, whoever owns the copy or copies shall have the right to 
display it to the public and shall not be obliged to allow the author to reproduce, 
conveyor display it, unless otherwise agreed 
ARTICLE (16) 
The copyright in a photographic work shall not entail preventing others from taking 
one or more photographs for the self-same thing being the object of the work, even if 
the photograph or the new photograph has been taken from the self-same place or the 
self-same conditions in which the first photograph has been taken 
ARTICLE (17) 
It shall be allowed to use published works without an authorization from the author in 
accordance with the following conditions and cases 
A) Presenting, displaying, reciting, acting or putting the work of art in rhythm if it 
takes place in a family gathering, society meeting, private club, or school and 
playing musical works by the musical bands of the government or any public 
corporate body provided that this does not yield any financial returns 
B) Making use of the work for private personal use through making one copy of the 
same by reproducing, translating, quoting, musical arranging, acting, listening, 
watching, or adapting it in any other form 
C) Utilizing the work of art by way of illustration in teaching through publications, 
broadcasts, or audio-visual recordings, to the extent justified by the purpose, for 
educational, cultural, spiritual, and professional-training purposes, provided that 
the work is not used for making financial profits and that the name ofthe author 
and the work is mentioned. 
D) Including paragraphs from a work of art into another work for the purpose of 
illustration, explanation, argumentation, criticism, cultural use, or examination to IPIN/1 IJORfCI 1 
Page 6 
the extent justified by the purpose, provided that the work and the author's name 
are mentioned 
ARTICLE (18) 
Newspapers and periodicals shall not be permitted to copy serialized novels, short 
stories and others which are published in other newspapers and periodicals without 
the consent of their authors. However, newspapers may copy the articles published in 
other newspapers, which are of current political, economic and spiritual character 
which preoccupy the public opinion unless the newspaper which published those 
articles mentions that copying is prohibited In all cases there should be reference to 
the source from which the articles were copied. 
ARTICLE (19) 
Newspapers and other information media may publish, without authorization from an 
author, his speeches, lectures, discourses, and such similar works of art which are 
delivered publicly or addressed to the public provided that in all those cases the work 
and its author are mentioned The author of any of these works shall have the right to 
publish them in one printed book or in any other way or form he chooses 
ARTICLE (20) 
Public libraries, non-commercial documentation centres, educational institutions and 
cultural and scientific institutions shall have the right to copy any work by 
photographic or any similar process without authorization from the author provided 
that the copying and the number of copies are limited to the needs of those institutions 
and that this copying is not detrimental to the financial exploitation rights of the 
author's work. 
ARTICLE (21) 
The heirs of an author shall have exclusive right to determine publishing his works 
which have not been published during his lifetime unless the author requests 
otherwise in his will, or fixes a date for publication, in that case the will shall be 
adhered to 
ARTICLE (22) 
The heirs of an author of any work of art shall have exclusive right to exercise on that 
work the financial exploitation rights provided for in this law. However, if the author 
contracted in writing during his lifetime, with other parties to exploit his work, then 
the conditions of the contract shall be executed If more than one author share in 
compiling a work of art and if one of them dies without leaving an heir, then his share 
in the work shall devolve equally to his partners in the authorship, unless there is a 
written agreement to the contrary 
ARTICLE (23) 
The official radio and television establishments shall have the right to broadcast or 
present the works of art which are shown in theatres or in any other public place The 
directors of such places shall make it possible for these establishments to make the 
necessary artistic arrangements for such broadcasting or presentation These, 
organizations shall mention the author's name and work's title and pay a fair , 
compensation to the author or his successors and to the party exploiting the place 
where the work is presented, if required ARTICLE (24) IP/N/1/JORlCIl 
Page 7 
The official radio and television establishments shall have the right to prepare, for 
their programmes and with their own methods, a non-permanent record for any work 
of art they are licensed to broadcast or show, provided that they destroy all the copies 
of the work within one year of the date of preparing those copies unless the author 
agrees to extend this period. To be excluded are copies of works of art of 
documentary nature, provided that no more than one copy of each of them is kept 
ARTICLE (25) 
Whoever has taken a photograph shall not have the right to show, publish, or 
distribute the original photograph or copies thereof, without an authorization from 
those represented in the photograph. 
This provision shall not apply if publishing the photograph takes place in the context 
of public events or ifit relates to officials or persons enjoying public renown, or if the 
public authorities have given permission to its publication for the general we}fare, 
provided that in all cases, no photograph shall be permitted to be shown, published, 
distributed or circulated if its publication entails detriment to the honour, dignity, 
reputation, prestige or social standing of the person represented in the photograph 
However, the person represented in the photograph shall have the right to authorize its 
publication in newspapers, journals and other information media, even if the person 
who takes the photograph does not allow it, unless there is an agreement to the 
contrary These provisions shall apply to pictures no matter the method by which they 
were made, whether painting, engraving, sculpture, or any other means 
ARTICLE (26) 
If any work of art does not bear the name of its author or if it bears a pseudonym, the 
work's publisher shall be considered authorized under the law to exercise the rights of 
the author provided for in this law, until the author announces his identity and proves 
its 
ARTICLE (27) 
If the heirs of an author of any work of art or his successors, as the case may be, do 
not exercise the financial exploitation rights in the work, then the Minister shall have 
the right to exercise these rights by publishing or republishing the work, if the heirs or 
successors do not do so within six months as of the date of being notified in writing 
by the Minister, without prejudice to the rights of the heirs or successors, as the case 
may be, to a fair compensation from publishing or republishing the work 
ARTICLE (28) 
The author shall have the right to dispose of any of his rights in a work of art on the 
basis of a share percentage in the revenue or profit resulting from the financial 
exploitation of the work by others However, it shall be stipulated that the author shall 
have the right to obtain an additional part of that revenue or profit ifit is revealed that 
the agreement for exploiting his work was unfair to him, or became so because of 
circumstances or reasons which were concealed at the time of agreement, or occurred 
afterwards. 
ARTICLE (29) 
The author of original works of plastic arts and musical manuscripts shall have the 
right to share the revenue of each public auction sale of these works following the first 
assignment made by the author The regulations shall determine the conditions for IP/N/IIJORlCIl 
Page 8 
exercising this right, the share percentage in each sale revenue and the method of 
collection Any agreement or arrangement which violates, or takes place in a way that 
contradicts the provisions of this Article shall be considered as null and void, 
provided that this provision does not apply to architectural and applied arts works 
ARTICLE (30) 
The copyright protection period provided for in this law shall be valid for the lifetime 
of the author and for thirty years after his death, or after the death of the last person 
remaining alive among the authors who took part in compiling the work, if there is 
more than one author 
ARTICLE (31) 
The protection period for the following works of art shall be valid for thirty years as 
of the date of their publication 
A) Cinematic, television and photographic production works which do not have a 
creative nature as they are limited to the mechanical transmission of images' 
B) Works of applied arts 
C) Any work of art whose author or copyright holder is a corporate body 
D) The work of art which is published for the first time after the death of its author 
E) The work of art which does not bear the author's name or which bears a 
pseudonym However, if the author reveals his identity during the protection 
period, then this period shall start from the date of the author's death 
ARTICLE (32) 
The protection period for the following works of art shall be valid for fifteen years as 
of the date of the author's death 
A) Computer software 
B) Translated works of art 
C) Paintings, manuscripts, sculptures, diagrams, photographs, architectural plans, 
geographical or topographical maps, and all two-dimensional and three­
dimensional works 
ARTICLE (33) 
A) A work of art shall be regarded as published as of the date of placing it within 
reach of the public for the first time Re-publication shall not be taken into 
consideration unless the author makes basic amendments at the time of re­
publication that it can be considered a new work of art 
B) If the work of art consists of several books or volumes published separately at 
different intervals, each book or volume shall be regarded as an independent work 
of art as far as the publication date is concerned 
ARTICLE (34) 
A) After the elapse of the protection period provided for in this law for any work of 
art, or when the author has no heirs, or when there are no successors to the author IP/NIlIJORlC/l 
Page 9 
before the elapse of the protection period, then the work shall fall into the public 
domain in such a way that any person shall have the right to reproduce, publish or 
translate it, if it has been reproduced, published or translated before 
B) If the work of art provided for in Paragraph (A) of this Article has not been 
reproduced, published or translated before it falls into the public domain, it shall 
not be allowed to exploit any right in that work including reproduction, publication 
or translation except under a license granted by the Minister The license shall be 
valid for fifteen years and shall be regarded as revoked if its holder has not 
exercised it during a whole year, or if he starts exercising it and then stops for a 
whole year. 
ARTICLE (35) 
A) If more than one person takes part in compiling a work of art in such a way as to 
make it impossible to separate the share of each of them in compiling the work, all 
of them shall be considered as equal owners of the work, unless otherwise agreed 
None of them shall be entitled to exercise the copyright in the work except if they 
all agree to that and each one of them shall have the right to file a lawsuit if any 
copyright infringement takes place 
B) However, if it is possible to separate the share of each of the participants in 
compiling the work from those of the other partners, then each of them shall have 
the right to exploit the copyright in the part which he contributed, provided that 
this is not detrimental to the exploitation of the work itself or to the rights of the 
rest of the partners in the work, unless otherwise agreed 
C) If a group of persons participate under the directives of a natural or legal person in 
compiling a work of art, called a collective work, and if that person commits 
himself to publishing it in his name and under his supervision, and if the 
participants work merge into the general objective aimed at by that person from the 
work or the innovative idea behind it in such a way as to make it impossible to 
separate the work done by each of the participants in compiling the work and in 
setting it apart, then the person who directs and organizes compiling the work shall 
be regarded as the author of the work, and he shall have exclusive right to exercise 
the author's rights therein 
ARTICLE (36) 
A) If more than one person participates in compiling a music-song work, the author of 
the musical part shall have the exclusive right to license to others the public 
performance for the whole work or to authorize, publish, or reproduce the work, 
provided this does not prejudice the copyright ofthe author of the literary part in 
the work, who has the right to publish the part belonging to him, provided that he 
does not dispose of it as a basis for another musical work, unless otherwise agreed 
B) While, the works of art which are performed by movements accompanied by 
music, the shows accompanied by music and other similar works, the author of the 
non-musical part of the work shall have the right to license to others the,public 
performance ofthe whole work or to authorize, publish or reproduce the w()rk As 
regards the author of the musical part of the work, he shall have the right to dispose 
of the music part only, provided that the music is not used in a work similar to the 
joint work, unless otherwise agreed IPINllIJOR/CIl 
Page 10 
ARTICLE (37) 
A) Each of the following shall be regarded as a partner in compiling cinematic, radio 
and television works: 
1. The scenarist or the author of the written theme of the programme 
2 The adapter of the present literary work to make it executable. 
3. The dialogist of the cinematic, radio or television works 
4 The work's musical composer ifhe composed the music specifically for the work 
5 The director of the work ifhe has exercised actual control in executing it and has 
achieved positive results from the intellectual part bring the work into being 
B) If the work is simplified or derived from another previous work, then the author of 
the earlier work shall be considered as a partner in the new work. 
C) The scenarist, the adapter, the dialogist and the director of the literary work shall 
jointly have the right to show the new work and the author of the original literary 
work or the music composer shall not be able to object to that, provided tq/at this 
does not prejudice their rights derived from participating in the work The author of 
the literary part and the author of the musical part shall be entitled to publish the 
part which belongs to him in a way other than the cinema, radio or television, 
unless otherwise agreed 
D) If one of the participants in compiling a work of art refrains from completing what 
he should have accomplished, or his part of the work, this shall not entail 
preventing any of the other participants from using the part which he has 
completed, provided that this does not prejudice the rights belonging to any of 
them due to his participation in compiling the work. 
E) The person who handles achieving a work of art or takes the responsibility of 
achieving it and provides the authors with the material and financial means which 
guarantee producing and directing a work shall be regarded as the producer of the 
cinematic, radio or television work 
F) The producer shall be regarded as the publisher of the cinematic, radio or television 
work and shall enjoy all the rights of the publisher on the work itself and its copies 
The producer, shall throughout the period agreed upon to exploit the work, act as a 
deputy to the authors of the work and their successors in contracting with other 
parties to show and exploit the work, without prejudice to the rights of the authors 
of adapted literary and musical parts, unless otherwise agreed 
ARTICLE (38) 
The filing provisions provided for in this law shall apply to every work of art 
published or reproduced in the Kingdom for a Jordanian or non-Jordanian author and 
to the works published or reproduced abroad for a Jordanian author if it is published 
in the Kingdom, provided that the work of art is filed at the Centre, without paying 
any fees, before the work is offered for sale or distribution in the Kingdom and that 
the filed copies shall be identical to the work in every respect and be among its best 
produced copies On re-publication, the work of art shall be subject to the filing 
provisions under this law 
ARTICLE (39) 
Each of the author of the work, its publisher, the owner of the printing press where the 
work is reproduced, its producer and its distributor shall be responsible for filing the IP/N/lIJORlC/1 
Page 11 
work of art. Likewise, the importer of any work of art or any person who stands for 
him, shall be responsible for filing the work which has been reproduced, published or 
produced outside the Kingdom for a Jordanian author 
ARTICLE (40) 
Each work of art shall be given a special filing number and the Centre shall handle 
extracting the artistic data from the work for the purposes of indexing and classifying 
printed works in accordance with the rules and principles observed in this respect The 
artistic data shall be handed over to the person concerned for fixing them on the work 
ARTICLE (41) 
If the work of art is a book, each of its author, publisher and the owner of the printing 
press where the book has been reproduced shall be responsible for recording the 
indexing and classification data as well as the filing number and data on the recto of 
the title page of the work As to the works of art other than books, the filing number 
shall be recorded on any apparent part of the work 
ARTICLE (42) 
Each printing press or establishment which handles reproducing, publishing, 
producing, distributing a work of art in the Kingdom shall submit a statement every 
six months, of the works which it reproduced, published, produced or distributed on 
the form prepared by the Centre for this purpose 
ARTICLE (43) 
The Centre shall issue periodic bibliographic data in the form of lists or indexes 
including the works of art which have been filed with the Centre and shall handle 
bibliographic information tasks in this field. 
ARTICLE (44) 
The Centre shall compile a unified index for the identification of the works available 
in the libraries and information and documentation centers in the Kingdom, indicating 
the place of each work as well as the libraries and the information and documentation 
centres which it covers and the commitments and obligations required therefrom by a 
ministerial decision 
ARTICLE (45) 
A copyright protection lawsuit shall not be heard for any work of art which has not 
been filed with the Centre in accordance with the provisions and procedures provided 
for in this law 
ARTICLE (46) 
The Court may upon a petition filed by the author or any of his heirs or successors 
take the following measures with respect to any work of art whose author's copyright, 
or that of his heirs or successors, has been infringed upon, provided that the petition 
contains detailed and comprehensive description of the work. 
1 Stopping the reproduction, publication, distribution, offering or public performance 
of the work and this provision shall include any part ofthe work illegally lI;sed 
2 Seizing the original work, its copies or photocopies as well as the materials used in 
re-publication provided that they are not useful for anything else. JP/NIlIJORlCIl 
Page 12 
3. Impounding the revenues resulting from exploiting the work which has been 
published through public performance. 
B) The petition provided for in Paragraph (A) of this Article shall be filed together 
with a security deposit that will be a guarantee against any loss and damage 
sustained by the defendant if it turns out that the plaintiff is not right in his claim It 
shall be allowed to file the petition before, upon or during trying the lawsuit If the 
Court decides to take the procedures provided for in Paragraph (A) of this Article 
or any of them before filing the lawsuit, the plaintiff must file his lawsuit within 
eight days of the date of the Court's decision If the lawsuit has not been filed 
during this period, the procedures taken by the court shall become null and void 
under the law. 
C) Any person who sustains damages from any procedure taken by the Court pursuant 
to the provisions of Paragraph (A) of this Article shall have the right to co~test it at 
the Court which may uphold or revoke completely or partially its earlier d6cision 
or may appoint a trustee whose assignment is the republication, presentation or 
public performance of the work of art provided that the resulting revenue shall be 
deposited in the Court's safe pending settlement of the dispute The Court shall 
determine the party to whom the revenues shall become due to in light of the other 
aspects in the lawsuit 
ARTICLE (47) 
A) The Court may, upon a petition filed by the author, or any of his heirs or 
successors, order the destruction of a work of art copies or photocopies which have 
been illegally published as well as the materials used in publishing the work, 
provided they are not useful for anything else The Court may, instead of 
destroying them, order to change the features of the copies, photocopies and the 
materials or to make them unfit for use However, if it turns out to the Court that 
the copyright in a work of art lapses within two years of the date of issuance of the 
Court's final decision, then it shall order to confirm the seizure so as to settle the 
compensation that is due to the author 
B) It shall not be permitted to order the destruction of a work of art copies or 
photocopies or change their features if the dispute concerns the translation of a 
work of art into the Arabic language. In this case, the Court's decision shall be 
limited to confirming the seizure of the work, its copies, or its photocopies as the 
case need be 
C) The Cciurt shall, instead of destroying the copies or photocopies of a work of art, 
changing their features or destroying the materials, order the confiscation of a work 
of art copies br photocopies as well as the materials used in producing and selling 
them to the extent necessary to compensate the author for the damages he has 
sustained. 
D) It shall not be possible in any case for buildings or the sculptures, drawings, 
decorations or geometric shapes showing on or in them to be subject of seizure 
Likewise, it shall not be allowed to destroy, change the features, or to confiscate 
buildings for the purpose of preserving the copyright of an architect whose 
blueprints and plans have been illegally used, provided that this does not prejudice 
his right to an equitable compensation for its use. ARTICLE (48) IP/N/lIJORlC/1 
Page 13 
In accordance with the provisions of Article 47, it shall be permitted to order to revert 
to the former state of any work of art whose copyright has been infringed upon, 
including making any amendment or omission of parts thereof so as to achieve that 
purpose 
ARTICLE (49) 
The author whose any of his rights in his work of art provided for in accordance with 
the provisions of this law have been infringed upon shall have the right to receive an 
equitable compensation, provided that the compensation shall be estimated according 
to the author's cultural standing, the work's literary scientific or artistic value, and the 
extent to which the infringer benefited from exploiting the work The 
compensation ordered for the author shall be regarded as preferred debt to the net 
sales value ofthe things used in the infringement of the author's rights and the seized 
amounts of money in the lawsuit 
ARTICLE (50) 
The Court may upon the request of the judgement beneficiary order publishing the 
judgement which it issues under this law in one local daily or weekly newspaper or 
more at the convicted party's expense 
ARTICLE (51) 
A)The following shall be penalized by an imprisonment term of not less than three 
months and a fine not less than ID 500 and not exceeding than ID 1000 or by one 
of those two penalties. 
1 Whoever illegally exercised one of the privileges provided for in Articles 8, 9 
and 10 of this law. 
2. Whoever offers for sale imitation work of art or copies thereof although he 
knows that it is imitated or conveys it to the public in any way or imports it into 
the Kingdom or exports it abroad 
B) In case of a repetition of any of the crimes provided for in Paragraph (A) of this 
Article, the perpetrator of the crime shall be sentenced to the maximum 
imprisonment penalty The Court may in this case order to close down the 
establishment in which the crime has been committed for a period of not more than 
one year or to suspend its licence for a certain period of time or for good 
ARTICLE (52) 
Whoever contravened the provisions of Articles 38,39,41 and 42 of this law shall be 
penalized with a fine of not less than ID 20 and not exceeding ID 100 This penalty 
shall not exempt him from carrying out the provisions provided for in those Articles 
ARTICLE (53) 
The provisions ofthis law shall apply to the works of art of Jordanian and foreign 
authors, which are published in the Kingdom and to the works of Jordanian authors 
which are published abroad As to the works of the foreign authors which are ' 
published abroad, international conventions and reciprocity shall be taken into 
consideration in their regard IP/N/1/JORlCIl 
Page 14 
ARTICLE (54) 
The provisions of this law shall apply to the works of art which exist at the time of its 
application except for Article 41, 42, 51 and 52 whose provisions shall not apply 
except on events and actions which take place after the implementation of the 
provisions of this law 
ARTICLE (55) 
The provisions of this law shall apply to the events and agreements which take place 
or are concluded subsequent to the time of its implementation, even if they relate to 
works of art published or presented for the first time before its implementation 
However, with respect to calculating the period of protection for those works, the 
calculations must include the period which elapsed from the date of the event and 
until the date of implementing this law 
ARTICLE (56) 
The periods provided for in this law shall be computed in the Gregorian Calendar 
ARTICLE (57) 
The Council of Ministers shall issue the necessary regulations for implementing the 
provisions of this law. 
ARTICLE (58) 
The Ottoman copyright law and any law or legislation whose provisions contradict the 
provisions ofthis law shall hereby be repealed 
ARTICLE (59) 
The Prime Minister and the Ministers shall be commissioned with the implementation 
of the provisions ofthis law 
Al Hussein Ben Talal 
19/311992