JEDDAH, 16 June 2003 — The Council of Ministers has approved the new Copyright Law in a resolution of June 9. The new law, which replaces the Copyright Law of 1990, consists of 27 articles dealing with protection of original works, enforcement and penalties for violations.
“This is an important milestone in the Kingdom’s economic reform program,” an official press release from the Ministry of Information and Culture said yesterday. “The Kingdom has issued or amended numerous economic and trade-related laws (including) the Trade Marks Law, the Import Licensing Law, the Law on SPS Procedures, the Telecommunications Law, the Trade Information Law and the Quality Mark, Certification of Conformity and Accreditation of Services Regulations.”
The new law, which comes into effect six months after publication in the official gazette, is consistent with the provisions of the World Trade Organization’s agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, and is an important step toward the Kingdom’s accelerated process of accession to the WTO. It protects original works of literature, arts and sciences in different forms including books, lectures and computer programs. Judicial decisions and daily reports carried by newspapers, magazines and radios are exempt from the law, which considers folklore as a property of the state.
The Copyright Law protects various forms of intellectual property such as literary, scientific and artistic works, computer programs, DVDs and designer clothes. “The copyright includes the title of the work if it has an innovative characteristic. Authors of new literary, artistic and scientific works will enjoy protection regardless of the kind, method of expression, significance or work objects,” the statement said.
The law also protects works specifically prepared for broadcasting, audio and audiovisual works, photographic works, and illustrations, geographical maps and designs.
According to a recent study, the Kingdom made revenues worth SR3.3 billion and created 12,000 new jobs in the IT sector alone as a result of the campaign to stamp out piracy in this area.
