Software License Agreement in Saudi Arabia: Template, Key Clauses and Local Law (2026)

A software license agreement grants a customer the right to use software the owner keeps the rights to. The customer does not buy the software; it gets a licence with a defined scope: which software, how many users or machines, for how long, where, and what it may and may not do. The agreement also covers fees, support, warranties, intellectual property and liability. In Saudi Arabia, software is protected by copyright, so the licence is the document that turns that protection into clear, agreed permissions for the customer. ## When you need a software license agreement Use one whenever you give another party a copy of software to install and run, whether on their own servers or devices. This differs from SaaS, where the customer uses hosted software as a service and never holds a copy. If the software runs on the customer's side, you need a licence. ## How Saudi law protects software General contract rules come from the Civil Transactions Law (Royal Decree No. M/191, in force from 16 December 2023): freedom of contract and good faith, read with principles of Sharia. For the software itself: - Copyright. Software is protected as a literary-type work under Saudi copyright law, covering source code, object code and related documentation. A new Copyright Law (Royal Decree No. M/169, published in February 2026 and scheduled to take effect around August 2026) modernises the framework and replaces the earlier 2003 law; confirm the current law and its implementing regulations before relying on specific provisions.

• SAIP. The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) administers copyright. Protection arises automatically on creation, and registration with SAIP is voluntary but can give a rebuttable presumption of ownership and let licences and assignments be recorded.
• No interest (riba) and language. Avoid interest-based penalties; Arabic governs before Saudi courts and government bodies; set a prevailing language for bilingual contracts.
• Signing, VAT and disputes. Electronic signatures are recognised under the Electronic Transactions Law (Royal Decree No. M/18 of 2007, amended in 2023). VAT is 15 percent (ZATCA). Disputes go to the commercial courts or arbitration, often under the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA). ## Key clauses in a Saudi software license agreement ### Licence grant and scope State exactly what is licensed, the type of licence (for example perpetual or term, exclusive or non-exclusive), permitted users, locations and uses. ### Restrictions No copying beyond the licence, no reverse engineering except where the law allows, no sublicensing unless agreed. ### Fees and payment Licence fees, any recurring maintenance fees, currency, payment terms and VAT. Avoid interest-based late fees. ### Intellectual property The owner keeps all IP; the customer gets only the licensed rights. Address any custom development and who owns it. ### Maintenance and support What updates, patches and support are included, and for how long. ### Warranties and liability A limited warranty that the software performs as documented, infringement protection, a liability cap and exclusion of indirect loss, subject to the court's power to review unfair amounts. ### Term and termination Term, termination for breach, and what the customer must do on termination (stop using, delete copies). ### Governing law and disputes Name Saudi law and choose commercial courts or SCCA arbitration. ## A simple Saudi software license template outline 1. Parties and effective date

2. Definitions
3. Licence grant, type and scope
4. Permitted users, locations and uses
5. Restrictions
6. Delivery and acceptance
7. Fees, maintenance fees and VAT
8. Intellectual property and custom work
9. Maintenance and support
10. Warranties and infringement protection
11. Limitation of liability
12. Term and termination
13. Confidentiality
14. Governing law (Saudi Arabia) and disputes
15. General terms and signature blocks ## How to draft and review one well Make the licence scope exact: naming the software, the metric (users, cores, sites) and the permitted use is what prevents later disputes. Match the IP and custom-development clauses to how the software will really be used and extended. Track maintenance and renewal dates so support does not lapse. ## Draft, review and track a software licence in one workspace A licence, its maintenance terms and its renewal dates often sit in separate files, so scope creep and lapsed support go unnoticed. Adira is an AI legal operating system that keeps drafting, clause-level review and version history in one place, so the licence and its support and renewal terms stay linked. Adira is India-first today; deeper Saudi Arabia jurisdiction and IP coverage is on its roadmap, so treat Saudi-specific drafting as a starting point to confirm with local counsel. See the approach at Adira. This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current Saudi Copyright Law, SAIP requirements and any Arabic text with a qualified local lawyer before you sign.