SIBF 2026 | Interview with Majd Al Shehhi – Protecting Every Word Ever Written: Copyright, AI & the UAE's Fight for Authors' Rights

From Pulse 95 Live · 10:15

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📚 Live from the Sharjah International Book Fair 2026 – 45th Edition | Expo Centre Sharjah 🇦🇪✨Alya Al-Nuaimi sat down with Majd Al Shehhi — Director of the Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association (ERRA) — the first and only organization of its kind in the Arab world dedicated to protecting the rights of authors and publishers when their work is copied, reproduced, or used in educational and commercial settings. A force for intellectual property in the UAE for over 13 years, Majd is on the frontlines of one of the most urgent conversations in global publishing today: who owns a word — and what happens when AI starts using it without permission?---👤 WHO IS MAJD AL SHEHHI?Majd Hassan Al Shehhi is the Director of the Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association (ERRA) — the first-of-its-kind copyright management association licensed in the UAE, and the first organization in the Arab world to collectively represent authors and publishers in the management of their reprographic rights.With over 13 years of experience spanning publishing, business strategy, and cultural initiatives, Majd has led ERRA from its founding to become a recognized member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO). Under her leadership, ERRA has signed bilateral agreements with 12+ countries, ensuring UAE authors receive royalties when their work is used internationally — and that international authors receive fair compensation when their books are reproduced in the UAE.---🎙️ WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT📌 WHAT IS ERRA — AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?Most people are familiar with the primary publishing market — an author writes a book, a publisher prints it, a reader buys it. But Majd's work focuses on the secondary market: what happens after the book is sold. When a university photocopies a chapter for students, when a corporation reproduces an article for training materials, when a research body downloads and distributes excerpts — who gets paid?ERRA answers that question. It monitors, negotiates, licenses, collects, and distributes royalties on behalf of authors and publishers — ensuring that the people who created the work receive fair compensation every time it is reproduced.📌 THE "CREDIT IS NOT ENOUGH" TRUTHOne of the most common misconceptions in academia and research? That simply crediting an author satisfies copyright requirements. Majd was clear and direct:💬 "Credit is not enough. The most common misconception is, 'Oh, we just credited the author.' That's not enough; the author deserves proper compensation and licensing permission."Credit acknowledges. Licensing compensates. And compensation is what allows authors to keep writing.📌 HOW AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS CAN JOIN ERRAAny author or publisher who is a UAE resident can sign a mandate with ERRA — either at the ERRA stand at SIBF 2026 (near the Sharjah Pavilion) or through their website — to begin collecting royalties. Through ERRA's international agreements, UAE-based authors also receive royalties when their books are studied or reproduced in any of the 12+ partner countries. The same protection extends to international authors whose works are used in the UAE.📌 AI, COPYRIGHT & THE FUTURE OF AUTHORSHIPPerhaps the most urgent — and provocative — part of the interview was the discussion around Artificial Intelligence and copyright.

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