Saudi Arabia’s new Copyright Law is due to take effect on 12 August 2026, replacing the 2003 regime. Based on Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) materials and pre-effective-date compliance alerts, the reform brings AI training, software licensing and online content distribution into a more explicit copyright framework. The provision drawing the closest attention from technology businesses is a statutory AI-training exception, under which certain data scraping and copying for algorithm development may be permitted when specified safeguards, including protection of right holders’ interests, are satisfied.
The law also gives clearer legal force to click-wrap and shrink-wrap end-user licence agreements and brings streaming distribution within the scope of the making-available right. Companies operating AI products, software, SaaS or content platforms in Saudi Arabia should therefore treat 12 August as a practical review point for data provenance, training workflows, EULA presentation and content-licensing chains. The AI exception creates useful room for development, but its conditions matter; it should not be read as a blanket copyright exemption for training datasets.
