Law No. (7) of 2002 aims to protect the rights of authors and related rights , providing authors with both financial and moral rights over their works, and specifying the duration of protection for these rights. In most cases, the author’s rights last for the duration of their life, and for fifty years starting from the beginning of the year following their death. Once these rights expire, the work becomes "public domain."

Works that enter the public domain are available for use by anyone and without restrictions on publication or use.

The use of copyrighted works is also permitted under intellectual property law in certain cases, such as for educational and scientific research purposes, provided that such use does not harm the interests of the rights holders.

Qatar University Library provides open access to materials in the digital repository and archives in line with copyright laws—whether through permission from the author or publisher, or through the expiration of the protection period and the work entering the public domain. The aim is to make academic and scientific content freely available to the public, while complying with copyright laws and respecting intellectual property rights.

Archiving and Copyright at Qatar University Library

• Authors or publishers retain copyright for all works deposited in Qatar University’s digital repository.
• Authors of the deposited works must grant Qatar University a non-exclusive right to redistribute and preserve the works through the digital repository.
• Authors may embargo the research they submit to the digital repository in order to protect the content (such as books that are in the process of being published).