The global voice for consumers La voix des Consommateurs à travers le monde La voz global para la defensa de los consumidores

Country report for Jordan for CI Regional Meeting on A2K Rami Olwan Creative Commons Jordan Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation 17 February 2009

Summary of issues of concern to consumers in Jordan – Cost of learning materials is high for most Jordanians since the per capita income is low ($ 2340). – The Jordanian Copyright Law is highly restricted and does not take into consideration the development agenda of the country. – There are minor exceptions in the Copyright law for use of copyright materials by libraries and for educational purposes. – No exceptions or limitations for DRMs and TPMs provisions (Article 54 and 55).

Jordan intellectual property regime – Jordan Joined the Berne convention (1999), the WCT (2004), and the WPPT (2004). – IP Enforcement is limited in Jordan, but the government has taken since 2006 anti- piracy campaigns against infringers. – Jordan signed an FTA with the U.S on 17 December 2001 (the first country from the Middle East after Israel). – Jordan is not listed in the 2008 U.S 301 Watch List. – There is not much awareness of IP alternatives such as open source and Creative Commons licensing in Jordan.

Other communications rights in Jordan – Media laws encourage some measure of self-censorship in cyberspace, and citizens have been questioned and arrested for certain web content. – Internet access remains largely unfiltered with filtering applied to a small number of sites, especially political. – “Net neutrality” is not an issue. – There is no privacy and data protection laws (the Constitution of 1952 recognizes limited privacy rights). – Jordanian government does only favour propriety software (Microsoft) and not FOSS.

Access to the Internet in Jordan – Broadband and internet mobile is limited, most internet connection is done through fixed lines. – There is no particular laws or polices that impact on Internet access. – There is a notable deficit in computer and Internet skills especially in rural areas (digital divide). – Most Internet content is available in Arabic. The quality is of sub-standards and most websites (even government) are not updated frequently. – The internet is mostly affordable for middle class and rich families. The government has taken minor steps to rectify the situation.

Conclusions – Jordan should benefit fully from CI's Global Consumer Dialogue to improve its IP and communication laws. – Free and Open Source Software should be seriously considered in Jordan and the Arab world as they could bring many opportunities to the country. – It is important to conduct research on the potential of CC in the Arab world, their applicability and enforceability.

Rami Olwan Creative Commons Jordan Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation