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Traditional Knowledge Laws: Saudi Arabia

Title Copyright Law of 20 August 2003
Subject Matter Traditional Cultural Expressions
Issue(s) Subject Matter of Protection; Beneficiaries or Rightholders; Scope of Protection
Type(s) of Legislation IP Law

Subject Matter of Protection

Article 1 - Definitions

Folklore shall mean all literary, artistic or scientific works which are assumed to have been created on Saudi territory and transmitted from one generation to the next and constitute part of the traditional Saudi cultural and artistic heritage.

Beneficiaries or Rightholders

Article 7 - Folklore

(1) Folklore shall be the property of the state, and the Ministry shall exercise the copyright pertaining thereto.

Scope of Protection

Article 7 - Folklore

(2) The import or distribution of copies of folklore works, copies of their translations or others which are produced outside the Kingdom without a license from the Ministry shall be prohibited.