Saudi Law of Patents & Registration Procedure

Author: Raja Adnan Liaqat

Invalidity of patent Protec on document shall not be

Art.4 granted if:
Patent violates Shariah.
It is harmful to humans,
animals, plants and the
environment
Right to own Protec on document Granted to:
Art. 5 Person whose name it was
issued to, and may be
transferred by inheritance, as
well as with or without
considera on
If patent is a joint work for
several persons, they shall be
equally en tled, unless agreed
otherwise.
The assistant who did not
contribute with his eorts in the
development of the patent and
only assisted in its execu on,
shall not be given the right.
If more than one person
independently developed the
same patent, the right shall be
to the rst applicant
Ownership of employee's protec on The employer shall be the owner of
document the protec on document, unless the
Art. 6 work contract s pulates otherwise,
where patent results from execu on of
a contract, or employee's obliga on to
provide eorts to develop it, or if
employer provided means, facili es or
data for the employee.
This shall be without prejudice to the
employee's right to receive a special
award.
Where to apply for protec on The applica on should be submi ed to
document the Directorate along with the
Art. 8 documents required and payment of
specied fee.
Amending the patent applied The applicant may introduce
Art. 9 amendments to his patent provided
that it does not change the original
patent.
Produre of issuing protec on The Directorate shall publish
document applica ons of patents within eighteen
Art. 11-15 months of ling. It shall then examine
the patent in terms of formali es, if all
condi ons are sa sed then it shall
examine the patent in terms of
substance.
If all condi ons are sa sed, the
Directorate shall publish the decision
gran ng the protec on document.
Waiving protec on document The assignment of the protec on
Art. 16 applica on or protec on document
must be in wri ng, signed by the two
par es and approved by an authority
acceptable to the Directorate. Any
transfer of tle shall not be eec ve in
regards of a third party unless a er
ling the change applica on, paying
the fees and recording it in the
Directorate registers.
Annual fees Annual fees are due for the protec on
Art. 18 applica on or the protec on
document at the beginning of each
year star ng from the year following
the applica on ling year, the amount
of which is according to the table
a ached in the Law.
If the owner fails to pay it in a
maximum of three months from its
due date, he shall be liable to pay
double the amount. If he fails to pay
a er being warned a er that during
the following three months, his
applica on or protec on document
shall not be valid anymore.
Protec on period a. The patent protec on period
Art. 19 shall be 20 years from the date
of ling the applica on.
b. The layout design cer cate
protec on period shall be 10
years.
c. The plant patent protec on
period shall be 20 years.
d. The industrial design cer cate
protec on period shall be 10
years.
Contractual license The owner of the protec on document
Art. 21 may grant other a contractual license
to perform all or some acts of
exploita on. The license contract shall
not be valid regarding a third party
unless the fee is payed and it is
registered at the Directorate. This
license shall not deprive the owner of
the protec on document from
exploi ng the patent, or gran ng
another person a license for the same
patent unless the rst license contract
states otherwise.
Infringement and consequence Any act of exploita on s pulated in
Art. 34 the Law performed by anyone in the
Kingdom without the wri en consent
of the owner of the protec on
document- that is recorded with the
Directorate- shall be deemed an
infringement on the patent.

At the request of the owner of the

protec on document, and any party
with interest, the Commi ee shall
grant an injunc on to prevent the
infringement as well as the necessary
damages. And may impose a ne not
exceeding one hundred thousand
riyals.
In case of repe on, the maximum
ne shall be doubled.
 If the Commi ee sees the punishment
of imprisonment, the infringer shall be
referred to the Board of Grievances.
The Commi ee may also take prompt
measures it deems necessary to
prevent the damages from the
infringement.
The decision issued by the Commi ee
in this case shall be published in the
Ocial Gaze e, the Gaze e and two
daily newspapers, at the expense of
the party against whom the decision is
issued.
The punishment in this Law shall be
applied, without prejudice, to any
harsher punishment provided for in
any other law.
Commi ee's Jurisdic on The Commi ee has jurisdic on over:
Art. 36,37 1. All disputes and appeals against
decisions issued in connec on
with protec on documents.
2. Penal lawsuits for viola ons of
this Law and its Implemen ng
Regula ons.

Decisions of the Commi ee shall be

issued by majority vote and read out in
a public session. The Commi ee shall
not refuse to issue a decision for the
reason that there is no provision to
govern the dispute in the Law or the
Implemen ng Regula ons. In that
case, the Commi ee shall refer to the
general rules observed in the Kingdom.
An appeal against any decision issued
by the Commi ee may be brought
before the Board of Grievances within
sixty days from the date of no ca on
of the decision.