Article 12 of the Saudi Copyright Law

المادة 12 من نظام حماية حقوق المؤلف

The article declares void an author's waiver of the whole of his future intellectual output.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

يعد تنازل المؤلف عن مجموع إنتاجه الفكري المستقبلي باطلًا.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 12 explained in plain English

This article is short but important for protecting authors, especially at the start of their careers when their bargaining position is weak. It provides that an author's waiver of the whole of his future intellectual output is void.

What does this mean?

An author may not validly give a publisher, producer or any other party everything he will write or create in the future.
A term containing this blanket waiver in any contract is void by force of the law.
The text speaks of the "whole" of future output, meaning a blanket waiver. The article does not address the ruling on an agreement concerning a specific future work.

How is it linked to the neighboring articles? Article 11 allows the transfer of all or part of the author's rights by a written disposition that specifies the scope of the transferred right in time and place. This article sets a limit on that permission: the disposition may not extend to cover the whole of the intellectual output that has not yet come into being. Article 13 also requires the relationships of right holders with production and publishing institutions to be organized by documented contracts that specify rights and obligations.

The wisdom behind this is that an author should not mortgage his entire creative future to a single party. A person who has signed a contract containing a term of this kind may consult a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property and copyright to assess its effect on the contract.

Practical example

A production company in Riyadh offered a young composer a contract stating that all the melodies he will compose throughout his life become its property. This waiver of the whole of his future intellectual output is void under the text of this article.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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