Doing Business In Saudi Arabia - Bna

intellectual property protection has steadily increased in the Kingdom, piracy remains a
problem.
Saudi Arabia has had a Patent Law since 1989 and the Patent Office accepts
applications, but the number of patents issued remains limited. A new Patent Law was
enacted in July 2004, which provides for absolute novelty. After the implementation of
the new law, the Saudi Patents Office suddenly expedited the grant process,
apparently to be WTO-compliant and to eliminate the backlog of pending applications
by 2006.
However, SPO applied the new law retroactively thus disallowing and rejecting
hundreds of pending patent applications including those pertaining to pharmaceutical
products. While the new law is being retroactively applied, patents in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia may be easily exposed to infringements.
Trademarks are protected under the Trademark Law, which was updated in 2002.
Trade secrets are not specifically protected under any area of Saudi law; however,
they are often protected by contract. The Rules for Protection of Trade Secrets came
into effect in 2005; also, in July 2005, the Saudi Government passed the Law on
Patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties and Industrial Designs.
Saudi Arabia has one of the best Trademarks laws in the region but enforcement still
lacks behind and the procedures also are inconsistent.
U.S. firms that wish to sell products in Saudi Arabia should work through their local
representative to register their trademarks with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
copyrighted products with the Ministry of Information, and patents with KACST or the
GCC Patent Office. Although these government entities are responsible for IPR
protection in their respective areas, any reported incident of piracy or infringement may
not entail immediate and decisive action by the concerned government entity.
Counterfeiting: Manufacturers of consumer products and automobile spare parts are
particularly concerned about the widespread availability of counterfeit products in
Saudi Arabia. Anti-counterfeiting laws exist, and the U.S. Government has urged the
Saudi authorities to step up enforcement actions against perpetrators. In some
popular consumer goods, manufacturers estimate that as much as 50 percent of the
entire Saudi market is counterfeit.
Arab League Boycott: The Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain,
Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) announced in the fall of 1994 that its
members would no longer enforce the secondary and tertiary aspects of the Arab
League Boycott. The primary boycott against Israeli companies and products still
applies. Advice on boycott and anti-boycott related matters are available from the U.S.
Embassy or from the Office of Anti-Boycott Compliance in Washington, D.C., at phone:
(202) 482-2381.
Saudi Arabia committed to implementing all WTO rules upon accession, without
recourse to transition periods. Nonetheless, non-tariff barriers still prevail, including,
preferences for national and GCC products in government procurement; a requirement
that foreign contractors obtain their imported goods and services exclusively through
Saudi agents; and that any business entity should have five percent of their staff Saudi
nationals, and which will be augmented by five percent annually.
5/13/2008