Copyright law of Syria
Copyright law in Syria is regulated by the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law issued by Legislative Decree No. 62 of 2013. The Syrian Ministry of Culture, through its Copyright Office, is generally in charge of proposing copyright legislation to Parliament. History. On January 17, 1924, during the French Mandate over Syria and Lebanon, Decree 2385 was issued in which Article 145 defined works of art and literature as intellectual production. On February 23, 1987, the Arab Society for Intellectual Property was founded, known at the time as the Arab Society for the Protection of Industrial Property  with the mission of "promoting and developing Intellectual Property protection in the Arab world...". At the time, Syria was on the board alongside nine other Arab states. As of August 2017, Syria has one representative on the Society's board. Syria's first copyright law was issued in 2001. This law was repealed in 2013 by Legislative Decree No. 62 of 2013 on Law for the Protection of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights. Main features. The Syrian copyright law grants copyright protection automatically without the need for any formalities to all literary, scientific, and artistic works irrespective of the value of  the work, the purpose for which it was created or whether or not it is reduced to a material form. The law protects all forms of human expression including computer software and databases. In addition to the classic forms of copyright protection, the law also protects neighbouring rights such as performers rights, audio-visual producers rights, and broadcasting rights. The law also provides a mechanism for compulsory licensing and a collective rights management. Exclusive rights. The Syrian copyright law provides a number of moral and economic rights. Moral rights. The Syrian copyright law provides the author with following moral rights : Economic rights. The Syrian copyright law provides the author with the following economic rights: Copyright term. Moral rights under the Syrian law are protected in perpetuity, but economic rights last only for a specific period of time as follows: Membership to copyright treaties. Syria is a member to following copyright treaties: