SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Dana Halwani and Leanne Farsi, Derayah LLPC
Patents are governed by the Patent, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties, and Industrial Models Regulation (Royal Decree No M/27 of 20 Jumada Awwal 1425 Hejra corresponding to 17 July 2005), which gives effect to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property under Saudi law. This law was amended in 2023 to extend the period of protection for industrial designs from ten to 15 years. Additionally, the law now formally recognises the Hague Agreement and the World Intellectual Prop - erty Organization. A protection document is granted by the SAIP, which gives full protection within the Kingdom to an inven - tion, a layout design of an integrated circuit, a plant variety or an industrial design. The protection docu - ment grants the owner the right to commercially exploit the subject matter of protection. In accordance with the provisions of the Patent, Lay - out Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties, and Industrial Models Regulation, a patent may be granted for an invention if it is novel, involves a creative step and is capable of industrial application. The invention may be a product or an industrial process, or may relate to either. Applications for protection documents can now be filed through the SAIP website by filling out a template which requires the input of: • a summary; • a full description; • the elements being protected; and • drawings (if any) for the invention being patented. For certain patent applications, the patent applica - tion fast track examination programme is also avail - able, which provides a potentially quicker avenue for obtaining a protection document. The protection document is the personal right of the owner, who may transfer or assign it, or grant a con - tractual licence to others to commercially exploit the subject matter of protection. Protection is granted to the owner for: • 20 years for an invention;
• 15 years for an industrial design; and • 20 to 25 years for a new plant variety. These periods are renewable, for an annual fee. Disputes arising from patent infringement are handled by the Commercial Courts. 7.2 Trade Marks Trade marks are regulated under the Trade Marks Regulation (Royal Decree No M/21 of 28 Jumada Awwal 1423 Hejra corresponding to 8 August 2002), which defines a trade mark as: “… anything having a distinctive form such as names, words, signatures, letters, figures, drawings, logos, titles, hallmarks, seals, pictures, engravings, packs or any other mark or group of marks if used or intended to be used either to distinguish goods, products or services of a facility or other facilities or to indicate the rendering of a service or the control of inspection of goods or services.” Applications for the registration of trade marks are made online. The process is as follows. • Authorisation must be obtained to register the trade mark. • A power of attorney must be obtained to register the trade mark. • A request must be submitted to register the trade mark, which includes the payment of a SAR1,000 consideration fee. • The request is examined. The SAIP may allow the applicant to modify the trade mark if the SAIP finds the trade mark is not fit for registration. • If the trade mark is accepted, the SAR500 publica - tion fee must be paid to proceed. • The trade mark is published for 60 days. • If no objections are made during the publication period, once it lapses, the applicant must pay the final invoice within 30 days of its issuance, and the trade mark certificate will be issued. The trade mark registration and certificate issuance fees are SAR5,000. In November 2023, two significant developments took place in Saudi trade mark law.
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