Intellectual Copyrights Guidelines

Statement on Intellectual Property

“Defending the Freedom to Innovate: Trainers/Trainees Intellectual Property Rights”

Background

As a trainer or a trainee at the Saudi Entertainment Academy (SEA), you have an opportunity to make original creations, inventions and discoveries as part of your activities both within and outside of classes. Learning about these forms of intellectual property (IP) and how to protect and develop them is an important part of your educational experience. Trainers or trainees can make original contributions in all areas of study field that SEA supports.

SEA encourages you to test the limits of possibility. This guide can help you navigate questions about IP.

Intellectual property is generally defined as intangible creations of the mind, which may be protected under patent, copyright and/or trademark laws.

• Inventions that can be protected by patent law include new or improved versions of processes, machines, and compositions of matter that are useful; and new, distinct plant varieties. To protect an invention under patent law, in addition to being useful, the invention must be novel and not an obvious extension of something that already exists. One or more inventors may contribute to the conception of the invention. Trainers or trainees can make inventions as part of their coursework or original study field at SEA.

• Works of authorship fixed in any tangible form of expression may be protected under copyright law. These may include literary works, sound recordings, computer software, photographs, motion pictures, and musical compositions, among others. For example, trainers or trainees can create copyrightable works when they (co-) publish an article or create a business solution.

• A trademark is “any work, name, symbol, or device…” used by a person “to identify and distinguish his or her goods, including a unique product, from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods.

Intellectual property and ownership are very case specific based on each set of circumstances; your campus training department would make the final determination. Below are general examples to guide you in thinking about your IP obligations.

When does the Academy own IP?

In most cases, trainers or trainees who are not employed by SEA own their original academic work. Under law and policy, SEA owns IP made by SEA trainers or trainees in the course and scope of their work. When Academy gift/grant/contract funds, resources, or research facilities are used, SEA may also own the resulting IP. If you are unsure whether the Academy could have an ownership interest in your IP, please contact your campus training department for clarification.

When you’ve created intellectual property, here are some questions to ask

• Was I doing a job for the Academy?

• Was I in a research lab or using a special resource that is not available to all students in my field?

• Was I getting paid to work on a research project?

• Was I receiving funds from the Academy other than financial aid?

• Was I collaborating with other researchers or faculty on campus?

SEA Community: Faculty, staff, and students.

SEA Resources: Funds, space, personnel, or facilities used to support research and scholarship, including direct funding such as gifts, contracts, grants, and Academy-allocated funds; laboratory space or shared research facilities; and supervision or employment, including student employment, on any such Institute-funded scholarship or research. Ordinary use of resources generally made available to faculty for teaching and research, such as classroom resources, support for educational program activities (e.g., for class projects), office, computer, computer infrastructure, administrative support and supplies, and library resources shall not be deemed significant use of SEA Resources for the purposes of this policy.

General Policy

The Academy library collects a wide variety of materials in print and electronic format and makes them available to faculty, staff and students at the Academy in keeping with national Copyright Law. The library complies fully with copyright law in its collection development activities, its electronic licensing of products and in its borrowing and lending activities.
The copyright law of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia governs the making of reproductions of copyrighted material, including photocopying, printing, and downloading. Any individual who uses such a reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use" may be liable for copyright infringement.
Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries, information centers and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction should only be used for the purpose of research, private study, or scholarship. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of 'fair usage', that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
The SEA reserves the right to refuse a request for copying material(s) if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Use of some databases may also be restricted by license agreement with the data provider. Specific information is posted with some databases, but most are limited to use by faculty, students, and staff of the Academy.

Obtaining permission to use copyrighted works

The library helps students, faculty, and staff members at the Academy to seek copyright permissions needed in conjunction with teaching and research. The library is also available to support the researcher to obtain copyright permission.

Intellectual Property

Saudi law protects the rights of both Saudi nationals and foreigners in the field of intellectual property. Every natural or legal person that suffers injury resulting from trademark law infringement may claim damages. Expert proceedings regarding the infringement are permissible, and damages for trademark and patent infringements are punitive and provide compensation for the injured person.
Intellectual property rights are also indirectly protected by the provisions of the Regulations for Combating of Commercial Fraud, which enable Saudi authorities to impose numerous sanctions for the production of counterfeit products or unlicensed copies of products, including, among other things, seizure and destruction of such products, and/or imposing monetary fines for violation of the provisions of the regulations.
The burden of proof in intellectual property cases lies with the plaintiff, and it is an onerous responsibility, unless the unlawful products are seized. Under Saudi law, documentary evidence does not supplant oral evidence, but the two combined may support each other. In trademark cases, discovery may provide the damaged party with material and documentary evidence which alleviates the burden of proof.
Orders are enforced in respect of payment of money by effecting seizure against the party losing the case. Regarding prohibitory embargos and writs of mandamus, orders are submitted to civil right directorates of the Interior Ministry to execute. Non-compliance with such orders may result in the imprisonment of the offender and the seizure of his/her assets.

The copyright law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was issued as per Royal DecreeNo. M/41 dated August 30, 2003 and published in the Official Gazette No. 3959 dated September 19, 2003.
Protection is granted to authors whose works of art are expressed in writing, sound, drawing, photography or motion pictures and computer software. The rights of the author are protected for his/her lifetime and for a period of fifty (50) years after
his/her death.
The protection shall cover all intellectual works whether they are literary, scientific or artistic of any type as far as the distribution of the same in Saudi Arabia is allowed.
Foreign intellectual works are protected in accordance with the international conventions, of which Saudi Arabia is a member.
No registration procedures of copyright are available in Saudi Arabia. According to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, registration in the home country extends to all member states. However, any printed materials
or computer programs can be distributed in Saudi Arabia only after receiving an approval from the Ministry of Information. For this purpose, a local distributor is essential. The distributor should obtain the necessary approval locally.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a member of the Universal Copyright Convention
and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

Publishing Digital Content Rights

The Academy recognizes that accelerating development and deployment of digital learning technologies makes possible new approaches to teaching our students. These students may interact with the Academy exclusively and, in some cases, asynchronously, through digital means. The development and adoption of sophisticated digital learning materials requires the use of Online Learning Platform as well as substantial time and effort by the faculty. In adopting this policy, the Academy seeks to promote the creation of digital learning materials for the public good and to affirm the traditional rights of faculty to their writings and other scholarly and creative works and the Academy’s ownership and control of its digital educational offerings.

Faculty Content means academic content authored by faculty such as lectures, demonstrations, performances, assessments, illustrations, slides and graphics.
Third-party Content means academic content owned by third parties and used in a Academy Course by agreement with the third party.
Academic Content means Faculty Content and Third-Party Content.
Digital Delivery Infrastructure means the digital material or software platform produced or procured by Academy staff for offering a course, including graphical interface, audio and video delivery systems, enhancement of visual content and other delivery components.
Online Learning Platform means using substantial time of specialized Academy staff who are dedicated to producing digital content.
University Digital Course means a digitally-delivered course using Online Learning Platform offered under the SEA name.

Policy:

Ownership of Academic Content. The Academy’s digital learning materials will incorporate Faculty Content and, in many cases, also incorporate Third-Party Content. In keeping with the tradition in higher education that academic works such as articles, lectures, visual materials, and other teaching materials are owned by the faculty member authoring them, rather than the employing educational institution, the copyright to Faculty Content under this policy shall be owned by the faculty author. Third-party Content selected by faculty for inclusion in a course may be incorporated by license to the SEA from the content owner.
Ownership of Digital Delivery Infrastructure. Academy Digital Courses will be delivered through or otherwise incorporate Online Learning Platform with third-party software or delivery platforms. Such Infrastructure shall be owned by the Academy or, as needed, used by agreement with third-party owners.
Ownership of Digital Courses. Academy Digital Courses will normally include Academy-owned Digital Delivery Infrastructure, as well as content owned by others, such as the Faculty Content, and in most cases Third-Party Content of various kinds. The Academy will own the Digital Course itself, as a whole, subject to licenses from faculty and third-party content owners.
Development or Teaching of Courses for Other Entities. Faculty member may only design, develop or teach a course for another entity if it does not compete or conflict with the digital learning or online initiatives of the Academy. In this context, the use of the faculty member’s voice or video image shall be deemed to constitute the teaching of a course.
Future Delivery and Revision of Digital Courses. After a faculty member’s first offering of a Digital Course, the faculty member will be given an opportunity to review and revise the Course before it is offered again by the Academy. The Academy may continue to offer a course after a faculty member has left the Academy. The faculty member will retain the right to select, edit, update or remove Digital Course academic content for pedagogical reasons.

References:

Saudi Authority for intellectual Property