Article 8 of the Saudi Copyright Law
المادة 8 من نظام حماية حقوق المؤلف
The article sets out the author's moral rights, such as attribution of the work and preventing its distortion, modification and withdrawal, makes them perpetual, non-waivable and not lost by lapse of time, and passes them to the Ministry on death without an heir.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
1 - للمؤلف الحق في ممارسة أي من التصرفات الآتية :
أ - نسبة المصنف إليه، أو نشره باسم مستعار، أو بدون اسم.
ب - الاعتراض على أي تعد على مصنفه، ومنع أي حذف، أو تغيير، أو إضافة، أو تحريف، أو تشويه، أو كل مساس آخر بذات المصنف.
ج - إدخال ما يراه من تعديل أو إجراء أي حذف على مصنفه.
د - سحب مصنفه من التداول.
2 - الحقوق الأدبية الواردة في الفقرة (1) من هذه المادة هي حقوق أبدية للمؤلف، ولا تقبل التنازل، ولا تسقط بالتقادم.
3 - تبقى الحقوق الأدبية لصاحبها، ولا تسقط بمنح حق استغلال المصنف بأي وجه من وجوه الاستغلال.
4 - الحقوق الأدبية المنصوص عليها في هذا النظام تؤول إلى الوزارة في حال وفاة صاحب الحق دون وارث له.
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 8 explained in plain English
This article protects the personal bond between the author and his work, which is called moral rights. They differ from the financial rights that Article 9 regulates.
What are moral rights? The author may exercise any of the following:
- Attributing the work to himself, or publishing it under a pseudonym or without a name.
- Objecting to any infringement of his work, and preventing any deletion, change, addition, distortion, mutilation or any other harm to the work itself.
- Making whatever modification or deletion he sees fit to his work.
- Withdrawing his work from circulation.
Features of these rights:
- They are perpetual, cannot be waived and are not lost by lapse of time. A contract term in which the author gives up attribution of the work to him therefore conflicts with this text.
- They remain with the author even if he gives another person the right to exploit the work in any way; selling the printing right to a publisher does not transfer the moral right to the publisher.
- They pass to the Ministry if the right holder dies without an heir.
Article 9 completes this picture by regulating the author's financial rights, such as printing, publication, translation and communication to the public, which are different from the moral rights set out here.
A person facing distortion of his work or its attribution to someone else may consult a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property and copyright.
Practical example
Mohammed sold the printing right to his poetry collection to a publishing house in Riyadh, then was surprised to find that the house deleted poems and changed lines without his knowledge. His right to prevent deletion, change and distortion is a moral right that remains his despite granting the house the right of exploitation, and it is not lost by lapse of time.
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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Frequently asked questions about Article 8 of the Saudi Copyright Law
May an author waive his moral right?
No. Moral rights are perpetual rights of the author that cannot be waived and are not lost by lapse of time.
If I sell the right to publish my book, do I lose my right to be named as its author?
No. Moral rights remain with their owner and are not lost by granting a right to exploit the work in any way.
May an author withdraw his book from the market?
Yes. Withdrawing the work from circulation is one of the moral rights the article gives to the author.
To whom do moral rights pass if the author dies without heirs?
They pass to the Ministry if the right holder dies without an heir.
More articles on Author's Moral and Financial Rights
- Article 9
The article gives the author or his delegate the financial rights to print, publish, translate, adapt and communicate the work to the public and every form of material exploitation, and refers the rights of performers and others to the regulations.
أولاً : للمؤلف أو من يفوضه حق القيام بكل التصرفات الآتية أو بعضها حسب طبيعة المصنف: 1 - طبع المصنف ونشره على شكل مقروء، أو تسجيله على أشرطة مسموعة أو مرئية، أو
- Article 10
The article obliges the author not to obstruct the exploitation right he has authorized for another, and allows him to withdraw or modify the work by agreement with the authorized person, otherwise compensating him as the Committee determines.
يلتزم المؤلف بالامتناع عن أي عمل من شأنه تعطيل استغلال الحق المأذون به للغير، ومع ذلك يجوز للمؤلف سحب مصنفه من التداول، أو تعديله، أو الحذف منه، أو الإضافة إليه
- Article 17
The article bars publishing, displaying or distributing a photograph without the permission of those photographed or their heirs except in specified cases, and gives an author alone the right to publish his letters, with the recipient's permission if publication would harm him.
1- لا يحق لمن قام بإنتاج صورة أن ينشر أو يعرض أو يوزع أصل الصورة، أو نسخًا منها دون إذن الأشخاص الذين قام بتصويرهم، أو إذن ورثتهم، ولا يسري هذا الحكم إذا كان نش
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.