Through the eyes of Omani courts: Copyright protection of photographs

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This article examines Al-Toqi v Ministry of Commerce and Industry, one of the few publicly available copyright-related decisions by the courts of the Sultanate of Oman. This case concerned the unauthorized use of photographs by the Omani Government itself. Omani courts at all levels — including the Supreme Court — held that no copyright infringement had occurred for different reasons. This case demonstrates that, even though Oman has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a United States free trade partner for over a decade, its legal system is still not capable of ensuring the protection of the most basic rights of authors under copyright law.