Copyright and the Related Rights (A Comparative Study

Abstract

This book “Copyright and the Neighbouring Rights: A Comparative Study”, discusses the issue of Copyright and intellectual property in general. It also highlights a number of related international conventions, the Arab Convention for the Protection of the Copyright, then focuses on the domestic laws in relation to the intellectual property and the protection of the rights of the Sudanese author, referring to some of the lawsuits and cases in this respect. In the preliminary chapter, it presents a definition for the intellectual property, highlighting the words ‘right’ and ‘authorship’ both lexically and idiomatically. The second subject discusses the evolution of Copyright protection on the Arab, Islamic and international level. Chapter one, as well, discusses the international conventions for the protection of the copyright, having its first subject focuses on the Berne Convention; the second on the Universal Copyright Convention; the third on Madrid Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Copyright Royalties; and the last examines the Arab Convention for the Protection of the Copyright. Whereas chapter two studies the universal conventions for the similar rights where the first subject of which focuses on the Universal Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations (Rome); the second examines; the second subject on the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms; the third on the Brussels Convention for the Satellites; and the fourth subject examines the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). Chapter three discusses the international organizations for the protection of the copyright, neighboring rights and the collective administration. Its first subject focuses on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), whereas the second on the WIPO Copyright Treaty; the third on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the fourth examines the Arab League Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (ALESCO); the fifth on the World Trade Organizations (WTO), and the last focuses on the Collective Administration of the Copyrights on the international level. Chapter four examines Copyright and the Neighboring Rights in the Sudanese Laws the first subject of which focuses on the works covered and those not covered by the protection; the second on the copyrights in the Sudanese laws and Copyright property; the third on the duration of the work's protection and the copyright: its restrictions and transferal; the fourth on the registration of works and contracts in the Sudanese copyright and neighbouring rights acts; the fifth on the infringement of copyright and legal consequences thereof and the offenses of copyright infringement, whereas the last subject raises the issue of the protection of the neighboring rights and the collective administration in the Sudanese copyright Acts. At the end of the study comes the conclusion, biographies and list of references and indexes, followed by a table of contents.