Amid rapid digital transformation and the increasing ease of copying and sharing content, copyright protection has become an essential pillar of a sustainable creative economy. Against this backdrop, the Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association (ERRA) was established in 2022 as the first non-profit organization of its kind in the region dedicated to the collective management of reprographic rights, representing authors and publishers and protecting their interests.
ERRA seeks to strike a balance between access to knowledge and the protection of creativity by providing institutions with licences that enable the lawful use of printed and digital works, while collecting revenues generated from such uses and returning them to rightsholders.
Education: From Awareness to Implementation
The education sector represents one of the key pillars of ERRA’s strategy, given the extensive use of books, articles, references, and other protected materials across schools and universities.
In a significant step marking the transition from raising awareness of reprographic rights to their practical implementation, ERRA signed licensing agreements with Heriot-Watt University Dubai and the American University of Sharjah, establishing a framework for the lawful use of copyright-protected works within both educational institutions.
These agreements pave the way for expanding the licensing system to include more universities, schools, and educational institutions across the UAE. In the long term, such expansion can help transform the repeated use of copyrighted content into a sustainable source of income for authors and publishers, following successful international models of collective rights management.
An International Network for Rights Protection
Alongside developing its domestic licensing framework, ERRA has worked since its establishment to strengthen its presence on the international stage. In May 2022, the Association joined the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) and also holds observer status with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
ERRA has further expanded its international network by signing 12 bilateral agreements with international reprographic rights organizations, strengthening the reciprocal protection of authors and publishers across borders. These agreements enable ERRA to represent international rightsholders within the UAE while extending the protection of the authors and publishers it represents to international markets covered by these agreements.
This global network is becoming increasingly important in an era when books, articles, and digital works move easily across national borders. Cooperation among collective management organizations is therefore essential to ensuring that royalties reach rightsholders wherever their works are used.
A UAE Model with a Global Presence
Within just a few years, ERRA has progressed from its establishment phase to the practical implementation of educational licensing and the development of an extensive network of international partnerships, while continuing its efforts to promote a culture of respect for copyright and reprographic rights within society.
This progress represents an important step toward developing an integrated reprographic rights market in the UAE, particularly as the country continues to strengthen its cultural and creative industries and consolidate its position as a global hub for knowledge and publishing.
Despite being relatively young compared with international organizations that have operated for decades, ERRA has succeeded in positioning the UAE model on the global collective rights management landscape and providing authors and publishers in the region with a stronger presence within the international copyright ecosystem.
Ultimately, the purpose of reprographic rights protection is not to restrict access to knowledge, but to regulate its use in a fair and sustainable manner—ensuring that students and institutions can access the knowledge they need while creators receive fair recognition and remuneration for their work.
