Review of Law
Qatar University
Received: 27/05/2025 Peer-reviewed: 21/07/2025
Accepted: 28 /08/2025
Noura Hezam Al-Mutairi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1773-146X Assistant Professor
of Private Law, College of Law, Kuwait University-Kuwait a.noura@ku.edu.kw
ChatGPT is one of the most popular generative AIs because it can
independently create content, such as drafting articles and writing books or
poetry, without human intervention. This content can be original and may be
considered copyrightable work. Consequently, generative AI intersects with copyright law, raising numerous legal concerns,
including ownership and authorship. This paper examines ChatGPT’s policy from
an intellectual property (IP) perspective, with a particular focus on copyright
law. While ChatGPT poses challenges to copyright law globally, this research
explicitly addresses the Copyright laws of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries.
This study examines whether the copyright laws of the GCC countries,
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, are
adequate to address the legal implications of generative AI, namely ChatGPT. If
not, how could they be amended
to address the legal implications and keep pace with cutting-edge
technology? It is necessary to regulate generative AI in the IP rights domain,
specifically in the copyright laws of the GCC countries. Therefore, this paper
proposes critical recommendations for reforming these laws.
Keywords: Copyright Law;
GCC countries; ChatGPT; Legal challenges; Generative AI.
Cite this article as: Al-Mutairi,
N. H., "Copyright Laws in GCC Countries in the Age of Generative AI: A
Legal Analysis Using ChatGPT as a Case Study," International Review of
Law, Volume 15, Regular Issue 2, 2026. https://doi.org/10.29117/irl.2026.0381
© 2026, Al-Mutairi, N. H., licensee,
IRL & QU Press. This article is published under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0), which
permits non-commercial use of the material, appropriate credit, and indication
if changes in the material are made. You can copy and redistribute the material
in any medium or format as well as remix, transform, and build upon the
material, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
جــامعـة
قطـــــر
تاريخ
الاستلام: 27/05/2025 تاريخ
التحكيم: 21/07/2025 تاريخ
القبول: 28/08/2025
نوره
حزام المطيري https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1773-146X
أستاذ مساعد
في قسم
القانون
الخاص، كلية
الحقوق،
جامعة الكويت-الكويت
يعُد
شات جي بي تي (ChatGPT) أحد
أشهر أنظمة
الذكاء
الاصطناعي
التوليدي، إذ
يُمكنه إنشاء
محتوى مستقل،
مثل صياغة المقالات
وكتابة الكتب
أو الشعر، دون
تدخل بشري. يُمكن
أن يكون هذا
المحتوى
أصليًا،
ويمكن اعتباره
عملًا خاضعًا
للحماية
وفقًا لقانون
حقوق المؤلف.
من هنا،
يتقاطع
الذكاء
الاصطناعي
التوليدي مع
قانون حقوق
المؤلف،
فيثير العديد
من التساؤلات
القانونية،
بما فيها إمكانية
حماية ذلك
العمل ومن له
حق الملكية. يتناول
هذا البحث سياسة شات
جي بي تي من
منظور حقوق الملكية
الفكرية، مع
التركيز على
قانون حقوق
المؤلف.
وبينما يُشكل شات
جي بي تي تحديات
لقانون حقوق
المؤلف
عالميًا،
يتناول هذا
البحث صراحةً
قوانين حقوق
المؤلف في دول
مجلس التعاون
الخليجي.
يناقش
البحث مدى
كفاية قوانين
حقوق المؤلف
في دول مجلس
التعاون
الخليجي (الكويت،
والسعودية، وعُمان،
والبحرين،
وقطر،
والإمارات)
لمعالجة
الآثار
القانونية
للذكاء
الاصطناعي
التوليدي.
وإذا لم تكن
كذلك، فكيف
يُمكن تعديلها
لمعالجة
الآثار
القانونية،
ومواكبة أحدث
التقنيات؟ من
الضروري
تنظيم الذكاء
الاصطناعي
التوليدي في
مجال الملكية
الفكرية،
وتحديدًا في
قوانين حقوق
المؤلف في دول
مجلس التعاون
الخليجي.
لذلك، يهدف البحث
إلى اقتراح
توصيات
جوهرية
لإصلاح هذه
القوانين. وسيتناول
بداية قوانين
حقوق المؤلف
في دول المجلس
لتحديد أسباب
قصورها في
معالجة
التحديات
القانونية
التي يطرحها
الذكاء
الاصطناعي
التوليدي.
الكلمات
المفتاحية:
قانون حماية
حق المؤلف، دول
مجلس التعاون
الخليجي، شات
جي بي تي،
التحديات
القانونية، الذكاء
الاصطناعي
التوليدي
للاقتباس:
المطيري،
نوره حزام.
«قانون حق
المؤلف في دول
مجلس التعاون
الخليجي في
عصر الذكاء
الاصطناعي
التوليدي:
تحليل قانوني
لشات جي بي تي كدراسة
حالة»، المجلة
الدولية
للقانون،
جامعة قطر،
المجلد
الخامس عشر،
العدد المنتظم
الثاني، 2026. https://doi.org/10.29117/irl.2026.0381
©
2026، نوره حزام
المطيري،
الجهة المرخص
لها: كلية
القانون، دار
نشر جامعة
قطر. نُشرت
هذه المقالة
البحثية
وفقًا لشروط Creative Commons Attribution
Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). تسمح هذه
الرخصة بالاستخدام
غير التجاري، وينبغي
نسبة العمل
إلى صاحبه، مع
بيان أي
تعديلات عليه.
كما تتيح حرية
نسخ، وتوزيع،
ونقل العمل بأي
شكل من
الأشكال، أو
بأية وسيلة،
ومزجه وتحويله
والبناء
عليه، ما دام
يُنسب العمل
الأصلي إلى المؤلف.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) lacks a universal definition.[1] AI is defined by one author as ‘the ability of a computer or
a robot controlled by a computer to perform what humans usually do because they
require intelligence and discernment.’[2] It is also defined by another as ‘a system capable of rationally
solving complex problems or taking appropriate action to achieve its goals in
real-world circumstances.’ [3] Common to these definitions is the idea that AI can perform
complex tasks that humans require, such as creating copyrightable content.
OpenAI, an American artificial
intelligence company, launched ChatGPT on 30 November 2022.[4] ChatGPT is a sophisticated chatbot,[5] that employs natural language processing (NLP) and machine
learning algorithms to understand and interpret user input and react with
appropriate pre-programmed messages or actions to simulate human-to-human
conversation.[6] ChatGPT was initially designed to assist with online customer
service, but the underlying AI has surpassed expectations and has become
immensely popular for a variety of applications.[7]
ChatGPT generates copyrightable
literary and artistic works, including books, articles, poetry, movie scripts,
stories, song lyrics, and writing code for computer programming.[8] This research therefore examines ChatGPT, a widely used
generative AI, in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.[9] However, some GCC countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have announced ‘Mulhem’
as a bilingual Arabic-English large language model (LLM),[10] while the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) has recently
developed ‘NOOR’ as the large Arabic natural
language processing (NLP) model.[11] This research, therefore, examines the Copyright Laws in all GCC
countries: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab
Emirates.[12] This assessment evaluates whether the GCC countries’ copyright
laws are adequate to keep pace with generative AI and whether urgent
legislative interventions are needed to regulate and address its legal
implications.
This paper is divided into five sections. Section One primarily explains what
ChatGPT is and highlights the legal implications of using it. Section
Two presents an overview of the legal framework for Copyright Laws in GCC
countries, particularly in the era of generative AI (ChatGPT). Section Three
uses this overview to analyse these laws and identify
legal gaps. Section Four emphasises the importance of
regulating generative AI within the Copyright laws of GCC countries, proposing
how it should be regulated and reformed to achieve the main aim of this paper:
to keep pace with generative AI and address its legal challenges to copyright
law. Section Five summarises the key findings and
outlines future research.
1.Generative AI and Its Legal Implications:
ChatGPT as a Case Study
First,
it is essential to clarify what ChatGPT is and how it generates content.
Answering these questions is necessary to clarify the legal implications posed
by ChatGPT. This section is divided into two subsections. Subsection One
defines ChatGPT and explains how it operates. Subsection Two explores the
related legal issues.
1.1
What is ChatGPT?
OpenAI[13] released ChatGPT.[14] When directly
asked about its meaning, the chatbot answers, that differently each time, as
follows:
“ChatGPT, an AI language model developed
by OpenAI. My main function is to generate human-like text in response to
various inputs, making me a useful tool for a variety of applications,
including customer service, chatbots, and virtual assistants. I have been
trained on a massive amount of text data, allowing me to generate responses
that are not only grammatically correct but also contextually appropriate. I am
constantly learning and improving, and I am a cutting-edge example of the
advancements being made in the field of artificial intelligence.”[15]
“ChatGPT is a large language model
(LLM) that utilises NLP to process vast amounts of
data and respond to human queries in language that closely resembles human
language.[16] ChatGPT, as an LLM, requires a substantial amount of training
data.[17] The extensive data is extracted from various platforms, including
websites, social media posts, and books, etc.[18] ChatGPT then processes this data using NLP to make it
comprehensible and close to human language, enabling it to generate coherent
output.”[19]
“ChatGPT is based on a huge training
dataset that may include one or more pre-existing copyrighted materials.[20] In this
context, who would be liable for copyright infringement? As an AI language
model, ChatGPT cannot be held liable for copyright infringement. ChatGPT lacks
legal personality,[21] which is a prerequisite for owning rights and holding
responsibilities, as will be discussed in the following subsection. In this
case, would the AI developer be liable for copyright infringement? This question
highlights one of the legal challenges posed by ChatGPT. The following
subsection will examine these legal issues in detail.”
1.2
The Legal
Implications of ChatGPT
OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT, must take all necessary
measures to ensure that no copyrighted content is included in the training data
(input).[22] Otherwise, OpenAI could be held liable; however, it is essential
to note that in its terms and conditions, OpenAI disclaims any liability for
damages resulting from the use of the model.[23]
ChatGPT’s users may be liable for
copyright infringement due to the prompts it provides to the chatbot. They must
ensure that the material generated by ChatGPT includes proper references to
avoid plagiarism.[24] However, the issues become more complex
when AI uses generative AI and infringes the copyright rights of others.
To illustrate this
complexity within the context of the GCC countries, consider the case of Sophia, the first robot to gain
citizenship in Saudi Arabia in February 2017.[25]
If Sophia used ChatGPT to create
content, that content might be identical to copyrighted works without
attribution to the authors or creators, which constitutes copyright
infringement. However, in this scenario, the copyright holders cannot file a
case against Sophia because Sophia is an AI. AI lacks
legal personality.[26] While Sophia does have citizenship, which is a characteristic of
legal personality, Sophia has not been granted full legal personality, as this
would necessitate changes to the legal system in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the
liability for copyright infringement cannot be attributed to Sophia’s developer
if there is no fault in the programming or manufacturing process.
Even if the fault lies with
ChatGPT’s neutral user or the AI developer, it can be challenging to pursue
legal action against either party in certain circumstances, such as when the
copyright holder publishes their work anonymously or under a pseudonym.[27] In such cases,
the copyright holder might choose not to file a lawsuit against the ChatGPT
user or AI developer to protect their identity. However, the Copyright Laws of
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates address this
problem, as the publisher will act on behalf of the author until their identity
is disclosed.[28]
ChatGPT can generate novel ideas.[29] So, does content generated by ChatGPT fall under copyright
protection under the GCC countries’ laws? The
complexity becomes apparent when we consider that work may be covered and
protected under the umbrella of the GCC countries’ copyright laws. Who
would rightfully claim ownership and authorship of that output? [30] Is the author ChatGPT, the AI developer, or the user? As
mentioned above, ChatGPT is an AI language model and therefore does not possess legal personality in GCC countries,
which is a prerequisite for owning (intangible) assets.[31]
2.
The Copyright Laws of GCC Countries in the Age of ChatGPT
The GCC was founded in 1981,[32] where the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of
Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the
State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait established a cooperative framework.
This framework aimed to unite the six countries through coordination,
integration and interconnection in various areas.[33]
The countries formulated similar regulations
across various fields, including economic and financial affairs, commerce, customs and
communications, education and culture, to accomplish these goals.[34] For example, the GCC countries issued a unified trademark Law.[35] However, there is no unified copyright law among the GCC
countries. Although there is no unified copyright law among the GCC countries, their
copyright laws are derived from the French droit d’auteur,
which emphasises the rights of the author.[36] Additionally, all GCC countries have ratified international
treaties related to copyright, such as the Berne Convention for the Protection
of Literary and Artistic Works.[37] Therefore, the copyright laws of GCC countries are significantly
similar.[38] In the
following subsection, I will examine the GCC countries’ copyright laws. It is
essential to analyse the GCC countries’ copyright laws
to reveal and assert that the copyright laws are insufficient to keep up with
generative AI and cannot tackle its legal implications; therefore, legislative
interventions are needed.
2.1
Examination of the Copyright Laws of GCC Countries in the Age of ChatGPT
The copyright laws in GCC countries protect a wide
range of literary and artistic
works, such as poems, plays, reference works, newspaper articles, computer
programs, databases, and works in various forms of art such as films, musical
compositions, choreography, and graphic works such as paintings, drawings,
photographs, sculptures, architecture work.[39] These literary and artistic
works, under the copyright laws of these countries, must exist in a tangible physical form of
expression to qualify for protection,[40] and then the copyright protection is conferred immediately
upon their creation. Copyright protection, therefore, does not require
registration or formal procedures under the GCC countries’ copyright laws. In
other words, the GCC countries’ copyright laws stipulate that registration of
the work is optional.[41]
The rationale for making
registration optional for these works aligns with international agreements,
specifically the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.[42] In contrast to industrial property
rights such as patents, the patent office receiving a patent application
must conduct formal and substantive
examinations,[43] to ensure that the invention meets the requirements, for
example, novelty,[44] and
then grants a patent. Also, trademarks must
be registered to be owned and protected in the GCC countries.[45]
The optional registration or lack of formal procedures to examine
literary and artistic works does not mean that these works are not required to
be creative to obtain copyright protection under the GCC countries’ copyright laws.
The creativity of literary and artistic works is one of the requirements for
protection under the GCC countries’ copyright laws. The creativity of literary and artistic works must not
always be entirely original, which means that the work is not like previous
works in terms of form, expression, style, etc.[46] The works can be creative when they may contain an element of creativity, whenever
the author adds their thought to the works.[47]
Under the copyright laws of the GCC countries, authors who invest
time in creating original insights or adding their own insights to works retain
financial rights over their literary and artistic works. These rights include
exclusive, monopolistic rights for authors and their successors to use or
exploit their works in any manner. Examples of these rights include reproducing
the work by any means, such as painting, imaging, or translating the author’s
work into another language, as well as distributing the work through sale or
any other act of ownership transfer without the copyright owner’s permission.[48] The financial
rights are not absolute, as they have a time limit under the GCC
countries’ copyright laws: the author’s lifetime plus fifty years after their
death,[49] except in Oman and Bahrain, where
it is seventy years after the author’s death.[50]
Additionally, the authors’ financial
rights have limitations, allowing some work,
such as non-commercial copying, to be done without
the author’s permission and compensation.[51] The GCC countries’ copyright laws regulate the
limitations for non-commercial purposes, including teaching, research and
educational purposes, preserving freedom of expression by allowing criticism and commentary, and copying for news reporting.[52] These limitations on financial rights encourage the
dissemination of knowledge by balancing the rights
of authors and creators to regulate how their works are used with society’s
rights to benefit from and use the copyrighted
works without their permission through limitations on the author’s financial rights.[53] As such, the
GCC countries’ copyright laws balance between the authors’ or creators’ rights
and the public interest, so they regulate how society benefits from the works
and the use of these works without their permission for non-commercial uses.[54]
Under the
GCC countries’ copyright laws, the author also has moral rights which are inherently
personal, so the author cannot be transferred or sold to another person during
the author’s lifetime or after their death.[55] For example, the right of the author to be identified as the creator
of the work (attribution), whether an individual or a joint work, and therefore,
it is not permissible to
prevent or deny a third party the attribution of a work to its original author.[56]
Also, the author and his heirs have the right to
decide whether to publish the work for the first time.[57]
The author is the one who decides when and how to publish the work, whether it
will be in the form of a book, a play, or a movie, and after that, the work must
not be published in a manner contrary to what the author decided.[58]
Indeed, the author has the right to protect the integrity of the work, prevent
any infringement or modification of the work that would distort it or lead to
damage to the author’s honour and reputation, and the
right to withdraw their work from circulation.[59] However, the decision to withdraw the work from the
market may conflict with the interests of other persons with whom the author
has contracted.[60] These moral rights are
absolute under the GCC countries’ copyright laws,[61] except the Kuwait Copyright Law.[62] Kuwait Copyright Law
stipulates that moral rights have a prescription
period, like financial rights, except the right of the author to be identified
as the creator of the work (attribution) and prevent any infringement or
modification of the work that would distort it or lead to damage to the
author’s honour.[63]
3.
ChatGPT: A Lingering Issue in the Copyright Laws of GCC Countries
As
mentioned above, ChatGPT can generate literary and artistic works, including
books, articles, poetry, movie scripts, stories, song lyrics, and writing code
for computer programming.[64] These works
may meet the above-mentioned requirements for protection under the GCC
countries’ copyright law, namely, the work is
innovative and in a tangible physical form. However, under most GCC countries’ copyright laws,
the literary and artistic works generated by ChatGPT cannot be protected
because the GCC countries’ copyright laws define the author as ‘the natural
person who produces
or creates the work’.[65]
Based on the author’s definition
under most GCC countries’ copyright laws, the legal protection for literary and artistic works is
for a natural person who creates the work. In this context, when someone uses
ChatGPT to create a work without their substantial contribution, the work is
not protected because ChatGPT, as mentioned above, is an AI language model, and
also OpenAI, as ‘an AI research and deployment company’,[66] is not considered to be the
author under the GCC countries’ copyright laws, except under the Kuwait
copyright law, Saudi Arabia copyright law and the UAE Federal Copyright Law. Under
Article 1 of the Kuwait copyright Law, Saudi Arabia copyright law and the UAE
Federal Copyright Law define the author as ‘the person who innovates or creates
the work’,[67] which includes natural and legal persons. As such, OpenAI, as a
company, can be considered the author under Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE copyright
law, and therefore, authorship may be granted to both natural and legal persons
in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Even if all the
GCC countries’ copyright laws define the author to include the legal person,
their provisions are designed to protect works that result from human effort, and this approach aligns with the personality theory of copyright
protection, which values the time and effort humans invest in producing the
work.[68] For example, as discussed above, the
regulation of protecting the author’s work
grants the creator moral rights to protect their work from a modification that
would distort it or damage the author’s honour and
reputation, which cannot apply to ChatGPT as an AI large language model since
it does not have either honour or reputation. On the
other hand, ChatGPT, as a large language model, cannot have a financial right
over the creative work since, as mentioned previously, AI does not have legal
personality in the GCC countries, which is a prerequisite for owning
rights and holding responsibilities in these countries.
Also, as mentioned above, the GCC countries’ copyright laws grant
the author’s financial rights, which have a time limitation under their
provisions, being the author’s lifetime plus fifty years after their death,[69] except in Oman and Bahrain, where it is seventy
years after the author’s death.[70] These time limitations have significant implications
for AI-generated works because AI does not have a lifespan like a human author.
Death is the destiny of human beings and other creatures, not legal persons
like AI developers, such as OpenAI or an AI tool like ChatGPT. That is why, for example, the Kuwait Copyright Law stipulates fifty
years starting from the creation of the work when created by a legal person.[71]
Even
if Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian, and the UAE Copyright Laws have a broad author’s
definition, OpenAI does not retain ownership of the generated content because,
according to its policy assign to the users. When it states that: ‘Ownership of
Content. As between you and OpenAI, and to the extent permitted by
applicable law, you (a) retain your ownership rights in Input and (b) own the
output. We hereby assign to you all our rights, title, and interest, if any, in
and to output.’[72] Therefore, OpenAI policy
raises significant illegal and unethical issues in attributing the content to
the users when they have not written or made substantial contributions to the
writing or conducted intellectual labour on the
generated content.
4.
The Necessity of Regulating AI in the GCC Countries’ Copyright Laws
The
GCC countries are eager to prepare for adopting and regulating AI technologies,[73] to enable them to reach their visions of diversifying their
economies by relying on cutting-edge digital technologies, like AI, to drive
growth rather than depending on oil as their only economic source.[74] Therefore, the GCC countries are not far from the race to
regulate AI generally. However, the GCC countries have different levels of
maturity of AI governance.[75] For instance, the government of Oman recognises
AI as one of the enablers of its strategic national development initiative.[76] Although Oman does not issue AI regulations,[77] it issued a General Policy for the Safe and Ethical Use of
Artificial Intelligence Systems.[78] Also, the Kuwait Communication and Information Technology
Regulatory Authority (CITRA) issued AI Ethics Principles & Guidelines.[79]
On the other hand, the United Arab Emirates issued several AI
regulations: UAE
National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence
2031, [80] the Smart Dubai AI Ethics Principles & Guidelines published in
March 2019,[81] and the Generative AI Guide in April 2023.[82] The Generative AI Guide
explains AI and generative AI technologies, as well as some of the significant
issues related to them, and offers case study analyses of crucial situations
where the technologies have been used thus far.[83] Qatar issued the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for
Qatar, a set of six pillars to promote AI growth in the nation.[84]
The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) released a set of seven AI
Ethics Principles,[85] and it issued a Generative AI Guideline.[86] Lastly, the Kingdom of Bahrain issued a general policy for the use
of AI.[87] Therefore, most GCC countries offer excellent AI governance models
that can be developed while other discussions are still in their early phases.[88] However, reviewing the state of AI governance in the GCC countries
reveals no specific regulation of AI in IP, particularly copyright law.
Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia issued a draft of the Intellectual Property Law
project, which addresses emerging IP issues, such as AI technology.[89]
Saudi Arabia’s Intellectual
Property Law project devotes a chapter to ‘Intellectual Property associated
with Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies and Supporting its
Promotion.’ This chapter contains four articles to address the fundamentals of
AI and IP.[90] That chapter of Saudi Arabia’s IP Law project notably addresses
one of the most contentious IP domains: the ownership and protection of
AI-generated work.[91]
The chapter on ‘Intellectual Property associated with Artificial
Intelligence and Emerging Technologies and Supporting its Promotion’ emphasises under Article 17 that any
copyrighted work developed with AI technology will be protected only if the
natural person’s contribution to its creation is prominent.[92] And, under Article 18, that AI-generated work will belong to the
person who contributed to its creation.[93] Therefore, no natural person possesses the work if no
contribution is prominent in it or if artificial intelligence arrives
independently.[94] In this case, under Article 19, AI-generated work falls into the
public domain.[95] The question of what constitutes ‘prominent’ as a criterion for
copyright protection, and how to measure it, should be interpreted under the
draft.[96]
4.1 What
are the Next steps that should be Taken Regarding Copyright Laws in the GCC
Countries?
After
reviewing the current copyright laws of the GCC countries and the necessity to
reform the copyright laws in the GCC countries to face advanced technology.
This research therefore sought to bring together all stakeholders and
decision-makers in the GCC countries to strengthen cooperation and
collaboration amongst experts to keep pace with generative AI and provide a map
for navigating the legal challenges brought to copyright law. Regulating
generative AI will enable the GCC countries to
reach their goal of diversifying their economies by relying on cutting-edge
digital technologies, like AI, to drive growth rather than depending on oil as
their only economic source.[97]
Therefore, this research urges
the decision-makers in the GCC countries to issue a
unified copyright law. Issuing a unified copyright law for the GCC countries
will address two main matters. Firstly, issuing a unified copyright law for the
GCC countries will address the legal challenges posed by generative AI, such as
ownership and authorship of the content. So, this paper, therefore, recommends likewise
the Saudi Arabia chapter on ‘Intellectual Property associated with
Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies and Supporting its
Promotion’, as mentioned above, protecting the copyrighted work developed with
AI only if the natural person’s contribution,[98] and as discussed above, the work will belong to the person who
contributed to its creation.[99] By
suggesting that the decision makers of the GCC countries protect the creative
content generated by AI when a human has an intellectual contribution to it.
Still, when there is no human contribution, the ownership remains with the AI
developer company, since, as mentioned above, it is illegal and unethical to
name a person as the author when there is no intellectual labour. This research
therefore recommends that OpenAI, as the AI developer company, change its
policy not to assign all rights to users, as mentioned above. Therefore, this
research recommends unifying the definition of author under the new unified
copyright regulation and including legal persons under their definition of
author; likewise, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia should retain authorship for
the AI developer company.
Secondly, issuing a unified
copyright law for the GCC countries will bridge the regulatory gaps of
generative AI among the countries and harmonise the
inconsistencies under their copyright laws. As mentioned previously, the
definition of the author and length of the copyright term under the laws of the
GCC members vary not only because different states have different terms, as
mentioned previously, in Oman
and Bahrain, the length of the copyright term is seventy years after the author’s death.[100] Also, because of the subject matter
and how it is produced.[101] For example, Copyright protection
for computer software expires 50 years after the year of publication in Saudi
Arabia[102] and Kuwait.[103] Photographic protection in Kuwait
ends 50 years after the year of publication,[104] whereas in Saudi Arabia, it ends 25
years after the year of publication. [105]
The result of varying the duration of
copyright protection for works across GCC countries is that the works enter the
public domain at different times. The practical implication of this variety of
protecting copyright works is that companies, artists, schools, and other
members of society in some of these countries will have up to 50 years’
advantage in using the vast collections of public domain works for a range of
socially beneficial purposes before those in countries with longer copyright
terms.[106]
5.
Conclusion
This
paper examined its primary research question: whether the current GCC
countries’ copyright laws are adequate to address the legal challenges posed by
generative AI, namely ChatGPT, and, if not, what can be done to reform them.
The first section primarily provided background on ChatGPT as generative AI,
how it works, and its legal implications. After introducing ChatGPT, the
following sections reviewed and analysed the current
copyright laws of the GCC countries and how they respond to the legal challenges
posed by ChatGPT.
After
reviewing the GCC countries’ copyright laws, it can be asserted that generative
AI must be regulated to address the legal challenges it poses. Regulating
generative AI will also support the GCC countries’ visions of diversifying
their economies by relying on cutting-edge digital technologies, like AI, to
drive growth rather than depending on oil as their only economic source. This
paper therefore recommends that decision-makers in the GCC countries follow the
Saudi Arabia chapter on ‘Intellectual Property associated with Artificial
Intelligence and Emerging Technologies and Supporting its Promotion’ by
protecting creative content generated by AI when a human makes an intellectual
contribution. Still, when there is no human contribution, the authorship will
remain with the AI developer, as it is illegal and unethical to name a person
as the author when there is no intellectual labour.
This research therefore recommended that OpenAI change its policy, so it does
not assign all rights to users, but keeps them with the company. Therefore, this paper recommended unifying
the definition of author under the new unified copyright regulation and
including legal persons within that definition of author, as is also done in
Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
This
paper also showed that issuing a unified copyright law in the GCC countries
will harmonise other inconsistencies under the GCC
countries’ copyright laws, such as the length of the copyright term, which
varies because different states have different terms, as mentioned previously.
As a result, the copyright term for a work differs by GCC member, and the work
enters the public domain at different times. The practical implication of this
variety of protecting copyright works is that companies, artists, schools, and
other members of society in some of these countries will have up to 50 years’
advantage in using the vast collections of public domain works for a range of
socially beneficial purposes before those in countries with longer copyright
terms.
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[1] Ana Ramalho, ‘Patentability of AI-Generated Inventions: Is a Reform of the
Patent System Needed?’ (2018) 3 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3168703 accessed 7 March 2024; Sofia Samoili and
others, AI Watch. Defining Artificial Intelligence. Towards an Operational
Definition and Taxonomy of Artificial Intelligence, EUR 30117 EN (Publications
office of the European Union 2020) 7 available at: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/28047 accessed 7 March
2024; Haroon Sheikh, Corien Prins and Erik Schrijvers, ‘Artificial Intelligence: Definition and Background’ in Haroon Sheikh, Corien Prins and Erik Schrijvers
(eds), Mission AI: The New System Technology (Springer International
Publishing 2023) 15; Enrico Bonadio, Luke McDonagh and Plamen Dinev, ‘Artificial Intelligence as Inventor: Exploring the
Consequences for Patent Law’ (2021) 1 Intellectual Property Quarterly 1.
[2] BJ Copeland, ‘Artificial
Intelligence’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 18 March 2022) www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-intelligence accessed 7 March 2024.
[3] Kay Firth-Butterfield and others, ‘Artificial
Intelligence Collides with Patent Law’ (World Economic Forum, 2018) 5
available at: https://www.weforum.org/publications/artificial-intelligence-collides-with-patent-law/ accessed
28 March 2024.
[4] Bernard
Marr, ‘A Short History of ChatGPT: How We Got to Where We Are Today’ (Forbes,
19 May 2023) www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/05/19/a-short-history-of-chatgpt-how-we-got-to-where-we-are-today/ accessed 19 February 2024; Konstantinos I
Roumeliotis and Nikolaos D Tselikas, ‘ChatGPT and Open-AI Models: A
Preliminary Review’ (2023) 15 Future Internet 2.
[5] Nicola
Lucchi, ‘ChatGPT: A Case Study on Copyright Challenges for Generative
Artificial Intelligence Systems’ (2023) European Journal of Risk Regulation 5; Intellectual Property Help Desk, ‘Intellectual
Property in ChatGPT’ (European Commission, 20 February
2023) https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/intellectual-property-chatgpt-2023-02-20_en
accessed 19 February 2024.
[6] Intellectual Property Help Desk (n 5); Lucchi (n 5) 5.
[7]
Lucchi (n 5) 4.
[8]
Lucchi (n 5) 6; Intellectual
Property Help Desk
(n 5); Shawn Helms and Jason Krieser, ‘Copyright
Chaos: Legal Implications of Generative AI’ (McDermott Will & Emery, 14
March 2023) www.mwe.com/media/copyright-chaos-legal-implications-of-generative-ai/ accessed 19 March 2024.
[9] Mahmoud Sayed
Mohamed Ali, Khaled Zaki AbuElkhair Wasel and Amr Mohamed Mahmoud Abdelhamid,
‘Generative AI and Media Content Creation: Investigating the Factors Shaping
User Acceptance in the Arab Gulf States’ (2025) 5 Journalism and Media, 1634.
[10] See
Carrington Malin, ‘First LLM Trained Exclusively on Saudi Data Sets’ (Middle
East AI News, 6 March 2024) www.middleeastainews.com/p/first-llm-trained-saudi-data-sets accessed 20 September 2024.
[11]Andrew
Warner, ‘NOOR, the New Largest NLP Model for the Arabic Language’ (Multilingual,
20 April 2022) https://multilingual.com/noor-the-new-largest-nlp-model-for-the-arabic-language/ accessed 20 September 2024; ‘Technology
Innovation Institute Announces Launch of NOOR, the World’s Largest Arabic NLP
Model’ ( Technology Innovation Institute, 13 April 2022) https://www.tii.ae/news/technology-innovation-institute-announces-launch-noor-worlds-largest-arabic-nlp-model accessed
20 September 2024.
[12]
Saudi Arabia Copyright Law (issued by Royal Decree No. M/41 of 2 Rajab 1424H
(30 August 2003), and amended by
Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 536 of 19 Shawwal 1439H ( 3 July
2018); Bahrain Law No. 22 of 2006 on the Protection of Copyright and
Neighbouring Rights (as amended up to Law No. 5 of 2014); Oman Law on Copyright
and Neighboring Rights (promulgated by Royal Decree No. 65/2008); Qatar Law No.
7 of 2002 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights; Kuwait Law No.
75 of 2019 on Copyright and Related Rights the United Arab Emirates Federal
Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights. For more
information about the development of Copyright law in the UAE, see Rami Olwan, ‘The UAE Copyright law in light of modern technological developments’
(2016) 2 International Review of Law, PP 8-9 https://journals.qu.edu.qa/index.php/IRL/article/view/1220
accessed 27 July 2025.
[13]
OpenAI is an American-based AI research and deployment company founded in
December 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Wojciech
Zaremba and John Schulman. See Marr
(n
4).
[14]
Lucchi (n 5) 2; Intellectual
Property Help Desk
(n 5).
[15] Intellectual
Property Help Desk
(n 5). For
the other definition of ChatGPT, see Lucchi (n 5) 5.
[16] Ibid
and 5; Intellectual
Property Help Desk
(n 5).
[17]
Lucchi (n 5) 3.
[18] Intellectual
Property Help Desk
(n 5); Lucchi
(n 5) 15; Helms
and Krieser (n 8).
[19] Ibid;
Intellectual
Property Help Desk
(n 5).
[20] Helms
and Krieser (n 8); Intellectual
Property Help Desk
(n 5).
[21] Lucchi (n 5) 8.
[22] Lucchi (n 5) 16.
[23]
OpenAI, ‘Terms of Use’ https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use/ accessed 26 February 2024.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Reem Almarzoqi and Mohamad Albakjaji
‘The Patentability of AI Invention: The Case of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Law’ (2022) 13 International Journal of Service Science, Management,
Engineering, and Technology 16; Kazem Hamdan Sadkhan Albazouni, The Effect of
Artificial Intelligence on the Theory of Right) Modern Book
Foundation 2013) 197.
[26] See
Simon
Chesterman, ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Limits of Legal Personality’ (2020) 69
International & Comparative Law Quarterly 819; World Economic Forum (n 3) 11;
Bonadio, McDonagh and Dinev (n 1) 25.
[27]
Using pseudonyms or anonymous names for work is allowed in GCC countries. See
Qatar Copyright Law chapter III; Copyrights First: Literary Rights chapter 3;
Omani Copyright Law Article 5; Bahrain Copyright Law Article 5; Kuwaiti
Copyright Law Article 16; United Arab Emirates Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of
2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Article 5; Saudi Arabia Copyright
Law Article 8.
[28] See
Kuwaiti Copyright Law Article 28; Saudi Arabia Copyright Law Article 5; Bahrain Copyright
Law Article 31; United Arab Emirates Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Law
Article 30.
[29]
Nick Bogaert, ‘Using ChatGPT for Innovators: Enhancing Creativity and
Innovation’ (Board of Innovation) https://www.boardofinnovation.com/blog/using-chat-gpt-for-innovators-enhancing-creativity-and-innovation/ accessed
9 February 2025.
[30]
This authorship question is not just a legal matter but also a topic of
significant academic interest: who or what can be considered an author? See
Darin Glasser, ‘Copyrights in Computer-Generated Works: Whom, If Anyone, Do We
Reward?’ (2001) Duke Law & Technology Review 1; William Ralston, ‘Copyright
in Computer-Composed Music: HAL Meets Handel’ (2005) 52 Journal of the
Copyright Society of the USA 281; Mark Perry and Thomas Margoni, ‘From Music
Tracks to Google Maps: Who Owns Computer-Generated Works?’ (2010) 26 Computer
Law & Security Review 621; Victor M Palace, ‘What If Artificial
Intelligence Wrote This: Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law’ (2019) 71
Florida Law Review 217; Emily Dorotheou, ‘Reap the Benefits and Avoid the Legal
Uncertainty: Who Owns the Creations of Artificial Intelligence?’ (2015) 21
Computer and Telecommunications Law Review 85; Tim Dornis, ‘Artificial
Creativity: Emergent Works and the Void in Current IP Doctrine’ (2020) 22 Yale
Journal of Law & Technology 1.
[31] See Kuwaiti Civil
Law No. 67 of 1980 Articles 9, 18 and 19; Bahrain Civil Law No. 19 of 2001 Articles
9
and 18; Qatar Civil Law No. 22 of 2004 Articles 39, 53 and 54;
Omani Civil Transactions Law, Royal Decree (RD 29/2013) Articles 29, 48 and 49;
Civil Transactions Law of Saudi Arabia, pursuant to Royal Decree M/191 dated
29/11/1444H (corresponding to 19 June 2023G) chapter 2, Articles 3, 17 and 18;
Intellectual Property Help
Desk (n 5).
[32] Amr
Daoud Marar, ‘The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf’ (2004)
10 Law and Business Review of the Americas 475.
[33] Article
4 of the GCC Primary Law available at: Gulf Cooperation Council official
website, ‘About GCC’ https://www.gcc-sg.org/en/AboutUs/Pages/PrimaryLaw.aspx accessed 22 February 2024.
[34] See
Article 4 of the GCC Countries Primary Law.
[35] Souheir Ibrahim
Nadde, Study of the Intellectual Property Protection
Regulatory Frameworks of the GCC (GFA Consulting Group, April
2021) 22 available at: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/IPR%20regulatory%20frameworks%20in%20the%20GCC%20Report%202021%2004.pdf accessed 1 October
2024.
[36] Hanan
Almawla, ‘Parody in Copyright Laws of GCC States: Where Does It Fit?’ (2018) 32
Arab Law Quarterly, 302.
[37] Nadde
(n 35)11.
[38] Ibid.
[39]
Saudi Copyright Law defines the works under Article 1 without giving examples.
Still, it names different examples of works under Article 2, where it
stipulates that ‘This Law shall protect works created in the fields of
literature, arts, and sciences, irrespective of their type, means of
expression, importance, or purpose of authorship, such as: 1. Written materials
like books, booklets, and the like. 2. Works that are verbally delivered, such
as lectures, speeches, poetry, songs, etc. 2. Works that are verbally
delivered, such as lectures, speeches, poetry, songs, etc. 3. Dramatic works,
plays, shows, and similar presentations involve motion, sound, or both. 4.
Works which are prepared for broadcasting purposes or are presented through
broadcasting. 5. Drawings, works of visual art, architecture, decorative art,
artistic embroidery, etc. 6. Audio and audio-visual works. 7. Applied artworks,
whether handcrafted or manufactured. 8. Photographic works and the like.’
Kuwaiti, Omani, Qatari, Bahraini and United Arab Emirates Federal Copyright Laws
have the exact definition as Saudi Copyright Law. They mention the same
examples given under Saudi Copyright Law.
[40]
Kuwaiti Copyright Law Article 3; Omani Copyright Law Article 2; UAE Federal
Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Article 1; Saudi Arabia Copyright Law
Article 2; Qatar Copyright Law Article 2; Bahrain Copyright Law Article 2. See Sayid Eabdallah
Muhamad Khalil, ‘Legal and Legitimate Protection of the Right to
Translation: A Comparative Study in Egyptian Law and the Saudi System’ )2018) 33 Journal of the Faculty of Sharia
and Law, Tanta 1893.
[41]
Khaled Al-Hindani, ‘Some Notes on Copyright Law and Related Rights’ (2022) 1
Journal of Law 55.
[42]
Article 5 of the Berne Convention: ‘(2) The enjoyment and the exercise of these
rights shall not be subject to any formality; such enjoyment and such exercise
shall be independent of the existence of protection in the country of origin of
the work. Consequently, apart from the provisions of this Convention, the
extent of protection, as well as the means of redress afforded to the author to
protect his rights, shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the country
where protection is claimed.’ See Al-Hindani (n 41) 53. ‘Copyright Registration
and Procedures in the GCC’ (Mondaq, 15 September 2020) www.mondaq.com/copyright/984642/copyright-registration-and-procedures-in-the-gcc accessed
1 October 2024.
[43] Article
5 and Article 9 of the Patent Regulation of the Cooperation Council for the
Arab States of the Gulf and its Implementing Bylaws.
[44]
Article 2/1 of the Patent Regulation of the Cooperation Council for the Arab
States of the Gulf and its Implementing Bylaws.
[45]
Articles 7 and 8 of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Trademark Law.
[46] Sabry Hamad Khate, Intellectual Property;
A Comparative Study in Bahraini Law (1st University of Bahrain, 2007) 57.
[47] Ibid 57 and 58.
[48]
Chapter III covers the author’s economic and moral rights under the Qatar
Copyright Law, Omani Copyright Law Article 6; Bahrain Copyright Law Article 6;
Kuwaiti Copyright Law Article 9 and Saudi Arabia Copyright Law Article 9. See
also Helms and Krieser (n 8).
[49]
Qatar Copyright Law chap IV Duration of Protection; Saudi Arabia Copyright Law
Article 19; Kuwaiti Copyright Law Article 23; UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of
2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Article 20.
[50]
Chapter Seven Term of Protection of the Financial Rights and Neighbouring
Rights First: Term of protection of the financial rights under Article 26 of
Oman Copyright Law: ‘The term of protection for the financial copyrights,
stipulated under this Law, shall be the life of the author and seventy years
starting from the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year following the year
of his death.’ Article 37 of Bahrain Copyright Law stipulates ‘an author’s
economic rights are protected throughout his lifetime and for seventy years
beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year of his
death, except where other provision is made in this subsection.’
[51]
Al-Hindani (n 41) 66.
[52]
Chapter V Restrictions on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights of Qatar Copyright
Law. Chapter Five Free Uses of Works Article (20) of Omani Copyright Law. See
Articles 19 to 22 of the Bahrain Copyright Law. Article 31 of the Kuwaiti
Copyright Law. Article 15 of the Saudi Arabia Copyright Law. Article 22 of the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of
2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights. Article 8 of the Saudi Arabia
Copyright Law.
[53]
Riyadh Al Balushi, Noora Al Lawati and Muluk Mohsin, ‘The Term of Protection of Economic
Rights under the Copyright Laws of the GCC’ in David Price and Alhanoof
Aldebasi (eds), Intellectual Property Rights: Development and Enforcement in
the Arab States of the Gulf (Gerlach Press 2017) 5.
[54] Al
Balushi, Al Lawati and Mohsin (n 53) 3.
[55]
Kuwaiti Copyright Law Article 6; UAE Federal Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights
Article 5; Saudi Arabia Copyright Law Article 8; Bahrain Copyright Law Article
5; Omani Copyright Law Article 5; Qatar Copyright Law chap III, s 1, Article
10. See also Al-Hindani (n 41) 61. Moreover, moral rights are long-lasting
protections even after the author’s death. See also Qatar Copyright Law Chapter
IV Duration of Protection; Omani Copyright Law Chapter 3, Article 5; Bahrain
Copyright Law Article 5; Saudi Arabia Copyright Law Article 8; UAE Federal
Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Article 16.
Under Kuwaiti Copyright Law, moral rights are temporary and expire with the
expiration of financial rights fifty years after the death of the creator,
except for the right to be identified as the creator of the work (attribution)
and the right to protect the integrity of the work, prevent any infringement or
modification of the work that would distort it or lead to damage to the
author’s honour and reputation.
[56]
Khaled Al-Hindani and Muhammad Sami Abdul-Sadiq, Copyright in Kuwaiti Law
(Kuwait 2019) 147.
[57] See
Kuwaiti Copyright Law Article 6; UAE Federal Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights
Article 5; Bahrain Copyright Law Article 5; Omani Copyright Law Article 5.
[58]
Al-Hindani and Sadiq (n 56) 139-140.
[59]
Chapter III Author’s Economic and Moral Rights’ Section One Economic Rights of
Qatar Copyright Law Article 10. Chapter Three Copyrights First: Literary rights
Article (5) of Omani Copyright Law. Article 5 of the Bahrain Copyright Law.
Articles 6 and 16 under the Kuwaiti Copyright Law. Article 5 of Federal
Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights. Article 8 of
the Saudi Arabia Copyright Law. Notably, the GCC countries’ Copyright Laws
grant authors the right to withdraw their work from circulation, but with fair
compensation to the prejudiced party. See Chapter III, Author’s Economic and
Moral Rights, Section One, Economic Rights of Qatar Copyright Law Article 10.
“The author may withdraw his work from circulation or introduce any
modification through omission or addition to it. In the event of disagreement,
the author shall be obliged to pay fair compensation to the prejudiced party.”
Article 5/E of Bahrain Copyright Law stipulates that “The right to prohibit his
work being put into circulation, or to withdraw it from circulation, even if he
has already surrendered his economic rights, if serious reasons arise which
justify such an action. In this case, the author must request the competent
court to issue a judgement to prevent his work being put into circulation, or
to withdraw it therefrom. If the court accepts the author’s application, it
shall require him to pay adequate advance compensation to the party to whom the
rights have devolved, within a deadline established by the court. If he fails
to do so, the court’s judgement shall be null.”
[60]
Al-Hindani and Sadiq (n 56) 159.
[61]
Article 5 of Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring
Rights. Chapter III Author’s Economic and Moral Rights’ Section One, Economic
Rights of Qatar Copyright Law, Article 17. Article 8 of Saudi Arabia Copyright
Law. Article 5
of Bahrain Copyright Law. See Article 5 of Omani Copyright Law.
[62] See
Article 22 of Kuwait Copyright Law.
[63] Article
22 of Kuwait Copyright Law.
[64]
Lucchi (n 5) 6; Intellectual
Property Help Desk
(n 5); Helms and Krieser (n 8).
[65] See
Qatar Copyright Law Article 1 ‘“Author” means any natural person who
conceived and originated the work’, Bahrain Copyright Law Article 1 is a
‘natural
person who has produced the work’; Oman Copyright Law Article 1 defines
the author as ‘the natural person who creates the work’. For more information
about the author’s definition, see Muhammad Fawaz Muhammad Al-Mutalaqah and
Bassam Muhammad Bani Yassin, ‘The Nature of the Author Right’ (2013) 33 Journal
Cybrarians 138, 146; Al-Hindani and Abdul-Sadiq (n 56) 112 -113.
[66] See
OpenAI, ‘About’ https://openai.com/about accessed 20 February 2024.
[67] See the definition of author under Article 1 of the Kuwaiti
Copyright Law. UAE Federal Copyright Law Article 1. ‘Person: A natural or legal
person’ under UAE Federal Copyright Law Article 1. Saudi Arabia copyright Law
article 1.
[68] See
Bonadio,
McDonagh and Dinev (n 1) 4; Khalil (n 40) 1878; Fatima Ali Ibrahim
Ahmed, Ammar Yasser Mohammed Al-Adl and Maha Ahmed Ibrahim Mohammed, ‘Copyright
and Scientific Integrity’ (2020) 54 Journal of the Faculty of Articles 59, 79;
Murad Awlad Al-Nawi, ‘Legal Protection of Copyright on the Internet’ (2021) 13
Journal of Judicial Reasoning 323.
[69]
Qatar Copyright Law Chapter IV Duration of Protection. Saudi Arabia Copyright
Law Article 19; Kuwaiti Copyright Law Article 23; UAE Federal Decree-Law No 38
of 2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Article 20.
[70]
Article 26 of the Oman Copyright Law; Article 37 of the Bahrain Copyright Law.
[71]
Article 23 of the Kuwaiti Copyright Law.
[72]
OpenAI, ‘Terms of Use’ (n 23).
[73] Abdullah
Abdul Hamid Al-Barakati, ‘Establishing a Case for Developing a Governance
Framework for AI Regulations in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries’ (2021)
10 JKAU
Computing and Information Technology Sciences, 23.
[74] The
Economist Intelligence Unit, Innovating through Tech in the GCC (2020) 5 available at: https://www.bahrainedb.com/app/uploads/2020/10/EIU-Bahrain-EDB-Innovating-through-tech-in-the-GCC-24th-August-2020.pdf accessed 18 May 2024. See, ‘Saudi Arabia and
Artificial Intelligence’ (Middle East Political and Economic Institute,
November 2,
2020) https://mepei.com/saudi-arabia-and-artificial-intelligence/ accessed 18 May 2024; Andrea Benito, ‘Saudi Arabia
launches $100 Billion AI initiative to lead in global tech’ (CIO,
11 Nov 2024)
https://www.cio.com/article/3602900/saudi-arabia-launches-100-billion-ai-initiative-to-lead-in-global-tech.html accessed 18 May 2024.
Al-Barakati (n 73) 26.
[75]
Ibid 20.
[76] For
more information about Oman’s Vision 2040, see ‘Oman Vision 2040’ www.oman2040.om/?lang=en accessed 19 May 2024; ‘Maximising Artificial
Intelligence opportunities in Oman’ (Oman Observer, 17 September 2019) www.omanobserver.om/maximising-artificial-intelligence-opportunities-in-oman/ss accessed 19 May 2024.
[77]
Al-Barakati (n 73) 23–24.
[78] For
more information General Policy for the Safe and Ethical Use of Artificial
Intelligence Systems, see the official website of the Oman Ministry of Transport,
Communication and Information Technology.
[79] For
more information about AI Ethics Principles & Guidelines, see CITRA’s
official website.
[80] See
United Arab Emirates
Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications Office, UAE National Strategy for Artificial
Intelligence 2031 (2019) available at https://staticcdn.mbzuai.ac.ae/mbzuaiwpprd01/2022/07/UAE-National-Strategy-for-Artificial-Intelligence-2031.pdf accessed 19 May 2024.
[81]See
Smart Dubai, AI Ethics Principles & Guidelines available at: www.digitaldubai.ae/pdfviewer/web/viewer.html?file=https://www.digitaldubai.ae/docs/default-source/ai-principles-resources/ai-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=d4184f8d_6, accessed
19 May 2024.
[82] See
United Arab Emirates
Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications Office, 100 Practical Applications and Use
Cases of Generative AI (2023) available at:
https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/digital-uae/digital-technology/artificial-intelligence/ai-resources accessed 19 May 2024.
[83] Jamie
Ryder and Alexander S Mackay, ‘GCC AI Regulation- Snapshot’ (Lexology,
31 January 2024) www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=3b189eba-439e-41bf-a62a-2d0e65b76b05
accessed 24 May 2024.
[84] See
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, National Artificial
Intelligence Strategy for Qatar 2019 available at: https://www.mcit.gov.qa/-/media/mcit/documents/strategies/national_artificial_intelligence_strategy_for_qatar_2019_ar.pdf accessed
19 May 2024; Ben Dickson, ‘How Qatar Plans to Become a Global Leader in
Artificial Intelligence’ (TechTalks, 24 July 2019) https://bdtechtalks.com/2019/07/24/qatar-artificial-intelligence-strategy/ accessed 24 May 2024.
[85] See
Saudi Data & AI Authority, AI Ethics Principles available at: https://sdaia.gov.sa/en/SDAIA/about/Documents/ai-principles.pdf, accessed
24 May 2024.
[86] See
Saudi Data & AI Authority, Generative Artificial Intelligence Guidelines
for Public available at: https://sdaia.gov.sa/en/SDAIA/about/Files/GenerativeAIPublicEN.pdf, accessed
24 May 2024.
[87] See
Information and eGovernment Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain, General Policy for
the Use of AI (20 May 2025).
[88]
Al-Barakati (n 73) 23.
[89] See
Saudi Arabia’s IP Law project available at https://riyadh.om/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-04-KSA-IP-Law.pdf, accessed
2 October 2024.
[90] Saudi
Arabia’s IP Law project chapter ‘Intellectual Property Associated with
Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies and Supporting Its Promotion’
available at https://riyadh.om/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-04-KSA-IP-Law.pdf accessed 2 October 2024.
[91]
Ahmad Saleh, ‘The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) issued a
Draft Intellectual Property Legislation’ (Tamimi, 10 April 2023) www.tamimi.com/news/the-saudi-authority-for-intellectual-property-saip-issued-a-draft-intellectual-property-legislation/ accessed 2 October 2024.
[92]
Article 17 under Saudi Arabia IP Law project.
[93]
Article 18 under Saudi Arabia IP Law project.
[94]
Melissa Murray, Richard Gaugeler and Sarah Batarfi, ‘Saudi Arabia Pioneers
Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in the Gulf Region with Proposed New
Intellectual Property Law’ (Two Birds, 6
July 2023) www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2023/global/saudi-arabia-pioneers-regulation-of-artificial-intelligence accessed
9 May 2024.
[95]
Article 19 under Saudi Arabia IP Law project.
[96]
Murray, Gaugeler and Batarfi (n 94).
[97] See The Economist Intelligence Unit, Innovating
through Tech in the GCC (2020) 5 available at: https://www.bahrainedb.com/app/uploads/2020/10/EIU-Bahrain-EDB-Innovating-through-tech-in-the-GCC-24th-August-2020.pdf, accessed 18 May 2024. ‘Saudi Arabia and
Artificial Intelligence’ (Middle East Political and Economic Institute,
November 2,
2020) https://mepei.com/saudi-arabia-and-artificial-intelligence/ accessed 18 May 2024
[98] See
Article 17 under Saudi Arabia IP Law project.
[99] See
Article 18 under Saudi Arabia IP Law project.
[100]
Chapter Seven Term of Protection of the Financial Rights and Neighbouring
Rights First: Term of protection of the financial rights under Article 26 of
Oman Copyright Law: ‘The term of protection for the financial copyrights,
stipulated under this Law, shall be the life of the author and seventy years
starting from the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year following the year
of his death.’ Article 37 of Bahrain Copyright Law stipulates that ‘an author’s
economic rights are protected throughout his lifetime and for seventy years
beginning on the first day of the calendar year following the year of his
death, except where other provision is made in this subsection.’
[101] Al
Balushi, Al Lawati and Mohsin (n 53) 6.
[102]
Saudi Copyright Law Article 19.
[103]
Article 23 of the Kuwaiti Copyright Law.
[104] Article
23 of the Kuwaiti Copyright Law.
[105] Saudi Copyright Law Article
19(I)(6).
[106] Al
Balushi, Al Lawati and Mohsin (n 53) 14.