Jordan's 1992 Copyright Law does not meet international standards in most significant respects. Nor will Jordan be able to join the Berne or Geneva Conventions without a complete overhaul of its copyright system. The pace of copyright reform in Jordan has been slow. Since at least 1995, Jordanian officials have made repeated assertions of their government s interest in passing a new copyright law and providing enforcement. In July 1996, the Ministry of Culture submitted a draft law amending the copyright law to the Prime Ministry, and this bill was submitted to Parliament s extra-ordinary session in August 1996.
Clarification appears necessary regarding the bill s provisions on rental rights and retroactivity.
The proposed translation and reproduction licenses still do not meet the standards of the Berne Appendix. We understand that this bill has not yet been considered by Parliament so far in 1997. It is expected that Jordan will join WIPO and the Berne Convention shortly after this legislation is adopted. Implementing regulations to such law reportedly have yet to be drafted. Because IIPA is not certain whether the text we have is the latest text pending before Parliament, these comments are illustrative, not exhaustive.