Legal Analysis of Saudi Arabia's New Copyright Law under Royal Decree No. M/169

Abstract

In February 2026, Saudi Arabia enacted a transformative new Copyright Law under Royal Decree No. M/169, one of the most comprehensive modernizations of intellectual property protection in the Kingdom's history. Current study examines the key provisions of the new law, which takes effect in August 2026 and replaces the 2003 copyright regime. It has an explicit exception permitting the copying of copyrighted works for artificial intelligence development, the establishment of a conditional safe-harbor framework for online content providers, the codification of a statutory work-for-hire default rule, and significantly enhanced enforcement mechanisms, with maximum criminal fines quadrupled to SAR 1 million. The new Copyright Law reflects Saudi Arabia's strategic commitment to positioning itself as a global innovation hub under Vision 2030, while navigating the complex tensions between rights-holder protection, technological advancement, and digital-platform governance. The study explores the reform's differentiated impact across four representative creative and technology sectors: publishing, film and broadcasting, music, and gaming and interactive software. The research examines reform's economic and investment-climate significance and a set of proposed directions for future empirical research once implementing regulations are published.