A copyright does not require a formal registration to be in force. However, registration can provide numerous advantages.

A registration can be beneficial to support the claim of your own right and is possible in the UAE.

• Ownership becomes evident and documented, even providing public access in some countries..

• The scope and kind of protection is well defined.

• Benefits when an international claim or registration are intended.

• Any commercialisation, such as licensing, is based on a clear assignment of rights.

• Claims for any kind of infringement can be based on a registered IP right.

Copyright protection lasts generally for a very long time, ending 50 years after the death of the work's author. For certain kinds of creative work, like applied arts, different periods apply. Protection periods in other countries could be different, too.