COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY ORDER NUMBER 83
Pursuant to my authority as Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and under the laws and usages of war, and consistent with relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1483 and 1511 (2003),
Having worked closely with the Governing Council to ensure that economic change as necessary to benefit the people of Iraq occurs in a manner acceptable to the people of Iraq,
Acknowledging the Governing Council’s desire to bring about significant change to the Iraqi intellectual property system as necessary to improve the economic condition of the people of Iraq,
Determined to improve the conditions of life, technical skills, and opportunities for all Iraqis and to fight unemployment with its associated deleterious effect on public security,
Recognizing that companies, lenders and entrepreneurs require a fair, efficient, and predictable environment for protection of their intellectual property,
Noting that several provisions of the current Iraqi copyright legislation does not meet current internationally-recognized standards of protection,
Recognizing the demonstrated interest of the Iraqi Governing Council for Iraq to become a full member in the international trading system, known as the World Trade Organization, and the desirability of adopting modern intellectual property standards,
Acting in a manner consistent with the Report of the Secretary General to the Security Council of July 17, 2003, concerning the need for the development of Iraq and its transition from a non-transparent centrally planned economy to a free market economy characterized by sustainable economic growth through the establishment of a dynamic private sector, and the need to enact institutional and legal reforms to give it effect,
Having coordinated with the international financial institutions, as referenced in paragraph 8(e) of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483,
In close consultation with and acting in coordination with the Governing Council, I hereby promulgate the following:
The purpose of this Order is to amend Copyright Law No. 3 of 1971 to ensure that Iraqi copyright law meets current internationally-recognized standards of protection, and to incorporate the modern standards of the World Trade Organization into Iraqi law.
1) Article 1 of the Copyright Law No. 3 of 1971 (“the Law”) is amended to read as follows:
“1. This law protects the authors of original literary, artistic and scientific works, whatever their type, method of expression, importance and purpose.
2. The person in whose name the work is published, whether by mentioning his name on the work or by any other means, shall be considered the author, unless there is evidence to the contrary. This provision shall apply to pseudonyms, provided there is not the least doubt as to the identify of the author.”
2) Article 2 is amended to read as follows: “The protection shall include the works whose method of expression is in writing, sound, drawing, painting or movement, and in particular the following: 3) Article 3 is amended to read as follows: “Protection shall include the title of the work, if it is characterized by originality and not indicative of the work’s subject matter.”
4) Article 6 is amended to read as follows: “Protection shall include the following where characterized by originality, arrangement or any other personal effort which deserves protection: 5) Article 8 is amended to read as follows: “The author holds the exclusive right to exercise the rights in his/her works. Without the written permission of the author or his/her successors, no person shall do any of the following acts: 6) Article 9 is suspended.
7) A new provision is supplemented between Articles 10 and 11 to read as follows: “1. If the work was created on behalf of another person, the rights in the work shall revert to the author unless there is a written agreement stipulating otherwise. 8) Article 11 is suspended.
9) Article 15 is amended to read as follows: “Copying may not be made of serialized novels, short stories or other literary, artistic or scientific works published by their authors in the newspapers or periodicals, except with their permission.”
10) A new provision is supplemented between Article 15 and Article 16 to read as follows: “Exceptions to exclusive rights of the author shall be confined to certain special cases which do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the right holder.”
11) Article 20 is amended to read as follows:
“1. The author’s economic rights provided for in this Law shall be protected
throughout the lifetime of the author and for 50 years from the date of his death. 12) Article 21 is suspended.
13) Article 23 is suspended.
14) A new provision is supplemented between Article 34 and Article 35 to read as follows:
“1. Performers shall have the following exclusive rights: 15) A new provision is supplemented between Article 34bis and Article 35 to read as follows: “In order to ensure that no hierarchy is established between rights of authors, on the one hand, and rights of at least performers and producers of phonograms, on the other hand, each Party shall establish that in cases where authorization is needed from both the author of a work embodied in a phonogram and a performer or producer owning rights in the phonogram, the need for the authorization of the author does not cease to exist because the authorization of the performer or producer is also required. Likewise, each Party shall establish that in cases where authorization is needed from both the author of a work embodied in a phonogram and at least of a performer or producer owning rights in the phonogram, the need for the authorization of the performer or producer does not cease to exist because the authorization of the author is also required.”
16) Article 35 is suspended.
17) Article 36 is suspended.
18) Article 44 is amended to read as follows: “Each author whose rights in his work provided in accordance with the provisions of this law are infringed upon, shall be entitled to appropriate compensation. In deciding compensation, the cultural standing of the author, the literary, scientific or artistic value of the work and the extent the infringer benefited by exploiting the work shall be taken into consideration.”
19) Article 45 is amended to read as follows: “Any act committed by any of the following shall be considered an act of piracy punishable by a fine of not less than 5,000,000 dinars and not exceeding 10,000,000 dinars.”
20) Article 45(2) is amended to read as follows: “2. Whoever offers for sale, distribution or rental of an infringing work, transmits an infringing work to the public in any manner, uses an infringing work for material gain, brings an infringing work into or out of Iraq, knowing or having adequate reason to believe that the work is unauthorized.”
21) The final paragraph of Article 45 is amended to read as follows: “In case of subsequent conviction, the offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period not less than five years and not more than ten years and to a fine not less than 100,000,000 dinars and not more than 200,000,000 dinars or to any one of these penalties. The Court may also, in the case of subsequent conviction, order the closure, for a certain period or for good, of the establishment which has been used by the counterfeiters or their partners to commit the offense.”
22) An additional paragraph of Article 45 is added to read as follows: “The Court may also order the forfeiture and destruction of all infringing copies or sound recordings and all implements, devices or equipment used in the manufacture of such infringing copies or sound recordings.”
23) Article 46 is amended to read as follows:
“1. The Court may upon proper application by the copyright owner or any of his/her heirs or successors issue injunctive relief in relation to any infringement of the rights set forth in Articles 5, 7, 8, 10 and 34bis of this Law provided that the application contain a detailed and complete description of the work, performance, phonogram, or program against which the infringement occurred. The Court may decide to: 24) Article 47 is amended to read follows:
“In no case shall buildings and what they have in or on them of engravings, drawings, ornamentations or geometrical shapes be subject to seizure. Furthermore, no ruling shall order their destruction, the change of their features, or their confiscation for the purpose of safeguarding the copyrights of the architect whose designs were used for the building and whose drawings were put in them illegally. This shall not violate his right in obtaining fair compensation for the foregoing.”
25) Article 48 is suspended.
26) Article 49 is amended to read as follmvs: "The provisions of this law shall apply to the works of Iraqi and foreign authors which are published, acted or presented for the first time in the Republic ofTraq, as well as to the works of Iraqi authors which are published, acted or presented tor the first time in a foreign country. The protection of copyright and related rights provided under this Law shall be extended to foreigners, whether natural persons or legal entities, on a basis no less favorable than that accorded to Iraqi nationals with regard to the protection and enjoyment of such intellectual property rights and any benefits derived from such rights."
27) A new provision is supplemented between Articlc 49 and Article 50 to read as follows: ;'The provisions of this Law shall apply to works existing at the time it takes effect, provided thc term of protection for those works have not yet fallen into the public domain in their country of origin."
Section 3 This Ordcr shall enter into force on thc date of signature.
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L Paul Brcmer, Administrator Coalition Provisional Authority
iO AMENDMENT TO THE COPYRIGHT LAW
protected as literary works
performances except where the performance is already a broadcast
performance and the fixation of their unfixed performances;
Entry into Force