Saudi Arabian Law Overview

Saudi Arabia has ratified the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of 1886, revised in Paris on 24 July 1971, and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883, both with effect from 11 March 2004. Royal Decree No M/63 of 28 Dhul Hijja 1430 Hejra (corresponding to 15 December 2009) approved the accession of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The treaty officially came into force on 3 August 2013.

Previously, three governmental bodies had the authority to protect and enforce intellectual property rights: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry for trademarks, the Ministry of Culture and Information for copyright, and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology for patents. All of these powers have now been transferred to the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP). The Commercial Courts preside over infringement related disputes.

Trademarks

Trademarks are governed by the Trademarks Regulation, Royal Decree No M/21 of 28 Jumada Awal 1423 Hejra (corresponding to 8 August 2002), and its Implementing Rules of the same year. Trademarks are also governed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Trademark Law, which Saudi Arabia adopted on 27 September 2016. The GCC Trademark Law does not create a single unified method of trademark registration for GCC countries, thus, applications for registration are still made through the Saudi government body in charge of trademark oversight, the SAIP. The SAIP applies the ‘Nice Classification’ in accordance with the Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks of 1957. Applications for trademarks may be submitted through the SAIP website and must contain the following:

1. a copy of the trademark required to be registered;
2. the name, title, address, nationality and trade name of the applicant (if any). If the applicant is a juristic person, the name, address of the head office and nationality must be stated;
3. where the application is submitted by an attorney, his name, title and address must be stated;
4. a description of the trademark required to be registered;
5. the products or services in respect of which the trademark is required to be registered, and the classification thereof;
6. the signature of the applicant or the attorney thereof;
7. ten representations of the trademark identical to the trademark sample shown in the application for registration;
8. a copy of the power of attorney together with the original for verifying purposes must be attached where the application was submitted by an attorney of the person concerned;
9. evidence of payment of application fees as stipulated in the Trademarks Regulation.
   

It is not permitted to register in Saudi Arabia, by other than its rightful owner, a trademark that is similar to an internationally known mark. Registration of a trademark allows holders protection for ten years from the date of application, renewable for similar periods. Any renewal must be specifically applied for before the end of the last year of expiry of the registration, and the procedure for renewal is the same as the one for the initial registration of the trademark. Service marks are included in the definition of trademarks. A trademark is deemed owned by the person who effects the registration. Once the registration is effected in the trademarks register, the party who has registered the trademark is considered the owner thereof to the exclusion of others.

A trademark can be licensed, pledged or transferred by the rightful owner. The trademark may be deleted or cancelled if it is not used for five consecutive years. Penalties for infringement of a valid trademark include imprisonment for a period of not more than one year and a fine of not less than SAR 50,000 and not more than SAR 1 million.

Patents

There are at present two overlapping patents systems in Saudi Arabia. The GCC Patents of Inventions Regulation of 2001, which is an amendment of an earlier statute of 1992, was approved in Saudi Arabia by Royal Decree No M/28 of 2001. This permits the registration of patents with effect throughout the GCC countries. The GCC Patent Office is based in Riyadh. Under Saudi Arabian law, patents are governed by the Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties, and Industrial Models Regulation, Royal Decree No M/27 of 20 Jumada Awal 1425 Hejra (corresponding to 17 July 2005) and its Implementing Rules, issued by the President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology No 161-2-3607329 of 30 Dhul Hijja 1436 Hejra (corresponding to 13 October 2015). These regulations give effect to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property under Saudi Arabian domestic law.

As patents are territorial rights, registration of a patent in a jurisdiction outside of Saudi Arabia does not automatically protect a technology or invention from infringement within the Kingdom. To protect a patent in Saudi Arabia, the patent holder or applicant must file an application with a regional office, such as the Saudi Arabian Patent Office, or the GCC Patent Office. If the patent is granted by the Saudi Arabian Patent Office, the invention or technology will only receive protection in Saudi Arabia. If the patent is granted by the GCC Patent Office, the invention or technology will be protected in all the GCC members states.

The SAIP is the authority in charge of granting protection documents, which give full protection within the Kingdom to an invention, a layout design of an integrated circuit, a plant variety, or an industrial design. The protection document grants the owner the right to commercially exploit the subject matter of protection.

Applications for a protection document may be filed on the SAIP website. Applications must either be in Arabic or accompanied by an Arabic translation. If the applicant lives outside of Saudi Arabia, they must designate an authorised agent within the Kingdom. Filing an application requires:

1. Filing the applicant’s name, capacity and address;
2. Filing a description of the invention;
3. Filling in the appropriate forms; and
4. Payment of the filing fee.

If the applicant is a citizen or resident of one of the member countries of the Paris Union, or owns a real and active industrial or commercial firm in one of those countries, and wishes to claim priority of an application that was filed there, information relating to the priority claim (including the country, application number, application filing date, and patent number) should be included in the application.

The protection document is the personal right of the owner and he may transfer or assign it or grant a contractual licence to others to commercially exploit the subject matter of protection. Protection is granted to the owner for a duration of twenty years for an invention, ten years for an industrial design and a layout design of an integrated circuit, and twenty to twenty-five years for a new plant variety. The above periods are renewable, for an annual fee. Published protection applications are made available for public viewing, while unpublished applications remain confidential.

Copyright

The Copyright Regulation, Royal Decree No M/41 of 2 Rajab 1424 Hejra (corresponding to 30 August 2003) and its Implementing Rules, issued by the Minister of Culture and Information's Decision No. 1688/1 of 10 Rabi Thani 1425 Hejra (corresponding to 30 May 2004), define copyright protection to include dramatic works, musicals, choreographed works, mimed works, musical compositions, cinematographic works, sculptures, engravings, lithography, and photographic works. The Copyright Regulation gives the author financial and moral rights, the right to print or publish the work, the right to make amendments or to delete his work, the right to withdraw it from circulation, and the right to assign it as he wishes.

The SAIP launched an optional copyright registration service for computer software, apps and architectural designs in 2019. Registration requires the completion of an application on the SAIP website and payment of the examination fee. If registration is successful, the copyright holder is issued a registration certificate. The registry’s primary function is the documentation of details such as the work’s status and authorship, and as a result, the registration certificate does not grant the holder permissions such as usage, circulation and publication of the work.

In general, the duration of protection afforded to different types of copyright works is as follows:

1. The period of protection of copyright for the author of a work shall be for the duration of his life and for a period of fifty years following his death.
2. The period of protection for works where the author is a corporate entity, or if the author’s name is unknown, shall be fifty years from the date of the first publication of the work.
3. The protection period for sound works, audio-visual works, films, collective works and computer programs is fifty years from the date of the first show or publication of the work, regardless of republication.
4. The protection period for applied art (handcrafted or manufactured) and photographs shall be twenty-five years from the date of publication.
5. The protection period for broadcasting organizations shall be twenty years from the date of the first transmission of the program or broadcast materials.
6. Musical and cinematographic works are protected for fifty years effective from the Gregorian date of their first production;
7. If the author is anonymous or a corporate person, computer programs are protected as literary works for a minimum period of fifty years from the date of their first production.

Infringers of a valid copyright may be punished with a fine of up to SAR 250,000 in the case of first-time offenders, and this can be raised to SAR 500,000 if there is repeated infringement. 

*This Saudi Arabian Law Overview is not intended to be legal advice, and cannot be relied on as a substitute for legal advice. We make no representation that the contents of this Saudi Arabian Law Overview are or will remain accurate or current. 

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