SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Dr Saud Alromi, Mostafa Ihab, Mohamed Ramadan and Saleh Albadry, Mohammed Al Dhabaan & Partners Eversheds Sutherland
1.7 Pre-Action Discovery/Disclosure The Saudi Arabian legal system lacks a formal process for pre-action discovery similar to those found in common law jurisdictions. Instead, the focus remains on the claimant proving their case without obliging the defendant to disclose or build evidence before the commencement of formal proceedings. It is possible to use materials obtained in other jurisdictions in Saudi Arabian legal proceedings. However, there are procedural requirements to ensure the admissibility of such evidence. Authentication and Translation Documents obtained from other jurisdictions must be attested and translated into Arabic to be admissible in Saudi Arabian courts. 1.8 Search and Seizure Orders Seizure orders are available in Saudi Arabia as a form of interim/summary measures under the Law of Commercial Courts. The main requirements for seeking the issuance of a seizure order is to prove to the court the urgency for issuing the order and specify the items that need to be seized. The main action needs to be filed within seven days as from the date of issuing the seizure order. 1.9 Declaratory Relief Saudi Arabian courts are willing to grant declara - tory relief. Declaratory relief can be sought to clarify the legal rights and obligations of the parties without necessarily seeking coercive enforcement.
Declaratory Relief Requirements To obtain declaratory relief, the following require - ments must be met. • Existence of a legal dispute: there must be a genuine legal dispute between the parties that requires clarification. • Legal interest: the party seeking declaratory relief must have a legitimate legal interest in obtaining the declaration. • Specificity: the request for declaratory relief must be specific and clearly define the legal rights or obligations in question. Types of Declaratory Relief Available in Life Sciences Patent Proceedings In life sciences patent proceedings, the types of declaratory relief that may be available include the following. • Declarations of non-infringement: a declara - tion that a particular product or process does not infringe on the patent in question. • Validity declarations: a declaration regarding the validity of a patent. Parties’ Burden The party seeking the declaration must demon - strate: • direct and personal interest: the party must have a direct and personal interest in the outcome of the declaration; and • potential impact: the declaration must have a potential impact on the legal rights or obliga -
tions of the party seeking relief. 1.10 Doctrine of Equivalents
The Patent Law implicitly supports the appli - cation of the Doctrine of Equivalents (DoE) by allowing for the protection of the essential ele - ments of a patented invention. This doctrine
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