PROMOTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SAUDI ARABIAN COPYRIGHT: A Comparative Analytical Study Between Saudi and the United States Copyright (Conditions, Exceptions, and Limitations)

Abstract

Saudi Copyright Law is a thorny and controversial issue affected by a lack of concrete rules – further, said laws lack both clarity and instructions for how to implement them. Similar to Saudi Arabia, many countries have tried to develop solutions to fill the gaps found in their laws by developing and enforcing their rules. A wide variety of studies, which will be discussed later, highlight said gaps in the law and propose legal solutions that aim to remove the ambiguity within this legal area. This study tries to provide solutions to some of Saudi’s copyright problems. This study also presents suggestions to solve the confusion, ambiguity, and conflict in the Saudi copyright law through a comparative analytical study in which the Saudi copyright rules are compared to U.S. law, and how they may benefit from the experiences of U.S. courts in finding solutions to its domestic problems and laws. Unlike Saudi Arabia, U.S. copyright law contains precise details of its rules and explanations of legal terms. U.S. copyright law provides demonstrations for how to apply rules, as well as the inclusion of certain requirements for copyright subject matters, providing clarity in a complex field. This study also concludes that Saudi copyright law lacks some important subject matters and explanations for its rules - and when explanations do exist, they are ultimately ineffective