- Implementing Regulations of Trademarks Law
- Application for Registration of Trademarks
- Renewal of Registration
- Trademarks Ownership Transfer and Pledge
- Cancellation of Registration
- License Contracts
- Collective Trademarks
- Provisional Protection of Trademarks Used in Exhibitions
- General Provisions
- Appendix No. 1 - Classes of Goods and Services
- Class 1
- Class 2
- Class 3
- Class 4
- Class 5
- Class 6
- Class 7
- Class 8
- Class 9
- Class 10
- Class 11
- Class 12
- Class 13
- Class 14
- Class 15
- Class 16
- Class 17
- Class 18
- Class 19
- Class 20
- Class 21
- Class 22
- Class 23
- Class 24
- Class 25
- Class 26
- Class 27
- Class 28
- Class 29
- Class 30
- Class 31
- Class 32
- Class 33
- Class 34
- Class 35
- Class 36
- Class 37
- Class 38
- Class 39
- Class 40
- Class 41
- Class 42
- Class 43
- Class 44
- Class 45
Implementing Regulations of Trademarks Law
Application for Registration of Trademarks
Article 1:
The application for registration of trademarks shall be filed in the form prepared for that purpose with the Trademarks Office at the Ministry of Commerce by the party concerned, if domiciled in the Kingdom, or by an official agent domiciled in the Kingdom. The application must be limited to the registration of a single trademark in one class. The number of applications shall be equal to the number of the classes of goods or services in respect of which registration is sought, which are listed in Appendix (1) hereto, which is updated from time to time, pursuant to a Ministerial decision drafted by the Trademarks Office, whenever necessary, in accordance with the Nice International Classification of Goods and Services.
Article 2:
The application for registration shall include the following data:
Article 3:
The application for registration shall be accompanied with:
Article 4:
If the trademark sought to be registered contains one word or more written in a foreign language, the applicant must submit a certified Arabic translation of such word / words together with the phonetic transcription thereof.
Article 5
If the applicant for registration of a trademark, or his successor, wishes to enjoy the right of priority on account of a prior application filed in a country which is a member of a multilateral international treaty to which the Kingdom is a party, or a country which has reciprocal treatment with the Kingdom, he shall support his application with a statement showing the filing date of the prior application, its number and the country where it was filed. Further, the applicant shall file a copy of such prior application duly authenticated by the competent authority in the country of filing, and from the official authentication agencies, including the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within six months from the date of the prior application for which he claims right of priority; otherwise, he will lose his right for such claim.
Article 6:
A special register entitled “Applications Filing Register” shall be maintained at the Trademarks Office in which the applications for registration shall be entered in serial numbers according to the filing dates of such applications. Said register shall include the following data:
Article 7:
The Trademarks Office shall examine the application for registration and compare the trademark sought to be registered with the other trademarks filed or registered on a prior date. It shall decide on the application, within sixty days from the application filing date, either by accepting it, if it meets the conditions and procedures stipulated in the Law and the Implementing Regulations thereof, or by rejecting it, if it fails to meet such conditions and procedures. The Office shall notify the applicant of its decision in writing or require the applicant to meet the conditions or make the necessary amendments in order for the application to be accepted.
Article 8:
If a decision to reject the registration of a trademark is issued, the applicant may file a grievance against such decision with the Minister of Commerce within sixty days from the date on which the applicant is notified of such decision, or from the expiry date specified in Article (12) of this Law.
Article 9:
The appellant shall be notified of the Minister’s decision in writing. If the grievance is rejected, the party concerned may file an appeal with the Board of Grievances within thirty days from the date of receiving a notice thereof.
Article 10:
If a trademark is accepted, the Trademarks Office shall prepare a notice of the trademark including the following data: The applicant shall receive the notice within ninety days from the date of the decision accepting the registration or from the date of the Minister’s decision accepting the appeal. The applicant shall publish the said notice in the Official Gazette at his own expense and shall, within six months from date of receiving said notice, provide the Office with a copy of the newspaper in which said notice has been published, failing which the application shall be deemed as relinquished.
Article 11:
Any party with interest may file with the Board of Grievances an objection against acceptance of the registration of a trademark, within ninety days from the date of publication of the notice in the Official Gazette, provided that a notice thereof shall be filed with the Trademarks Office by the appellant, along with depositing a copy of such objection within the same period. The Office shall not take any further action, pending the issuance by the Board of Grievances of the final decision determining said objection.
Article 12:
As a party with interest, an applicant for registration shall be deemed, before the Board of Grievances, a principal party to the objection action brought against the acceptance of the registration of a trademark and shall be confronted with said objection, and his arguments shall be heard.
Article 13:
The applicant for registration must pay the trademark registration fees as prescribed in Article (41) of the Law within ninety days from the date of issuance of the final decision accepting the registration of the trademark. The decision accepting registration shall be final upon the elapse of ninety days from the date of publication of the notice of the trademark in the Official Gazette without any objection against registration being filed or upon the issuance of a final judgment in this regard by the Board of Grievances, failing which the application shall be considered null and void.
Article 14:
A register entitled “Trademarks Register” shall be maintained at the Ministry of Commerce wherein shall be entered the following data:
Article 15:
The Trademarks Office shall register the trademark in the said Trademarks Register and shall give the trademark owner a certificate of registration including the following data:
Article 16:
The owner of a trademark who desires to renew registration of his trademark may file with the Trademarks Office an application to that effect during the final year of the trademark protection period as well as during a period of six months following said protection period. The renewal application shall be accompanied with the original certificate of registration and a proof of payment of the renewal fees prescribed in Article (41) of the Law. Applications submitted after said deadline or without payment of said fees shall be disregarded.
Article 17:
Renewal applications accepted in terms of form shall be approved without a re-examination. The Trademarks Office shall prepare a notice of renewal including the following data: The owner of a trademark shall publish said notice of renewal in the Official Gazette at his own expense, and shall provide the Office with a copy of the newspaper in which said notice of renewal has been published in order for it to record the renewal in the Register and on the original certificate of registration.
Article 18:
A trademark may be disposed of by any act of ownership transfer, and it may be pledged in accordance with the rules established by law provided that such acts be publicized and recorded in the Register, pursuant to the procedures and situations stipulated in the following articles.
Article 19:
Trademark ownership transfer shall be recorded in the Trademarks Register based on an application filed with the Trademarks Office by the transferee, or the transferee’s agent, accompanied with the original certificate of registration and the documents proving such transfer and including the following data:
Article 20:
The Trademarks Office shall prepare a notice of the trademark ownership transfer including the following data: The applicant shall publish said notice in the Official Gazette at his expense, and he shall provide the Office with a copy of the newspaper in which said notice has been published.
Article 21:
The Office shall record the trademark ownership transfer in the Trademarks Register and on the original certificate of registration along with the name and address of the new owner, the reason for transfer and date of recording it.
Article 22:
A trademark pledge shall be recorded in the Register in accordance with the same procedures and situations pertaining to trademarks ownership transfer. The notice of pledge to be published shall include the same specifications stipulated in Article (19) hereof.
Article 23:
A trademark pledge shall be removed from the Trademarks Register based on an application filed in the Trademarks Office by the owner of the trademark accompanied with the original certificate of registration and the documents proving that said pledge has been removed.
The applicant shall publish said removal in the Official Gazette at his expense in accordance with the notice prepared by the Office in this regard. The applicant shall provide the Office with a copy of the newspaper in which said notice of removal has been published in order to record said removal in the Register and on the original certificate. Article 24:
A trademark registration may be cancelled in accordance with the provisions stipulated in Articles (25) and (26) of this Law. The Office shall record the cancellation of registration in the Trademarks Register and shall publish the same in the Official Gazette, provided that the notice shall include the following data:
Article 25:
Apart from the situations stipulated in Article (26) of the Law, the Board of Grievances shall have jurisdiction to determine all petitions for cancellation of registration.
Article 26:
If the owner of a trademark grants a license to any natural or corporate person to use the trademark for all or some of the goods or services in respect of which the trademark is registered, the license contract shall be in writing and the signatures, finger prints or stamps of the contracting parties shall be authenticated by a notary public, as to license contracts concluded in the Kingdom, or by the official authentication bodies, including the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in accordance with the relevant applicable rules as to license contracts concluded outside the Kingdom.
Article 27:
The Office shall record the license to use the trademark in the Register and on the original certificate of trademark registration. The license contract shall be announced pursuant to a notice prepared by the Trademarks Office including the following data: The applicant shall publish said notice in the Official Gazette at his expense and provide the Office with a copy of the newspaper in which said notice has been published.
Article 28:
The license registration shall be cancelled based on a request filed with the Trademarks Office by the owner of the trademark or the licensee, accompanied with proof that said license has been terminated or cancelled.
The Office shall notify the other party in writing of the request to cancel the registration. Said party may file an objection with the Board of Grievances within thirty days from the date on which he has been notified of the cancellation petition and shall deposit in the Trademarks Office a copy of said objection, together with a proof that the same has been filed, whereupon the Office shall suspend the petition for cancellation pending an agreement by the two parties or a final judgment rendered by the Board of Grievances regarding the said objection.
Article 29:
In case there has been no objection to the cancellation of the license or, in case a final decision pertaining to the objection has been issued by the Board of Grievances, the Office shall prepare the necessary notice.
Renewal of Registration
Trademarks Ownership Transfer and Pledge
Cancellation of Registration
License Contracts