Copyright Law

1. The Board may grant a publication license for the work after the lapse of a period to be specified by the implementing regulations for each case, if he sees that publishing this work serves the public interest, in the following cases: a) If no copies of the published work in its original language are made available in the Kingdom by the copyright owner to satisfy the general needs of the public or the needs of school or university education, at a price comparable to the price of similar works in the Kingdom, upon the author’s declining to make available copies of that work. b) If all editions of the original work or its Arabic translation are out of print, with the copyright owner’s failure to make it available upon request. c) If no translation has been published for this work by the owner of the translation copyright or with his permission, provided that the purpose is to make use of this translation in educational curricula. d) If the heirs of a Saudi author or his successors decline to exercise the rights passed to them pursuant to Article 11 of this Law, within one year of the request date, if they do not have a valid excuse. 2. The license shall terminate upon publication of the work or the translation by the copyright owner, or with his authorization. 3. The Board may specify the remuneration to be paid by the licensee to copyright owners for every license issued, and they shall have the right to appeal his decision to the Board of Grievances. The implementing regulations shall determine the procedures and conditions required for the application of mandatory licensing.