The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) has issued Guidelines on Copyright Principles for AI-Related Works (June 2025), clarifying its position on how copyright protection applies to works generated with artificial intelligence.

The guidelines aim to provide legal certainty while balancing protection of authors’ rights with access to new technologies. Although not legally binding, they outline how SAIP interprets existing copyright law when reviewing works that involve AI.

Key Principles

• No protection for fully autonomous AI outputs
  Works generated entirely by AI systems, without human intervention, do not qualify for copyright protection. SAIP emphasizes that “originality” in Saudi copyright law is inseparable from human creativity and intent.
• Protection possible with human creative input
  Works created with AI tools may be protected if they reflect sufficient human contribution. Examples include giving detailed prompts, iterative modifications, or editing outputs to embody the user’s personal artistic vision.
• International alignment
  The guidelines cite approaches in the United States, European Union, Japan, and South Korea, noting convergence around the principle that human authorship is indispensable.
• Consistency with existing law
  Saudi copyright law defines an author as the person who creates the work. SAIP stresses that rights and obligations — such as moral rights and liability for infringement — presuppose a natural person.

Implications

For creators and businesses in Saudi Arabia, the guidelines provide practical clarity:

• Human involvement should be documented (e.g., prompts, edits, selection decisions).
• AI-assisted works can be registered if they demonstrate sufficient originality from the user.
• Outputs generated solely by AI, without meaningful human creative input, remain outside the scope of copyright protection.

By publishing these guidelines, SAIP positions Saudi Arabia among the jurisdictions actively shaping the global conversation on intellectual property in the age of artificial intelligence, reinforcing its ambition to foster responsible innovation under Vision 2030.