The default rule changed in 2022
Many contract templates in Dubai still follow advice written under the old 2002 copyright law. In 2017, Gowling WLG wrote that in the UAE an employer or commissioning party did not automatically own copyright, and that without a written assignment it stayed with the creator.
The current law, Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021, in force since 2 January 2022, sets a different default in Article 28:
Employees' work-related creations made under the employer's direction or with its tools belong to the employer (Article 28(2)); unrelated work made without its resources stays with the employee (28(3)).
That is good news for clients. But three other articles limit how far the default goes, and they are the reason a contract still matters.
Three articles that limit the default
Article 9: transfers must be written and specific. A transfer or licence of economic rights takes effect only in writing, specifying the right, and stating the purpose, duration and place of use (text). A one-line "all rights belong to the client" is weak evidence of what was agreed.
Article 5: moral rights don't move. The author keeps rights of first publication, attribution and objection to distortion; they are "not subject to prescription or assignment". You can own the economic rights in a reel and still have to respect the editor's or photographer's attribution right as the contract defines it.
Article 45: commissioned photos stay private. Where someone is hired to take photos or recordings, they "may not keep, show or publish the original or copies thereof without authorization" of the client, unless agreed otherwise. That directly affects portfolios and showreels.
Article 15 adds that assigning someone's entire future output is void, so "all future works" clauses in freelancer contracts don't hold.
Who owns what in common Dubai set-ups
| Set-up | Default under the 2021 law | What to put in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Your employee shoots reels for your brand | Employer (Art. 28(2)) | Confirm in the employment contract; cover personal accounts and side projects |
| Freelancer shoots a product catalogue for you | Client (Art. 28(1)), unless agreed otherwise | Named rights, purpose, territory, duration (Art. 9); raws or not |
| Agency produces an ad campaign | Client, unless the agency's terms say otherwise | Read the agency's terms: many license rather than transfer |
| Creator makes a sponsored reel on their own account | Often the creator's terms decide; it's made for both | Usage rights for your ads, duration, whitelisting, edits |
| Designer creates your logo | Client by default | Explicit transfer before you register the trademark |
| Stock or music used in the edit | Never transfers: licensed from a third party | Licence names you as end user; see our music guide |
Eight clauses for a UAE content contract
- Deliverables list. Final edits, formats, photo count, and whether raw footage, project files and unused takes are included.
- Rights transferred or licensed. Name them: reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation, distribution (Art. 9).
- Purpose and channels. Organic social, paid ads, website, outdoor, TV.
- Territory and duration. "UAE and GCC, perpetual" or "worldwide, 2 years": say it.
- Third-party elements. Models, music, stock, locations: whose licence, which term. Model usage often expires sooner than your rights in the footage; see our guide to model fees and usage rights.
- Credit and moral rights. How the creator is credited, and agreement not to object to normal edits and cut-downs, as far as the law allows.
- Portfolio permission. Whether and when the studio may show the work (Art. 45 needs your authorisation).
- Signatures and further assurance. The creator will sign any document needed to confirm the transfer later.
What nobody tells you
- The default helps only if you can prove the work was made for you. An invoice and a brief are evidence. A WhatsApp "can you shoot something for us?" is thin.
- Raws are a separate negotiation. Studios often price raw footage separately because it is the expensive part to store and the most reusable for the client.
- Creators' sponsored posts are a grey zone. A reel made for your brand and posted on the creator's account is "made for" both. If you want to run it as an ad, buy usage in writing, with dates.
- "Work made for hire" is an American phrase. UAE law doesn't use it. Write the transfer in Article 9 terms.
- Infringement is criminal as well as civil. Using a protected work without written permission carries at least two months' imprisonment and/or AED 10,000 to AED 100,000 under Article 39 (summary).
Vladimir Chernyshev, GM: the ownership of the final reel is the easy part. The questions worth settling up front are raws, how long the model can appear in ads, and whether the studio may post the work. Put those three in the quote, not after delivery.
Related: how to hire a videographer in Dubai, stock photo and video licences.
