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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Algeria Flag

Opposition Term

02 Months

Registration Term

10 Years

First Renewal Term

10 Years

Subsequent Renewal Term

10 Years

  • The GCC Trademark Law adopted by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, effective from September 27, 2016 – is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Saudi Arabia.

  • The Ministry of Commerce and Investment currently controls the registration process. However, following the recent establishment of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), the administration of trademarks will be taken over by SAIP.

  • It follows a 'first-to-file' system.

  • Saudi Arabia follows the 10th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are not acceptable.

  • The duration of a trademark or a service mark registration is ten (10) years from the filing date according to the Hegira (Islamic) calendar (equivalent to approximately nine (09) years and eight (08) months). The registration is renewable for similar periods of ten (10) years each. According to the provisions of the new trademark law, a grace period of six (06) Hegira months with a lateness fine is allowed for filing a renewal application after the expiration of the protection period. A fresh trademark application can be filed for the re-registration of a cancelled trademark or service mark.

  • The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.

  • Saudi Arabia has been a contracting party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property since March 11, 2004. It has also been a contracting party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) since August 3, 2013. In addition, it is a party to the Patent Law Treaty (PLT).

  • Patents in Saudi Arabia are governed by Patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties, and Industrial Models Law, which was issued as per the Royal Decree No. M/27 on July 17, 2004.The law, which provides full protection for patents, layout designs of integrated circuits, plant varieties, and industrial models in Saudi Arabia, was published in the Official Gazette No. 4004, dated August 6, 2004, and entered into force on September 6, 2004.

  • The Directorate of Patents at King Abdul-Aziz City of Science and Technology is deemed as the ‘Patent Office’ and has the authority to grant patents in the country.

  • In Saudi Arabia, an invention that satisfies the conditions of originality, novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.

  • The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.

  • The procedure for pre-grant opposition under Rule 55 of Patent Rules, 2003, provides that the representation (including a statement and evidence and a request for hearing) for pre-grant opposition needs to be filed in form 7(A) at the appropriate office within six (06) months of the publication of the patent application. The opposition should be filed with the Committee for Reviewing Patent Disputes within ninety (90) days as of the date of publishing the decision of grant in the Official Gazette.

  • A patent is protected for twenty (20) years from the date of filing the application. A patent is subject to annuity due at the beginning of each year subsequent to the year in which the application was filed and payable within a period of three (03) months (1st January to 31st March). The late payment of annuity fees is allowed within three (03) months thereafter in exchange for a double fee.

  • Designs and industrial models in Saudi Arabia are governed by the Patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties, and Industrial Models Law, which was issued as per the Royal Decree No. M/27 dated July 17, 2004.

  • For getting an industrial design registered in Saudi Arabia, an application has to be filed with the Patent Office, which is located at the King Abdul Aziz City for Science & Technology (KACST), an independent scientific organization of the Saudi Arabian Government established in 1977, which administers the entire process of registration.

  • The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Saudi Arabia include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.

  • Utility model protection isn't provided under industrial design protection in the nation.

  • Opposition against an industrial design application can be raised within sixty (60) days from the publication date.

  • In Saudi Arabia, the design certificate protection period lasts for ten (10) years from the date of filing the application or ten (10) years from the date of start of its commercial exploitation anywhere in the world. In any case, the protection period may not exceed fifteen (15) years from the date of developing the design. The applicant is required to pay the grant fee together with publication fee within three (03) months from the notification by the Office. The annual maintenance fees are due starting from the year following the registration date, and the owner can pay the same from 1st January to 31st March of each year.

  • A grace period of three (03) months is allowed for the late payment, where the last three (03) months payment will be subject to a surcharge.

  • Saudi Arabia is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

  • The copyright law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was issued as per the Royal Decree No. M/41 dated August 30, 2003 and published in the Official Gazette No. 3959 dated September 19, 2003. The Implementing Regulations of the law were published in the Official Gazette (Um-Al-Qura) dated June 4, 2004, and entered into force on August 2, 2004.

  • There is no procedure in place for copyright registration. Nonetheless, since Saudi Arabia is a member of Berne convention, any work, which falls in protectable subject matter and fulfils the condition of originality, will be protected without registration. Provisions related to copyright in TRIPS agreements are also applicable in Saudi Arabia as a member of WTO.

  • The standard copyright protection term lasts for the lifetime of the author plus fifty (50) years following his death. However, the duration of copyright protection varies depending on the type of work.

  • The copyright protection term of photographs is twenty-five (25) years.