The Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv Collections

The digitization of the collections from the Arab world of the Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv launched a debate regarding the rights connected to its recordings and their right holders. This paper discusses the nature and coverage of these rights, and questions their applicability and validity in the Arab countries concerned in light of existing legal frameworks and "problematic" conditions under which they were obtained. The paper concludes with the necessity of adopting the appropriate regime that preserves the recordings and ensures their accessibility to the public, such as through the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to which most Arab countries are members.