By Mohammad Y. Jomoa, Senior IP Consultant, Kadasa Intellectual Property, Riyadh, 24 September 2025.

In August 2025, the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), in collaboration with the General Authority for Media Regulation, issued a landmark guide for copyright compliance in the media sector. This guide is not only a reflection of Saudi Arabia’s evolving intellectual property regime but also a practical roadmap for journalists, broadcasters, advertisers, social media creators, and all media professionals. At a time when the Kingdom’s creative industries are rapidly transforming, these guidelines help clarify the legal environment, elevate professional standards, and support a fair and competitive national media sector.

Authors’ Rights: The Cornerstone of Protection

Saudi copyright law distinguishes between moral and economic rights:

• Moral rights are perpetual and inalienable. Authors always retain the right to be named as the creator (or to remain anonymous) and to object to any modification or distortion of their work. These rights persist even after economic rights are licensed or sold.
• Economic rights encompass the full spectrum of commercial exploitation—reproduction, distribution, adaptation, public performance, broadcasting, and digital dissemination. Economic rights can be licensed or transferred by contract, provided the scope, duration, and territory are clear.

This dual-layered protection is especially important for media professionals: even where economic rights are assigned, the author’s integrity and attribution must always be respected. The SAIP guidelines emphasize this point, urging media organizations to implement both legal and editorial safeguards for compliance.

What Is Protected, and What Is Not?

Saudi copyright law protects an expansive range of works, including literary, artistic, and scientific content—everything from news articles, books, and speeches to music, photographs, films, software, and databases. Creative adaptations and compilations are also protected, provided they involve original expression.

However, as Dr. Faisal AL Fadel highlights in his analysis published in Maal Newspaper on August 7, 2025, certain categories are excluded. Most significant for the media is the explicit exception for “what is published in newspapers, magazines, periodicals, and broadcasts of daily news or events of a news nature.” This exception, derived from Article 4 of the Copyright Law, was designed to serve the public interest by allowing wide dissemination of news as a public good. Yet, Dr. Al Fadel points out that the current wording is so broad that it not only excludes the raw fact or event, but also extends to innovative editorial formulations, field investigations, and journalistic reports. The result, as he observes, is a weakening of the ability of news organizations to protect their investments and sustain high-quality output.

This issue, as echoed by leading voices such as Minister of Information Salman Al-Dosari, underscores that every piece of content, every image, and every idea carries a right that must be preserved. The practical risk, as Dr. Al Fadel notes, is that if a journalist’s investigative reporting, in-depth field coverage, or creative editorial style can be freely copied under the news exception, this undermines not only investment in professional journalism but also the broader ecosystem that supports original reporting.

The Debate on the News Exception: A Call for Legislative Refinement

Dr. AL Fadel’s analysis published in Maal Newspaper on August 7, 2025, is particularly timely. He argues that news content is not “scattered material at the roadside for anyone to pick up as they wish”; rather, it is the result of research, creative effort, and often significant personal risk— especially in the case of frontline war reporting or complex investigative journalism. News organizations, he notes, invest heavily in talent, operations, and original content. If the law continues to exempt not just raw news but also creative coverage, the incentives for professional reporting diminish, and the sustainability of media institutions is threatened.

He therefore recommends refining the law so that only “pure news information relating to daily events announced from their original sources (such as press releases or official digital postings), or events of a factual nature, are excluded from protection—not the editorial style, creative coverage, field reports, or analyses.” This mirrors international trends: the EU’s 2019 Directive grants publishers neighboring rights over news content (excluding raw facts), and both U.S. and French law distinguish between unprotectable facts and protected editorial content.

Such a reform, Dr. Al Fadel argues, would:

• Balance public access to information with the rights of media organizations to benefit from their creative work.
• Limit unauthorized commercial exploitation of journalistic content.
• Support the economic sustainability and competitiveness of the Saudi media sector.
• Align with international legal developments that protect editorial content and innovative reporting.

As a practical step, Dr. Al Fadel has proposed that the Saudi authorities consider amending Article 4 to explicitly clarify that only raw news facts—not journalistic expression or creative analysis— are excluded from protection.

Exceptions and Permitted Uses: Practical Boundaries

The guidelines enumerate specific, conditional exceptions, including:

• Personal use: Single copies for private, non-commercial purposes (excluding software and audiovisual works).
• Quotations and critique: Reasonable excerpts may be used for criticism, reporting, or research, with attribution.
• Educational and archival use: Limited use by educators, students, and libraries for instruction, preservation, or research.
• News reporting: Short clips and images may be reproduced in coverage of current events, but creative treatment remains protected under the recommended legislative change.
• Public proceedings and non-profit performances: With appropriate acknowledgement and within non-commercial contexts.

Saudi law does not offer a broad “fair use” defense—so, except in these tightly defined circumstances, permission or licensing is required.

Infringement and Enforcement: Raising the Stakes

Unauthorized use—including reproduction, adaptation, performance, and broadcast outside the law’s exceptions—is infringement. Additional violations include plagiarism, omission of attribution, unauthorized adaptation, and technological circumvention.

Penalties are significant and actively enforced: warnings, fines (up to SAR 250,000 per violation, doubled for repeat offenses), business closure, confiscation and destruction of infringing materials, damages, and—where warranted—criminal prosecution and imprisonment. Enforcement is led by SAIP’s Violations Committee, with authority to inspect, sanction, and coordinate with the judiciary.

Licensing, Registration, and Compliance

Given the limited scope of exceptions, the guidelines reinforce the importance of written licensing agreements for all third-party content, specifying scope, territory, and duration, while respecting moral rights. Registration with SAIP, though voluntary, provides essential proof of authorship and streamline enforcement and customs protection. Collective management is developing, but stock libraries and regional/international licenses are practical alternatives in the interim.

For journalists and news organizations, legislative reform of the news exception would directly support their ability to benefit from licensing their original reporting and creative coverage, as recommended by Dr. Al Fadel. This would also empower them to take enforcement action against unauthorized commercial exploitation.

Digital Frontiers and International Alignment

The guidelines also address emerging challenges—user-generated content, digital streaming, AI- generated works, and NFTs—reaffirming that copyright protection applies to original human- created expression. Saudi law is aligned with international standards under Berne and TRIPS, particularly in its strong moral rights and administrative enforcement.

As Dr. AL Fadel highlights, global trends increasingly recognize the value of protecting editorial content. The EU, U.S., France, UK, and Australia have all taken steps to restrict digital platforms and aggregators from exploiting journalistic creativity without compensation. Saudi Arabia is well-placed to adopt a similar balanced approach that safeguards both public access and the sustainability of its media sector.

Conclusion: A Call for Balanced Reform

SAIP guidelines provide a foundation for copyright compliance in Saudi Arabia’s media industry. However, as Dr. Faisal AL Fadel’s thoughtful analysis demonstrates, continued legal refinement, especially regarding the scope of the news exception, is essential to ensure that original journalistic work is protected and that media institutions can thrive in a competitive, knowledge-based economy.

By embracing these guidelines and pursuing legislative adjustments that balance public access with the rights of creators, Saudi Arabia will solidify its position as a regional leader in professional, sustainable, and innovative media.

This article provides general information and is not for legal guidance. Contact us at [email protected]

Dr. Faisal Al Fadel, Maal Newspaper, August 7, 2025. Source: Maaal News https://share.google/VzDYqPljyimYfv66h