This article aims to provide both employers and employees with a general understanding of intellectual property rights at work in both, Lebanon and UAE.
According to WIPO, Intellectual Property (IP) is the creations of mind in commerce; namely, inventions, designs, names, symbols, and images. IP is governed by laws which provide individuals with exclusive rights to their creative work for a certain period of time. These laws are profitable; therefore, it encourages businesses to grow as it rewards creativity. Knowledge-based economy is where jobs are driven by technology and information created and invented by employees. This is what is called “employee-generated intellectual property”. Employee-generated IP presents multiple legal issues concerning ownership, and significant implications for both employers and employees. Who has the right to exploits intellectual property commercially? Should the employees get recognition for their contribution?
Intellectual property intertwines with copyright work and ownership rights that hold significant importance in Labor law. It is important for both, employers and employees, to understand their rights and obligations in this regard to avoid legal implications. The legal frameworks governing IP ownership within labor law might differ significantly from a country to another, and might share several similarities in this regard, such as Lebanon and UAE. While both Lebanon and UAE recognize employee rights in a certain aspect, and both recognize the “work for hire” principle, both legal structures in Lebanon and UAE offer a broad approach to this issue; however, UAE mainly focuses on employer control. The existence of variable legislations has an impact on innovation, employer control, and employee rights in each jurisdiction.
- Lebanon
Lebanon’s labor law slightly leans towards employee rights when compared to other countries. Regarding copyrights, Article 9 of the Law on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property No. 75/1999 stipulates that in the case of a work created by natural persons working under a work contract in the course of performing their duties or professional obligations, the employer shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the copyright holder and shall exercise the rights provided in the law. However, employees always retain moral rights to their work, e.g., the right to be identified as the author of a publication.
Article 6 of Law No. 240/2000 (Lebanese Patents’ Law) states that if a more beneficial written agreement with the employee is not available, then the inventions of the employees within their scope of duties shall be owned by the employer. On the other hand, if the employee created work lies outside the scope of their duties, they retain ownership over their creations. However, if the invention arose as a result of knowledge supplied by the employer or through the utilization of the employer’s means or technologies, the employer is granted the right to notify the employee in writing of their intention to claim ownership of the invention or to partially or fully utilize it with a reasonable remuneration.
- UAE
Analogously, UAE’s legal framework also generally prioritizes the employer’s interests. In recent years it appears that “work for hire” doctrine was put on a statutory footing in the UAE. This concept implies that any IP created during the course of employment belongs to the employer and not the employee. Federal Decree-Law No. 11/2021 on the Regulation and Protection of Industrial Property Rights and Federal Decree Law No. 38/2021 on Copyrights and Neighboring rights strengthen the rights of businesses and employers commissioning the creation of copyrighted work.
Article 28 of the Copyright Law specifies that: (a) copyright in a work created for the benefit of another person shall vest in such person; (b) copyright made by an employee or worker during and related to its work shall vest in its employer taking into account the intellectual effort of the worker; (c) copyright made by an employee or worker not related to the business of the employer and which does not use the employer’s experiences, information or tools shall vest in the employee or worker.
On another hand, article 11 Federal Decree-Law No.11/2021 on the Regulation and Protection of Industrial Property Rights stipulates that the right to an invention made under a contract belongs to the employer unless stated otherwise. If the invention’s economic value exceeds the expectations at the time of the contract, the inventor is entitled to additional compensation.
If a worker not contracted for inventive activity invents something related to the employer’s field of activity using the employer’s resources, the right to the invention belongs to the worker, provided the employer did not express his/her willingness to acquire the invention by a written notification. If the employer expresses his/her desire to acquire the invention within the period specified, he/she shall be entitled to the right to the invention from its inception, and the inventor worker shall be entitled to a fair compensation.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that Lebanon and UAE offer similar landscapes and legal frameworks for businesses when it comes to intellectual property within their labor laws. While Lebanon offers a more balanced approach for employee and employer rights, UAE might prioritize employer ownership which can be attractive for certain businesses and capital inflow. Individual entrepreneurs focused on innovation might find Lebanon’s regulations more convenient, whereas big businesses that prioritize their financial benefit from retaining the innovation of its entity presumably consider UAE’s regulations and advanced bureaucracy more adequate. Nevertheless, well-defined employment contracts are essential
