There are a number of myths about copyright protection in Saudi
Arabia, such as "it is not possible for non-Saudi
nationals / foreign companies to benefit from copyright
protection". This is not the case.
The Kingdom is party to the Berne Convention which sets out
basic principles including "national treatment" and the
"automatic" protection of copyright works.
However, in order to be able to successfully enforce copyright
in the Kingdom, it is important to be able to show a chain of
ownership of copyright from the individual that created the work to
the owner (ie in the form of an assignment agreement which complies
with the Royal Decree No. M/41 (the Saudi Copyright
Law)).
As a general rule, copyright vests automatically in the author
of a work on creation, until copyright is assigned in accordance
with the provisions of the Saudi Copyright Law. There are
exceptions for joint and collective works, ie works created by a
group of people. It is important to note
