The ministry has also put together a committee to investigate and punish violators found guilty of copyright infringement and piracy. “Copyright violators will have a case brought against them and will be investigated and evaluated by the committee to determine the appropriate punishment,” said Ahmed bin Hout, undersecretary at the Ministry of Culture and Information.

He added that not only are published literary works, photographs and artistic works protected under the Kingdom’s copyright law, which was adopted in 2002 (1424), violations can also result if writers are found guilty of plagiarizing.

“We will be having a weekly meeting of the committee to be headed by Abdulrahman Al-Hazzaa in which all cases found will be presented to him for his review and the determining of proper punishment for violators,” he said.

In February last year, the office of the United States Trade Representative removed the Kingdom from the Copyright Watch List, also known as the Special 301 Watch List, in acknowledgment of Saudi Arabia’s progress in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

“Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in improving protection for intellectual property rights during the past year,” Ambassador Ron Kirk told Arab News in a previous interview. “Over the last several years, Saudi Arabia has stepped up its enforcement actions, strengthened its legal framework and demonstrated a commitment to fostering innovation and creativity,” Kirk said.

Article 1 of the Saudi copyright law provides protection to literary, scientific and artistic works, including the broadcasting and transmission of lectures, speeches, poetry and songs, dramatic works, plays and presentations, both motion and sound.

In addition, designs, illustrations, maps, plans and sketches related to the fields of architecture, science, geography and topography are also protected.

Article 22 of the law states that first time violators will receive a warning, a maximum fine of SR250,000, closing of their establishment, confiscation of all copies of copyrighted works and/or imprisonment for up to six months.

Second-time offenders will have all penalties, fines and prison terms doubled. Third-time offenders, according to the committee, will be imprisoned and made to pay a SR100,000 fine. In addition, violators will have their business licenses canceled and their case transferred to the Board of Grievances for review, where financial compensation might be demanded to be paid to the original owner whose copyright has been infringed upon.