Trademarks Law

Purpose and scope

• Governs the registration of trademarks in the Kingdom, their protection, transfer and licensing, and punishes forgery and imitation.
• A trademark includes names in a distinctive form, signatures, words, letters, numbers, drawings, symbols and anything else able to distinguish goods or services (Article 1).

Key rules, rights and obligations

• Signs lacking distinctiveness, contrary to public order, or identical or similar to a registered or well-known mark, among others listed, cannot be registered (Article 2).
• The person who registers a mark is its sole owner; no one else may use it without consent, and the owner may sue to stop others using it (Article 21).
• Registration takes effect from the filing date (Article 20), and protection lasts ten years unless renewed (Article 22).
• A mark may be assigned, pledged or attached, but this binds third parties only after entry in the register and publication (Articles 29, 31 and 32).
• A licence must be in writing and authenticated (Article 34), and entered in the register; it does not bind third parties before entry and publication (Article 35).

Violations, penalties and common problems

• Forging or imitating a registered mark so as to mislead the public, using it, or knowingly selling goods bearing a forged mark: up to one year's detention and a fine of SAR 50,000 to 1 million, or either (Article 43).
• Lesser offences, such as using an unregistered mark in prohibited cases: up to three months' detention and a fine of SAR 20,000 to 250,000, or either (Article 44).
• Repeat offenders within three years: up to double the maximum penalty, closure of the business for fifteen days to six months and publication of the judgment (Articles 45 and 46).
• Anyone harmed may claim compensation (Article 48), and infringing goods may be confiscated and destroyed (Article 52).
• A mark may be cancelled if the owner has not used it for five consecutive years without legitimate excuse (Article 25).

Procedures and key deadlines

• The competent department decides a complete application within sixty days (Article 10); if the applicant does not meet its requests within ninety days the application is deemed refused (Article 12).
• Grievance against refusal to the Minister within sixty days of notification, then a challenge before the competent judicial body within thirty days of notification of the Minister's rejection (Article 13).
• Opposition to the acceptance of a mark within ninety days of its publication (Article 15).
• Renewal during the last year of protection or within six months after it (Article 23).
• A precautionary seizure of counterfeit goods lapses if no lawsuit is filed within ten days (Article 50).
• The public prosecution lapses five years after the offence if no investigation or trial step is taken, without affecting private rights (Article 47).

An advisory summary prepared by Al-Bayan Al-Wadih Law Firm. It is not an official text and does not replace the law, its implementing regulations, or advice from a specialised lawyer. The official published text and its amendments prevail.