Intellectual Property Policy

Dar Al-Hekma (DAH) University promotes and encourages excellence and innovation in scholarly research and creation by identifying and protecting the ownership rights of DAH, its faculty, staff, and students in accordance with national and international legal standards.

Purpose

This policy governs the rules, regulations, and procedures followed in protecting intellectual property rights for works and/or inventions used or produced by DAH students, faculty, and staff.

Scope

1. Office of the President

2. Academic Affairs Division
   

3. Student Affairs Division

4. Finance & Administration Division

5. Institutional Advancement Division
   

6. Students/Prospective Students
   

   Policy Provision:

Copyright Assertion

1. Creative original work in the fields of literature, art, and sciences, irrespective of their type, means of expression, or importance is considered copyrighted.

2. As per copyright Law, the following works are excluded from legal protection and the application of this policy:

• Laws and judicial judgments, decisions of administrative bodies, international agreements and all official documents, as well as the official translations thereof, subject to the provisions concerning the circulation of these documents;

• What is published in newspapers, magazines, and periodicals, or broadcasted in the daily news or news-like events;

• Ideas, procedures, work methods, concepts of mathematical sciences, axioms, and abstract facts.
  

Copyright: Rights of Authors

1. DAH acknowledges and observes the moral and financial rights of authors per the Copyright Law Articles 8 and 9.

2. DAH does not conclude agreements that would deprive the authors of these rights unless it is within the scope of work for hire (refer to point 4.E below).

3. With respect to the financial rights of authors, in addition to complying with the provisions of the Copyright Law and this policy, DAH recognizes the following on income generated:

• Any income which DAH receives from the licensing, sale, lease, or other use of copyrighted works owned by DAH pursuant to this policy, if shared, will be as determined by DAH in its sole discretion.

• The portion of income that is not paid to the author of a work will be used as determined by DAH at its sole discretion.

4. The ownership of scholarly or artistic work produced by faculty, staff, and students is subject to various conditions under which the work is produced. The rights of ownership for each category are presented below.

A. Original Works

1. Ownership of original works remains with the creator if the work was created by faculty, staff, or students during their personal time without utilizing DAH resources.

B. Original Works Involving Limited DAH Resources

1. These are works created using general DAH resources, such as computers and access to library resources.

2. In such cases, ownership remains with the creator.

C. Original Works Involving Substantial Use of DAH Resources

1. These are works created with significant support from DAH, such as full or partial funding of the project and/or release time from teaching responsibilities.

2. Ownership of such works is shared jointly by DAH and the creator.

D. Sponsored Research

1. These are works created using funds supplied under a contract, a grant, or an agreement with the researcher.

2. Ownership of sponsored research is shared jointly by DAH and the creator unless otherwise agreed.

E. Work for Hire

1. Works Produced by Staff and Faculty Members

• These works are produced by DAH staff and faculty during the course of their employment, for the benefit of the institution, or as additional agreements. This includes, but is not limited to new course/program development, translation of materials, committee-related work, course specifications, and drafting of policies.

• Works for hire produced by staff and faculty members are owned by DAH.

2. Works Produced by Independent External Contractors

• These works are created through a contractual agreement between DAH and an independent external contractor commissioned for the benefit of DAH.

• Works produced by external contractors for DAH are owned by DAH unless otherwise agreed.

F. Student Works

1. These works are created by DAH enrolled students as course assignments, such as theses, term papers, computer programs, or art and design work.

2. Ownership of student works remains with the student, except in the following cases:

• Original works authored by faculty with the assistance of a student:Ownership will be determined based on whether the assistance was major (such as writing a complete section of a paper, data collection, data analysis, etc.) or minor (such as formatting bibliography, designing the document, etc.), and is subject to an authorship agreement between the faculty member and student.

• Sponsored or externally funded studentworks:Ownership will be subject to agreement between the student and the funder.

• Student works created as part of a student's employment at DAH:These works are considered works for hire and are owned by DAH.

• Works created by a student as part of an internship:Ownership of such works is subject to agreement between the student and the internship organization.

Copyright: Material Usage

1. The use of copyrighted work in any form is restricted to published, officially recognized, and distributed sources and materials or partial reproduction of portions of the copyrighted material as per Lawful Use guidelines and/or with official permission for all subsequent use.

2. When using copyrighted material in teaching, research, or classroom instruction and activities, the authorship and source of the material must be fully acknowledged, carefully documented, and properly formatted according to an internationally recognized citation system.

3. DAH recognizes the following types of copyrighted work material usage per the conditions herein:

A. Duplication

1. DAH does not allow duplication of:
   

• Published or unpublished materials for profit;

• Computer software for multiple uses; or

• Materials for repeated classroom use each term without permission of thecopyright owner.

2. Photocopying books or chapters of books and distributing them systematically to students withoutobtaining the initial approval of the author is not permitted, and is viewed by the Copyright Law as a copyright infringement.

3. Copying a large portion of a work, such as an entire journal article, a book or book chapter, or an entire music score, is prohibited.

4. The duplication of full works that are out of print is permitted for Saudi copyrighted works only. In cases where the work is protected under a different international policy, that policy must be adhered to, in addition to the Saudi laws.

B. Educational Use

1. The copyright law, provides the following exemption for educational purposes, as per Article 15/3:"Using the work by way of clarification for educational purposes, within the limits justified by the intended objective, or making a copy or two for public libraries or non-commercial documentation centers on the following conditions: Shall not be considered commercial or for-profit; copying shall be restricted to the requirements of activities; shall not impair the material benefit of the work, and the work is out of print or is lost or damaged."

2. Small portions of larger works may be reproduced to facilitate teaching, research or classroom instruction, and activity. In this case, limited copies may be made of articles for instructional purposes and can only be used once.

3. For subsequent use of copyrighted material in copied or reproduced form, a fair attempt must be made to obtain the permission of the copyright owner.

4. In determining what is considered a 'small portion', DAH abides by the guidance of "Lawful Use" or 'fair use'. For further guidance or in case of doubt, please refer to the DAH Research Center.

C. Audio-Visual Material Use

1. Oral works are protected by the Copyright Law and therefore cannot be recorded without prior permission of the speaker.

2. The Copyright Law allows the use of audio and/or visual material for educational purposes in the classroom and for university-wide events, provided that using this work does not violate the rights of the copyright owner.

3. The use of audio-visual materials for university-wide events is only permitted for events that are designed with a clear educational benefit for students and that are not intended to generate profits.

4. Audio-visual materials licensed for individual use cannot be used for university events in which the sole purpose is entertainment.

5. Photo and visual recording are not permitted without prior permission of the person represented in the picture or video. In case of a public event hosted at DAH campus, permission for the recording must be obtained from DAH Marketing & Communication Department.

D. Bazaars and DAH-wide Events

1. DAH does not allow the sale of fraudulent and/or counterfeit products, products that present copyright, patent or trademark infringement, or products which violate Islamic law (Shariah).
   

2. As an organizer of bazaars, DAH may be held responsible for any infringement of copyright or the sale of counterfeit products. Therefore, the responsibility of DAH includes exclusively making a fair effort to ensure that all displayed merchandise abides by Saudi laws. This includes (but is not limited to) requesting sellers to sign a binding contract that states that they abide by the Saudi law, excluding sellers offering counterfeit goods from the bazaar and other events, and taking further disciplinary sanctions as the case may be.

E. Art Works

1. Art or "artistic" works are recognized and protected under the Copyright Law and this policy as copyrighted proprietary material.

2. As per Article 2 of the Copyright Law,"(12) Protection shall include the title of a work, if it is of creative nature, and not a common expression indicating the subject matter of the work."

3. This policy addresses artworks from an IPR perspective, recognizing the protection owed to artwork, excluding all DAH and faculty scholar views with respect to teaching and evaluating artworks produced by students in the course of their academic curriculum.

4. While DAH promotes artistic freedom and respects artistic expression of it staff, faculty, and students, it does not allow for the creation and/or use of artwork that presents IPR infringement and/or violates Islamic law (Shariah).

5. Artwork created and/or used by the DAH staff, faculty and students must comply with the Copyright Law and this policy.

6. The following specific provisions are applicable to the Rights of Authors of artworks:

• Original artworks of faculty and staff created in the course of employment and/or funded

  research:DAH will retain material ownership over original works of fine art and design and works of fine craftsmanship produced using substantial DAH resources or in the course of sponsored research unless agreed otherwise. Financial rights sharing, if any, are to be determined by DAH alone in accordance with this policy.

• Original artworks of

  students:DAH may, at its discretion and in partnership with the student, enter into a voluntary arrangement whereby DAH represents a student in an agency capacity in return for the provision of services relating to the protection or commercial development of intellectual property. In all cases, artworks produced by students during their course enrolment may be entered by DAH in publications and/or exhibitions.

Patents and Industrial Design

1. Innovative inventions and industrial designs are qualified for Patents and Industrial Design protection documents under the Saudi Industrial Property Law and its implementing regulations.

2. The property of the protection documents is a personal right of the person in whose name they are issued and is governed by the specific provisions relating to each type of innovation.

3. As per articles 5 and 6 of the Industrial Property Law, the rights of the authors of innovative inventions and industrial designs are allocated as follows:

A. Original Works of Innovation

• These works are produced with the creator's personal time and effort, where the role of DAH is limited to providing assistance with implementation.

• Ownership of the work lies with the creator.

B. Joint Works of Innovation

• These works result from team efforts where more than one person has contributed substantially to the completion of the work.

• Ownership of the work is equally distributed among team members.

C. Contract Work by External Parties

• These works result from the implementation of a contractual agreement with DAH in return for agreed full or partial financial support, or relief from some function, responsibilities or duties.

• Ownership of the work is with DAH unless otherwise agreed.

D. Faculty Works of Innovation Carried Out Using Substantial DAH Resources

• These are cases where DAH provides support for the innovation and discovery to a significant degree, such as by fully or partially funding the project and/or providing the faculty member with release time from teaching responsibilities.

• Ownership of the work will be owned jointly by DAH and the creator.

4. Innovative inventions and industrial designs created and/or used by DAH staff, faculty, and students must comply with and are subject to the general provisions of this policy.

5. Some works, notably scientific works and designs, qualify for protection both under copyright and industrial property which overlaps.

Use of DAH Name and Logo

1. The owner of the IPR, whether copyright or patent, must obtain prior written permission from related DAH Dean of School and Marketing & Communication Department at least one month before using DAH's name or logo to publish, produce and disseminate the work for commercial or non-commercial distribution.

2. DAH employees and students are permitted to use DAH's name as a professional affiliation.

Resolution of Disputes

1. This policy constitutes a binding understanding on DAH and its faculty, staff, and students.

2. Any question of interpretation or claim arising out of or relating to this policy, or dispute as to ownership of IPR under this policy, will be submitted by the claimant in writing to DAH Research Center.

3. The DAH Research Center will also provide on request informal advisory opinions indicating how the provisions of this policy are likely to be interpreted for special cases.

Penalty in Case of Policy Violation


Any person who violates this Policy shall be subject to DAH disciplinary sanctions and one or more penalties prescribed in Saudi laws, such as a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousands riyals or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.