Article 17 of the Saudi Copyright Law

This article places restrictions on exploiting two kinds of works that relate to the privacy of others: personal photographs and letters.

First: photographs.

• A person who produced a photograph may not publish, display or distribute the original or copies of it without the permission of the persons he photographed or their heirs. The photographer, although he is the author of the photograph, does not alone decide to publish photographs of others.
• This prohibition does not apply if publication is on the occasion of events that took place publicly, or relates to public officials or persons of public fame, or is permitted by the public authorities in the service of the public interest.
• The person represented in the photograph may permit its publication in newspapers, magazines and similar publications even if the photographer has not permitted it.
• These provisions apply to the photograph however it was made, whether by camera, phone or otherwise.

Second: letters. The author alone has the right to publish his letters, and exercising this right requires the permission of the recipient if publication would harm him.

This article is a restriction on the author's rights to exploit his work, since it balances the right of the photographer or letter writer against the rights of others in their images and privacy. A person whose photograph was published without his permission may consult a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property and copyright to learn his rights.