Penalties for copyright infringement

Penalties for copyright infringement

Is copyright protected in the Saudi system? In a case decided before the Committee to Consider Violations of the Author Protection System, a university printed six books belonging to a person to teach and attributed them to a university employee, placing the university logo on them without obtaining the author’s approval, as the university denied the existence of the violation and that its use of the books was legitimate for teaching.

Therefore, the committee issued its decision, based on the evidence presented by the plaintiff, to punish the university for not obtaining written approval from the author with a fine of 30,000 riyals, compensate the injured author with 360,000 Saudi riyals, and confiscate and destroy printed works.

In this article, we will discuss what copyright is? What are the cases of assault? What are the penalties imposed? How are intellectual property rights registered?

Penalties for copyright infringement

What is copyright?

What is copyright?

The author is the person who created the work (such as writing books). The author owns the intellectual property rights over this work, and prevents others from using it unless there is a contract between the author and the production company or publishing houses, in which case the financial rights to the work are theirs under the contract.

Copyright protected under the Copyright Protection Scheme includes:

• Literary rights: The author has the right to engage in any of the following actions:
• The copyright in attributing the work to him.
• The right to object to any infringement on his work.
• The author’s right to modify or delete the work.
• The author’s right to withdraw the work from circulation.
• Financial rights:
• Copyright in printing and publishing the work.
• His right to translate the work into other languages.
• His right to use and exploit the work in any form of material exploitation, such as renting the work to others in exchange for money.

How long does copyright protection last in a copyright protection system?

The copyright system protects works created by an author throughout his life and for fifty years after his death.

What are the cases of copyright infringement?

Any of the following actions constitute an infringement of copyright protected by the system:

• Anyone who publishes or claims ownership of works that are not owned by him without obtaining the author’s permission.
• Making modifications to the work without the author’s knowledge or consent.
• The publisher or producer reprints the work without obtaining written consent from the author.
• Remove any written or electronic information that would result in copyright being revoked.
• Remove any precautionary or electronic information that ensures the use of the original copies of the workbook, such as encryption.
• Commercial use of intellectual property works through fraud that is not permitted by the author or the entity that owns the work.
• Copying or photocopying parts of a book, collection of books, or any work for or without financial compensation without obtaining written approval from the author or the entity that owns the work.
• Importing counterfeit, forged or copied works.

Penalties for copyright infringement

What is the penalty for copyright infringement in Saudi Arabia?

The Copyright Protection System stipulates that anyone who infringes on copyright shall be punished with one or more of the following penalties:

• Alarm.
• A fine not exceeding 250 thousand Saudi riyals.
• Closing the aggressor facility for a period not exceeding two months.
• Confiscation of all copies of the work and materials intended or used in copyright infringement.
• Imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.
• The penalty shall be doubled in the event of repeated assault.
• In addition to the previous penalties, the Violations Review Committee may impose additional penalties, which are:
• Financial compensation for the abused right holder.
• Defamation.
• Cancellation of the license of the aggressor facility.
• Suspending the aggressor facility’s participation in events and exhibitions for a period not exceeding two years.
• Temporarily stop printing the assaulted work until the complaint or case is decided.

How do you register intellectual property rights?

How do you register intellectual property rights?

An intellectual property lawyer can assist the author in registering and documenting his works through the Saudi Intellectual Property Authority portal by following the following steps:

• Log in to the Saudi Intellectual Property Authority website.
• From the Services Directory you can choose one of the following services:
• Register a new work (written works)
• Register a new workbook (computer software and applications)
• Register a new work (architectural works)
• Edit service on a workbook.
• Service that disposes of a workbook.
• Complaint of violation of an author’s right.
• Request a mandatory copyright license.
• After choosing the service, you can log in via national access and follow the instructions shown.

Penalties for copyright infringement

Why do we need the best intellectual property rights lawyer?

You need a lawyer who is specialized and experienced in intellectual property rights protection procedures. For example, you need a patent lawyer to perform patent registration services in Saudi Arabia or abroad, issue the necessary protection document and licenses, attend court sessions and plead on behalf of the client, and other services.

An intellectual property rights lawyer can be hired to look into copyright cases, file a complaint with the Authority when his rights guaranteed in the system are infringed, and provide specialized legal advice on contracts, licenses, etc.

Request legal advice now from the office of lawyer Abdul Majeed Al Rashid and protect your achievements from encroachment and exploitation