Saudi Arabia — AI Training Exemption (Copyright Law Art.26)
Binds Developers of AI products and algorithms reproducing copyrighted works in Saudi Arabia. The statutory permission is conditioned on lawful publication of the work, lawful acquisition of the original copy, and copying limited to the purpose (Law Art.26(4)), and on the six further controls in Art.30 of the Implementing Regulation, of which Art.30(3) binds the developing entity to keep records of the type, source, purpose and date of use of each work used and to produce them on request to a competent body examining a dispute over that use.. Art.26(4) permits reproduction of an original work for developing AI products and algorithms without author authorization or compensation, subject to three statutory conditions: the work was lawfully published, the original copy was lawfully obtained, and copying stays within what the purpose requires. The Implementing Regulation published on 31 Jul 2026 adds Art.30, which subjects that exception to six cumulative controls — among them a bar on relying on it for purely commercial use, a bar on unnecessary inclusion of the work in the final products, and an affirmative duty on the developing entity to keep records of every work used. A conditioned permission carrying one standing compliance duty, rather than an unconditioned freedom.
LEGAL PERMISSION — not a compliance obligation. Royal Decree No. M/169 (Copyright Law) Art.26(4) permits reproduction of an original work for AI product and algorithm development without author consent or compensation, on three statutory conditions (lawful publication; lawful acquisition of the original copy; copying limited to the purpose). IN FORCE since 12 Aug 2026. Art.61: the Law enters into force 180 days after publication in the Official Gazette (Umm Al-Qura issue 5144, 13 Feb 2026) = 12 Aug 2026. The Implementing Regulation (اللائحة التنفيذية لنظام حقوق المؤلف, 98 articles in 13 chapters) was published in Umm Al-Qura on 17/02/1448, corresponding to 31 Jul 2026 (https://www.uqn.gov.sa/decisions-and-regulations/4001498). Art.60 of the Law governs when it bites: the Council issues the Regulation within 180 days of the Law's issuance «ويُعمل بها من تاريخ نفاذه» — it applies from the date the Law itself enters into force. The Regulation carries no commencement article of its own; Chapter Thirteen (final provisions) runs Arts.95-98 and closes with the Authority's chief executive issuing implementing decisions. So Art.30 binds from 12 Aug 2026, the date on this row, not from the date of the Regulation's publication. Chapter Seven is headed «برامج الحاسب الآلي واستخدامات الذكاء الاصطناعي» (computer programs and artificial-intelligence uses) and its Art.30 subjects the Art.26(4) exception to six cumulative controls, read one by one in the gazette text: (1) copying and analysis are confined to the extent necessary for the purpose of developing AI algorithms or products, and do not extend to republication, distribution or direct commercial exploitation of the work; (2) the work may not be used «في إطار تجاري بحت» — within a purely commercial frame — unless that use is insubstantial in relation to the work or does not affect its normal exploitation; (3) the developing entity is obliged to keep records showing the type of work used, its source, the purpose of use and the date of use, and to produce them on request to any competent body examining a dispute relating to that use; (4) the use must not cause unjustified harm to the author's legitimate interests and must not affect the opportunity to exploit the work or obtain material return from it, which restates the three-step test the Law applies to Arts.26-36 through Art.37(1); (5) adaptation, republication, making the work available to the public, and unnecessary inclusion of the work in the final products are prohibited without the rightholder's permission, unless the work has passed into the public domain; and (6) where the work contains elements under separate protection or independent rights, the provisions governing those elements continue to apply. Condition (3) is the operative compliance item on this row — an affirmative, standing record-keeping duty on the developer. Conditions (2) and (5) are the material limits on the exception's scope, and neither was captured when the row was first written. Divergence carried on the entry rather than escalated: Art.26(4) of the Law states three conditions and imposes no commercial limitation, while Art.30(2) of the Regulation bars reliance on the exception for purely commercial use. These are two instruments of different rank, the junior one supplying the detail Art.60 of the Law directs it to supply, not two sources contradicting each other on a fact.
Stated maximum penalty — N/A — permissive exemption (no penalty attaches to a user acting within Art.26(4); the Law's general infringement ceiling is SAR 1,000,000 and/or 1 year, doubled on repeat offence)