SAUDI ARABIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dr Saud Alromi, Mostafa Ihab, Mohamed Ramadan and Saleh Albadry, Mohammed Al Dhabaan & Partners Eversheds Sutherland
likelihood of rejected applications and facilitat - ing market entry. The SFDA’s approach to devel - oping guidelines involves public consultation, allowing stakeholders to provide feedback and ensuring that the guidelines are comprehensive and practical. The SAIP’s role in protecting IP rights is equally important. The SAIP ensures that patents are granted for new and innovative pharmaceutical products, providing a period of market exclusiv - ity that allows companies to recoup their invest - ment and fund future research. The SAIP also plays a crucial role in enforcing IP rights, tak - ing legal action against infringers and ensuring that counterfeit products are removed from the market. The IP Litigation Process in Saudi Arabia Filing a lawsuit To initiate the litigation process, the party fil - ing the lawsuit must submit a complaint to the commercial courts. This complaint outlines the basis of the dispute, the relief sought, and any supporting evidence. The court then reviews the submission to ensure it meets the necessary legal requirements. Notifying the defendant After the lawsuit is filed, the court will notify the defendant. This notification is typically com - municated via SMS if the defendant is located within Saudi Arabia. If the defendant is outside Saudi Arabia, international service procedures may apply, potentially causing delays. Court hearings The court schedules hearings where both parties present their evidence and legal arguments. The timeframe for a case to reach a final decision can vary significantly, often extending over sev - eral months or even years, depending on factors
such as court schedules and the complexity of the case. Issuance of judgment Once the court has reviewed all the evidence and arguments, it issues a judgment, which can include various forms of relief, such as injunc - tions, damages, or orders for specific perfor - mance. Appeals Parties have the right to appeal decisions from lower courts to higher courts, including deci - sions on injunctions and main actions. The tim - ing to file an appeal against a main first instance action decision is typically 30 days from receiv - ing a copy of the decision. The appeal process can take several months, depending on the In an action for patent infringement in Saudi Ara - bia, the primary parties involved are the patentee who is the owner of the patent who holds the exclusive rights to the invention and the alleged infringer who is the party accused of infringing the patent rights. If a patent is co-owned, each co-owner has the right to use the patent independently. However, co-owners must agree to bring an infringement action jointly. An exclusive licensee, who has been granted the exclusive rights to use the patent within a specific territory or field, can bring an infringement action. The licence must be registered with the SAIP to be enforceable. Non-exclusive licensees do not generally have the standing to bring an infringement action unless explicitly granted this right in the licence agreement. complexity of the case. Infringement actions
273 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook