Article 3 of the Saudi Copyright Law

المادة 3 من نظام حماية حقوق المؤلف

The article protects derivative works such as translations, summaries, commentaries, encyclopedias and original databases, without prejudice to the rights of the authors of the original works.

Official text (Arabic)

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

يحمي هذا النظام أيضاً :

1 - مصنفات الترجمة.

2 - مصنفات التلخيص ، أو التعديل، أو الشرح، أو التحقيق، أو غير ذلك من أوجه التحوير.

3 - الموسوعات، والمختارات التي تعد مبتكرة من حيث اختيار محتوياتها أو ترتيبها، سواء أكانت مصنفات أدبية، أم فنية، أم علمية.

4 - مجموعات المصنفات والتعبيرات (الفلكلورية) للتراث الشعبي التقليدي والمختارات منها إذا كانت هذه المجموعات مبتكرة من حيث اختيار محتوياتها، أو ترتيبها.

5 - قواعد البيانات سواء أكانت بشكل مقروء آليًّا أم بأي شكل آخر، والتي تعد مبتكرة من حيث اختيار أو ترتيب محتوياتها.

ولا تخل الحماية التي يتمتع بها أصحاب المصنفات المذكورة في الفقرات أعلاه بالحماية التي يتمتع بها مؤلفو المصنفات الأصلية.

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 3 explained in plain English

After Article 2 defined original works, this article adds another type of protected work: one built on an earlier work, which Article 1 calls a "derivative work": any work produced on the basis of another earlier work.

The protection covers:

Translations.
Summarizing, adapting, commenting on and editing (critical editing) and other forms of modification.
Encyclopedias and anthologies of literary, artistic or scientific works, if they are original in the selection or arrangement of their contents.
Collections of folklore and selections from them, if they are original in selection or arrangement.
Databases, machine-readable or in any other form, if they are original in the selection or arrangement of their contents.

Note that items 3, 4 and 5 require originality in selection or arrangement. Merely collecting materials without creative effort in selecting or organizing them is not enough for this protection.

Most importantly, the article ends with a clear rule: protecting the owner of a derivative work does not prejudice the protection of the author of the original work. A translator, for example, is protected in his translation, but the rights of the author of the original book remain in place alongside his rights. To check the status of a particular derivative work, you may consult a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property and copyright.

Practical example

Sarah, a researcher in Riyadh, prepared an anthology of Nabati poetry, choosing and arranging its poems according to her own method. The anthology is protected if it is original in the selection or arrangement of its contents, while the rights of the poets who wrote the original poems remain in place.

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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