Saudi Arabia has issued a new Copyright Law (the “Law”) pursuant to Royal Decree No. (M/169) dated 14/08/1447H, following Council of Ministers Decision No. (560) dated 08/08/1447H. The Law was published in the Official Gazette (Umm Al Qura) on 13 February 2026 under the listing “نظام حقوق المؤلف” dated 25/08/1447H. The new Law replaces the earlier “Copyright Protection Law” issued by Royal Decree (M/41) dated 02/07/1424H, and repeals provisions that conflict with it. The Law will enter into force on 12 August 2026, 180 days after publication in the Official Gazette.

Below is the summary of the scope of the new Law, the rights it grants, the principal exceptions (including a specific exception for AI development), and the enforcement and liability framework.

1) Scope of application and protected subject matter

• Territorial and connecting factors: The Law applies to works authored by Saudi citizens or residents, works first published in Saudi Arabia, and works first published abroad and then published in Saudi Arabia within 30 days of the first publication (regardless of nationality or residence). It also covers certain audiovisual works where Saudi Arabia is the producer’s principal place or residence, architectural works built in Saudi Arabia, and works/related rights protected under treaties to which the country is a party.
• What is protected: The Law protects “works” (المصنَّفات) broadly and lists non exhaustive categories, including written and oral works (lectures/speeches), dramatic works, fine art and decorative arts, musical and audiovisual works, applied arts, photography, maps, designs and technical drawings, architectural works and engineering plans, computer programs and applications, and innovative databases and collections (with protection limited to the selection or arrangement, not the underlying data or material). Derivative works are protected without prejudice to the underlying work.
• What is excluded: The Law expressly excludes protection for: ideas, procedures and methods, mathematical or scientific concepts, and abstract principles or facts. It also excludes laws and regulations, judicial rulings and orders, administrative and quasi judicial decisions, and official documents and their official translations, subject to rules on circulation. In addition, daily news and reports of events are not protected, while protection is allowed for creative selection and arrangement of that material.

2) Rights granted: moral, economic, and related rights

• Moral rights (authors): The Law recognises core moral rights, including first publication, attribution (or pseudonym/anonymous publication), objection to false attribution, and objection to distortion or alteration prejudicial to reputation. These moral rights are stated to be perpetual, not subject to limitation, non transferable, non waivable, and they do not fall away merely because exploitation rights have been licensed or assigned. The administration of moral rights passes to the author’s general successor after death. In addition, an author may apply to the competent court to prevent circulation of the work or to withdraw it from circulation for “serious reasons,” even if the author has disposed of exploitation rights.

• Economic (financial) rights: Authors enjoy an exclusive right to do, or to authorise, acts including reproduction (by any method or form), translation, adaptation or transformation, distribution (subject to exhaustion upon first distribution), public performance, rental for commercial purposes in respect of (i) sound recordings, (ii) audiovisual works (subject to a limitation where rental does not harm normal exploitation), and (iii) computer programs (subject to a limitation where the program is not the primary object of rental), as well as communication to the public by any means including making available “at any time and place,” and general licensing of exploitation. Economic rights may be transferred (in whole or part) through lawful disposition.

• Neighbouring (related) rights: Neighbouring rights are protected to the same extent as rights under the Law, as appropriate to their nature, with details to be set out in the implementing regulations. Neighbouring rights and rightsholders are defined to include performers, producers of sound recordings, and broadcasting organisations.

3) Ownership rules: joint works, collective works, and employment

The Law distinguishes between joint works based on whether contributions are inseparable (or separable) and provides default rules on co ownership. It also recognises a “collective work” model, where the directing natural/legal person is, by default, the one entitled to exercise the author’s rights (unless agreed otherwise).

For employee created works, the Law provides that if an employee creates a work in the course of employment related to the employer’s activities or business, the author’s rights accrue to the employer (unless agreed otherwise). Where a work is created “for the account of another,” economic rights default to the author unless agreed otherwise. If the employee’s work is unrelated to the employer’s activities or business, economic rights default to the employee (unless agreed otherwise). The implementing regulations will set out further details. Moreover, the Law specifies that a purported assignment of an author’s entire future intellectual output is invalid (void).

4) Term of protection and transition rules

• Copyright term (authors): As a rule, financial rights are protected for the author’s lifetime plus 50 years after death. In the case of joint works, protection extends for 50 years from the death of the last surviving author. For works by a legal person, anonymous works, or pseudonymous works, the term is 50 years from the date of first publication. Audiovisual works are protected for 50 years from the first showing or completion. Collective works authored by a legal person are protected for 50 years from the date of first publication, while works of applied arts are protected for 25 years from the date of first publication. The term of protection is calculated from the beginning of the year following the relevant event.

• Related rights term: Broadcasting organisations’ financial rights are protected for 20 years, while the rights of sound recording producers and performers are protected for 50 years, with the relevant calculation points set out in the Law.

• Continuity and transition: Works and related rights that remain within their protection term under the prior law at the time the new Law takes effect will continue to enjoy protection under the new Law. The Law also addresses circumstances linked to protection in the “country of origin” where Saudi Arabia has treaty relations.

5) Exceptions and permitted uses including AI development

The Law set out specific exceptions allowing use without authorisation or compensation in defined circumstances, subject to an overarching limitations such as that the use must not conflict with the “normal exploitation” of the work or unreasonably prejudice
rightsholders’ legitimate interests.

Key examples include:

• Personal copying of a lawfully published work from a lawfully obtained copy, except where the work involves architecture embodied in buildings or structures.
• Use for non profit education or research, with attribution requirements.
• Limited use of artistic works (such as drawings, photos, designs, and maps) in scientific works, lectures, or scientific conferences for explanatory purposes, provided that the conditions of attribution and proportionality are met.
• Copying of the original work is permitted for the purpose of developing AI products and algorithms, provided the work has been lawfully published, the copy has been lawfully obtained, and the copying is limited to what is necessary for that purpose.
• Quotation of short passages for a legitimate purpose, consistent with customary practice and attribution (including press summaries).
• Use of media content of public interest for coverage of current events is permitted, limited to “informational purposes” and subject to certain conditions.
• Specific provisions for public speeches, ephemeral broadcasts, official occasions, software backup and maintenance, interoperability, security, libraries, archives and museums, auction and exhibition catalogues, and transient technical copies.
• Accessibility provisions apply to persons with disabilities and authorised entities producing accessible format copies, subject to regulation.

6) Registration, enforcement powers, and liability framework

• Optional registration: The Law provides for optional registration of works and neighbouring rights with the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), and stipulates that registration constitutes a rebuttable presumption of ownership, with the implementing regulations establishing registration procedures.

• Enforcement powers: SAIP-appointed officers are authorised to conduct inspections, gather evidence, receive complaints, and carry out search and inspection actions for specified offences. If necessary, the Law permits temporary closure of premises where violations occurred, for up to seven working days in total, subject to implementing rules. By decision of SAIP’s board, certain inspection tasks may be outsourced to the private sector, subject to regulation, and SAIP may request assistance from other government entities whose inspectors have enforcement powers. The Public Prosecution investigates the offences listed in Article 47 and brings claims before the competent court.

• Criminal offences and penalties: Without prejudice to stricter penalties under other laws, specified infringements can incur up to one year imprisonment and/or a fine of up to 1,000,000 SAR (approximately 266,000 USD at the time of writing), including unauthorised commercial exploitation, false claims of ownership, unauthorised large scale distribution, unauthorised reprinting by a producer, publisher or printer, circumvention of technological protection measures, tampering with rights management information, distribution, import, broadcast, or making available of works where rights management information has been removed or altered; the manufacturing or marketing of devices designed to circumvent technological protection measures, as well as import or possession of pirated, counterfeit or unlawfully copied items for commercial purposes. The maximum penalty is doubled in cases of recidivism.

• Conditions for online content providers (platforms): Under the Law, an “internet content provider” is not deemed a “partner” in user-committed infringement if several conditions are met. These include that routing, storage or display is purely technical and automatic; that no content modification occurs other than technical necessities or user requested changes without knowledge of infringement; lack of knowledge (and no obvious circumstances indicating knowledge); that infringing content is removed within a reasonable time once the provider becomes aware of the infringement; and that measures are in place enabling rightsholders to notify the provider of infringements.

• Civil and interim remedies: Rightsholders may bring claims seeking seizure of infringing items and tools, cessation orders, damages (including infringer profits), and disclosure of information about the parties involved and production and distribution channels. Courts may grant urgent interim measures to stop printing, copying, production, publication and distribution and order preservative seizure pending final judgment. The Law also refers to border measures that could be taken by the competent authority, as outlined in the GCC Unified Customs Law, regarding goods found to infringe rights protected under this law.
  Courts must order the forfeiture and destruction of infringing items and principal tools used, or their disposal outside commercial channels after the removal of infringing features.

• Settlement mechanism: SAIP may settle infringements detected during its enforcement activities, upon the infringer’s request before referral to the Public Prosecution, subject to board approved rules and a settlement amount cap not exceeding twice the maximum fine under Article 47. Settlement must, however, include the destruction or disposal of infringing items and tools as specified. A settlement decision is final and enforceable, with criminal proceedings terminated upon fulfilment, without prejudice to third party civil claims for damages.

7) Reciprocity limitation and designated “competent authorities”

Two instruments – the Royal Decree and Council of Ministers decision – stipulate that protection under the Law is limited where the foreign national’s home state does not extend reciprocal protection to Saudi nationals under applicable international agreements and treaties.

The Council of Ministers’ decision also identifies “competent authorities” for certain provisions. Under Article 6, the designated “competent authority” is the Ministry of Culture, with the Minister of Culture authorised to delegate responsibilities to cultural bodies. Under Article 20 the designated competent authority is the General Authority for Guardianship of Minors’ Funds and those in similar circumstances, while under Article 52(2), the competent authority is the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, responsible for defining and coordinating relevant controls and procedures. It further tasks SAIP with preparing a framework for collective management regulation and coordinating on fees and reward-related matters, and addressing the platform liability provisions under Article 49 within the implementing regulations.

Practical takeaways for rights holders and businesses

The Law highlights three key areas from a compliance and risk perspective: (i) the breadth of protected subject matter (including software and innovative databases and collections), (ii) the detailed enforcement and liability framework (including platform conditions and expanded tools for seizure and interim relief), and (iii) the explicit, conditional exception for AI development copying.

Overall, the new Copyright Law reflects Saudi Arabia’s continued commitment to modernising its intellectual property framework in line with international standards and the realities of a digital and knowledge driven economy. By clarifying rights, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, and addressing emerging areas such as digital use and artificial intelligence, Saudi Arabia has taken a significant step toward providing greater legal certainty for creators, rights holders, and businesses alike. These developments are expected to support innovation, encourage investment in creative and technology sectors, and reinforce Saudi Arabia’s position as an increasingly sophisticated and attractive jurisdiction for intellectual property protection.