SAUDI ARABIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Dr Saud Alromi, Mostafa Ihab, Mohamed Ramadan and Saleh Albadry, Mohammed Al Dhabaan & Partners Eversheds Sutherland
5.6 Relevance of Claimant/Plaintiff Conduct to Relief Saudi Arabian law does not recognise punitive damages, so the conduct of the parties is not usually considered when deciding on the relief to be granted by Saudi Arabian courts.
courts are not bound by previous court deci - sions issued in similar cases. Damages are awarded to remedy actual sus - tained harm or compensate lost profit from the date at which harm was sustained or the date at which the profit was lost. Damages are awarded by virtue of the court decision and there is no separate quantum hearing or proceedings. Dam - ages are also not awarded via interim awards. If an injunction was issued and the plaintiff lost the case, the defendant will be at liberty to claim damages for the harm it sustained as a result of the wrongful injunction. There are no special con - siderations to take into account in this respect and the general rules for awarding damages (wrongful act, harm and causal link) will apply. The patentee is usually the only person to claim damages against an alleged infringer. It is not usual for national health services to claim dam - ages in these cases. 5.5 Legal Costs Legal fees incurred by the winning party can be claimed in Saudi Arabia as per the principles of Islamic Sharia. However, as a matter of practice, legal fees are not usually awarded in full as a frac - tion of the incurred legal fees is usually awarded. There is no prescribed fraction to be decided by the Saudi Arabian courts as each judge will be able to exercise their discretion in this respect. Court fees are prescribed by virtue of the Saudi Arabian Judicial Fees Law which imposes a maximum of 5% of the amount claimed as court fees (with a maximum amount of SAR1 million) on the losing party.
6. Other IP Rights 6.1 Trade Marks Commonality of Trade Mark Disputes
Trade mark disputes in the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors are relatively common in Saudi Arabia. Primary Sources of Law The primary sources of law governing trade marks in Saudi Arabia include: • the Trade Marks Law: this law provides the framework for the registration, protection, and enforcement of trade marks in Saudi Arabia; • the GCC Trade Marks Law: this law was implemented in Saudi Arabia through Royal Decree No M/51. It harmonises trade mark regulations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states; and • the SFDA oversees the registration and regu - lation of pharmaceutical products, including trade mark considerations. Additional Considerations for Pharma/ Pharmaceutical trade marks must not be mis - leading or suggest unapproved therapeutic claims. The SFDA has specific guidelines on the naming of pharmaceutical products to ensure they are not confusing or deceptive. Medical Devices Marks Restrictions on naming
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