SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Saud Alromi, Mostafa Ihab, Mohamed Ramadan and Saleh Albadry, Mohammed AlDhabaan & Partners Eversheds Sutherland
Overturning Preliminary or Final Injunctions If an injunction is overturned on appeal or the patent is revoked, the court decision will be enforced through the competent enforcement court. 7.2 Appeal Court(s) Arbiter There are no specialised appeal judges to consider patent litigation appeals. 7.3 Special Provisions There are no special provisions for intellectual prop ‑ erty proceedings in Saudi Arabia. 8. Other Relevant Forums/Procedures 8.1 The UPC or Other Forums In Saudi Arabia, several forums and procedures are relevant to life sciences and pharmaceutical IP litiga ‑ tion beyond the traditional court system. Customs Detention Applications The Saudi Arabian Customs Authority plays a crucial role in preventing the importation of infringing or coun ‑ terfeit products. Rights-holders can file applications with customs to detain suspected infringing goods at the border. This is particularly important for the phar ‑ maceutical sector to prevent the entry of counterfeit medicines. The SFDA Any drugs imported to Saudi Arabia have to be regis ‑ tered with the SFDA. The SAIP The SAIP oversees the enforcement of IP rights and provides administrative procedures for resolving IP disputes. This includes handling complaints related to IP infringements and co-ordinating with other gov ‑ ernment agencies. 9. Alternative Dispute Resolution 9.1 ADR Options ADR is not commonly used in life sciences disputes as these disputes often arise between parties who
are not connected through a binding agreement, so an agreement to resort to ADR does not usually exist. However, these kinds of disputes can still be resolved through an ADR method like arbitration, mediation or expert determination depending on the agreement between the relevant parties. Court actions are commonly used in Saudi Arabia rather than ADR. 10. Settlement/Antitrust 10.1 Considerations and Scrutiny Specific Settlement/Antitrust Considerations In Saudi Arabia, the General Authority for Competition (GAC) oversees antitrust and competition matters. The Competition Law and its implementing regula ‑ tions provide the legal framework for addressing anti- competitive practices and ensuring fair competition. Settlement Procedures The GAC allows for settlement procedures where parties can negotiate and settle disputes related to anti-competitive practices. This is becoming increas ‑ ingly common as companies seek to avoid lengthy litigation. However, settlements data is not published. Group claims are available in Saudi Arabia. These claims allow multiple plaintiffs with similar grievanc ‑ es to file a single lawsuit against a defendant if they agree to such arrangement. This mechanism is par ‑ ticularly useful in cases involving defective medicines or medical devices, where numerous individuals may be affected by the same issue. Commonality in the Life Sciences/Pharma Sector While group claims are available, they are not yet very common in the life sciences and pharmaceutical sec ‑ tors in Saudi Arabia. The legal framework for class actions is still developing, and awareness among potential claimants is growing. 11. Collective Redress 11.1 Group Claims Availability of Group Claims
208 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook