This is an informal case summary prepared for the purposes of facilitating exchange during the 2024 WIPO IP Judges Forum.
Session 5
Court of Appeal of Amman, Jordan [2009]: Case No. 40706/2009
Date of judgment: August 30, 2019
Issuing authority: Amman Court of Appeal
Level of the issuing authority: Appellate Instance
Type of procedure: Judicial (Criminal)
Subject matter: Copyright and Related Rights (Neighboring Rights)
Plaintiff: Ministry of Education
Defendant: A group of teachers
Keywords: copyright exceptions; credit to the original author
Basic facts: The Ministry of Education (Plaintiff) filed a complaint against a group of math teachers in private schools (the Defendants), alleging copyright infringement. The teachers were accused of issuing a mathematics booklet that essentially replicated the content of the teacher's guide produced by the Ministry. The Defendants denied the allegations, claiming that their actions merely involved preparing and compiling educational materials to teach their students.
In the first instance, the court found copyright infringement and ruled in favor of the plaintiff. The Defendants appealed the decision.
Held: The Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's decision, dismissing the appeal and affirming the copyright infringement. Each defendant was fined one thousand dinars, and all booklet copies were ordered to be confiscated.
Relevant holdings in relation to Copyright: The Court of Appeal dismissed the Defendants' argument that their actions fell within the exceptions provided under Article 17 of the Copyright Law. This law allows the use of published works without the author's permission under specific conditions, such as for educational purposes, provided there is no financial gain and the author is credited.
The Court of Appeal noted that the Defendants' actions did not meet these criteria, as they produced a new work under their names without properly crediting the original author. The Court of Appeal emphasized that simply referring to the original work in the introduction was insufficient; proper citation and acknowledgment were required. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal found that Article 20 of the Copyright Law, which pertains to copying, also did not apply, as the Defendants had failed to credit the original author in their replicated work. Consequently, the Court of Appeal concluded that the Defendants' actions constituted copyright infringement.
Additionally, the Court of Appeal rejected the Defendants' claim that the teacher's guide did not qualify as a protected work under the Copyright Law, affirming that it was indeed covered by Article 3.
Relevant legislation:
· Criminal Procedure Law of 1961
· Copyright and Neighboring Rights Law of 1992