Law of

Patents, Layout Designs of

Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties,

and Industrial Designs

 Chapter One
General Provisions

Article One:

This Law aims to provide full protection - within the Kingdom - for
inventions, layout designs of integrated circuits, plant varieties and
industrial designs.

Article Two:

The following terms and phrases, wherever mentioned in this Law,

shall have the meanings expressed next to them, unless the context
requires otherwise:

City: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

Directorate: The General Directorate of Patents at King Abdulaziz City

for Science and Technology.

Subject matter of protection: Either an invention, a layout design of

integrated circuits, a plant variety or an industrial design.

Protection document: The document granted by the City for one of

the subject matters of protection. It may either be a patent, a
certificate of layout design, a plant patent, or a certificate of an
industrial design.

Invention: An idea developed by the inventor that results in a solution

of a certain problem in the field of technology.

Integrated circuit: A product in its final or intermediate form in which

the elements, at least one of which is active, and some or all of the
interconnections are integrally formed in or on a piece of material, and
the purpose of this is to perform an electronic function.

Layout design: Three dimensional disposition of the elements – at

least one of which is active - and of some or all of the interconnections
of an integrated circuit, or such a three dimensional disposition
prepared for an integrated circuit intended for manufacture.

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Plant variety: A plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the
lowest known rank which, irrespective of whether the conditions for the
grant of a breeders right are fully met, can be defined by the
expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or a
combination of genotypes distinguished from any other plant grouping,
by the expression of at least one of the said characteristics, and
considered as units with regard to its suitability for being propagated
without change.

Plant breeder: The person who breeds, discovers or develops a new

plant variety.

Industrial design: A composition of two-dimensional lines or colors, or

any three dimensional shape that gives an industrial product, or a
product of traditional crafts, a special appearance provided that this is
not only for functional or technical purpose including textile designs.

Compulsory license: The permission given to others to exploit the

subject matter of protection without the consent of the owner of the
protection document, in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Contractual license: A contract under which the owner of the

protection document grants a third party some or all of his rights to
exploit the protection document for a specified period against a
specified fee.

Gazette: The Gazette issued by the City concerning all that relates to
the subject matters of protection in accordance with the provisions of
this Law and its Implementing Regulations.

Committee: The committee stipulated in Article Thirty Five of this Law.

Table: The table annexed to this Law which specifies the fees for the
works carried out by the Directorate in accordance with the provisions
of this Law.

Applicant: The person requesting the protection document, as

registered in the Directorate records.

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 Regulations: The Implementing Regulations of this Law.

Article Three:

The City shall have the authority to apply the provisions of this Law
and its Implementing Regulations.

Article Four:

(a) The protection document shall not be granted if its commercial

exploitation violates the Shari'ah.

(b) The protection document shall not be granted if its commercial

exploitation is harmful to life, to human, animal or plant health, or
is substantially harmful to the environment.

Article Five:

(a) The protection document shall be a personal right of the

person in whose name it was issued. This right may be transferred
by inheritance, as well as with or without consideration.

(b) If the subject matter of protection is a joint work of several

persons, they shall be equally entitled to the right, unless they have
agreed otherwise.

(c) No one shall be deemed a partner unless he contributes to

the subject matter of protection, and his efforts are only confined to
assistance in its execution.

(d) If more than one person have independently developed the

same subject matter of protection, the protection document shall
be granted to the first applicant.

(e) The person who develops the subject matter of protection

shall have the right to state his name in that capacity in the
protection document.

Article Six:

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 (a) The employer shall be the owner of the protection document,
unless the work contract stipulates otherwise, where its subject
matter results from the execution of a contract, or an obligation
providing for exerting efforts to develop it, or if the employer
proves that the employee would not have developed the subject
matter of the protection had he not used facilities, means or data
made available through his employment.

(b) This shall be without prejudice to the employee’s right to receive a

special award to be agreed upon with the consent of both parties,
or assessed by the Committee in light of the various circumstances
of the contract of employment, and the economic importance of the
subject matter of the protection. Any special agreement depriving
the employee of this right shall be null and void.

(c) An application for a protection document filed by the employee

within two years from the date of termination of employment shall
be deemed as if submitted during the employment.

(d) The previous provisions shall apply to government employees.

(e) If the subject matter of protection developed relates to national

security, it shall be governed by the provisions stipulated in the
Implementing Regulations.

Article Seven:

If the subject matter claimed in the application or in the protection

document is derived from a subject matter owned by a person other than
the applicant or the owner of the protection document, then this person
may request the Committee to transfer the ownership of the application or
protection document to him. The case for the transfer application shall not
be heard after the elapse of five years of granting the protection unless
the applicant's bad faith is established.

Article Eight:

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 The application for granting protection document shall be
submitted to the Directorate in the prescribed form. The Regulations shall
specify the information and documents required to be enclosed with the
application. If the applicant is not the party which developed the subject
matter of protection, his name must be stated and the document proving
the transfer of title of the patented subject matter to him must be
enclosed, and the Directorate may, in this case, send a copy of these
documents to the party which developed the subject matter of protection.
After satisfying the requirements and payment of the specified fee, the
application shall be registered.

Article Nine:

The applicant may introduce the amendments he deems fit in the

application, provided that these amendments shall introduce no change to
what was disclosed in the original application.

Article Ten:

(a) The applicant may benefit from the priority given to a previous
application filed during the priority period specified for each of the subject
matters of protection, from the filing date of the previous application,
provided that it is accompanied by a written declaration stating the date
and number of the previous application and the place where it was filed
by him or his predecessor. He shall also submit a copy of the previous
application approved by the authority where the protection application
was submitted, within ninety days from the date of filing the application
with the Directorate.

(b) The priority period for patents and plant varieties shall be twelve
months.

(c) The priority period for the industrial design shall be six months.

Article Eleven:

The Directorate shall publish applications for patents on invention

and plant varieties within eighteen months from the date of filing the
application, after paying the specified fee.

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Article Twelve:

The Directorate shall examine the registered applications in terms

of formalities. If it appears, from the examination, that some of the legally
prescribed conditions are not satisfied it may instruct the applicant to
satisfy them within a maximum of ninety days from the date of
notification. If he did not fulfill what was requested within the said period,
his application would be considered as if it had never been filed.

Article Thirteen:

Once the application for patent or plant patent has been examined
in terms of formalities, it shall be examined in terms of substance, in
accordance with what is stated in the Regulations.

Article Fourteen:

(a) If the Directorate finds that the application has satisfied the
stipulated conditions, it shall issue a decision granting the protection
document. The said decision shall be published in sequence as regard to
its issuance by the Directorate.

(b) If the Directorate finds that the applicant does not qualify for the
protection document, it shall issue a decision stating the reasons for the
rejection, and the applicant shall be notified thereof.

Article Fifteen:

The applicant may withdraw his application at any time unless it

has been finally decided upon. However, such withdrawal shall not give
the right to recover the fees paid or any other expense.

Article Sixteen:

Any action resulting in the assignment of the protection application

or the protection document itself must be in writing, signed by the two
parties, and approved by an authority acceptable to the Directorate. No
transfer of title, relating either to the protection application or the
protection document itself shall be effective vis-à-vis a third party, except

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after filing the change application, paying the required fees, and recording
it in the Directorate registers.

If several parties participated in filing one protection application or

in the ownership of one protection document each one of them may
assign his right in the application or the protection document to any of the
partners, to all of them, or to a third party. The Directorate shall publish
the transfer of title in the Gazette.

Article Seventeen:

If the protection document is disposed of to others in accordance

with any act of disposition, or the right to exploit it is transferred to others
for any reason, the owner of the protection document shall inform the
party to whom the disposition is made or the party to whom the right of
exploitation is officially transferred, of any legal measure taken in
connection with the protection document, whether taken by him or by
others against him.

Article Eighteen:

(a) Annual fees shall be due for the protection application or the
protection document – in accordance with the table attached to this
Law – which shall be paid at the beginning of each year starting
from the year following the application filing date.

If the applicant or the owner of the protection document fails to pay

it within a maximum period of three months from its due date, he
shall be liable to pay double the amount. If he fails to pay after
being warned during the three months following the expiration of
the first three months, the application or the protection document
shall cease to be valid, and this shall be recorded in the Register
and published in the Gazette.

(b) Where the applicant has paid the required fees for three
years without being granted the protection document, he may
postpone payment of the fees for the following years until the
decision to grant the protection document is issued.

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Article Nineteen:

(a) The patent protection period shall be twenty years from the date
of filing the application.

(b) The layout design certificate protection period shall be ten years
from the date of filing the application or ten years from the date of start of
its commercial exploitation anywhere in the world. In any case, the
protection period may not exceed fifteen years from the date of creation
of the design.

(c) The plant patent protection period shall be twenty years from the
date of filing the application. However, the protection period for trees shall
be twenty five years.

(d) The industrial design certificate protection period shall be ten years
from the date of filing the application.

Article Twenty:

If a person, in good faith, manufactures a product, utilizes a

process, manufactures an integrated circuit incorporating a layout design
or a commodity including such a circuit, exploits a plant variety or makes
serious arrangements, before the date of filing the patent application, or
the priority application relating to that product or the process, design,
plant variety, date of first commercial exploitation of the design anywhere
in the world, such a party shall be entitled – despite the issuance of the
protection document – to continue to perform these acts without
expanding them. This right shall not be assigned or transferred to others
except with all parts of the firm or one of them including goodwill.

:Article Twenty One

The owner of the protection document may grant a contractual
license to others to perform all or some of the acts of exploitation
stipulated in the special provisions, for each protected subject matter. A
license contract shall not be valid vis-à-vis a third party unless the
specified fee is paid and it is registered in the records of the Directorate.
This license shall not deprive the owner of the protection document from

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exploiting the subject matter himself or granting another license for the
same protected subject matter, unless the first license contract states
otherwise.

Article Twenty Two:

The Directorate may instruct the parties to the license contract to
amend it in order to prevent abusing the right in the protection document
or any other negative effect on competition or the acquisition of
technology and its dissemination.
Article Twenty Three:
The license gives the licensee the right to perform all acts and
enjoy all privileges assigned to the holder of the protection document
related to the subject of protection throughout the Kingdom during the
whole period of protection, unless it is otherwise stated in the license
contract. The licensee shall not assign the rights and privileges licensed to
him by the owner of the protection document, unless it is expressly stated
in the license contract.

Article Twenty Four:

(a) The City may grant a compulsory license to a third party to exploit
an invention covered by the patent or a layout design of an
integrated circuit covered by a certificate of design upon an
application submitted to it, according to the following:
(1) The application shall be submitted after the elapse of four
years from the date of filing the patent application or three
years from the date of granting the patent, whichever
expires later, without the owner of the protection document
exploiting his invention or having exploited it in an
inadequate fashion, unless he justifies that with a legitimate
excuse.
(2) The applicant for the compulsory license must prove that he
has exerted -over a reasonable period of time- efforts in
order to obtain a contractual license on the basis of
reasonable commercial conditions, and for a reasonable
financial compensation. However, this provision and the
provision of the preceding paragraph do not apply where the

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 applicant is a government body or a person authorized by it,
and the aim was to meet public interest - especially security,
health, nutrition or the development other vital sectors of the
national economy- or to meet a state of emergency or other
very compelling circumstances, or where the aim thereof was
public non-commercial purposes. In the latter case, and upon
knowledge of the existence of a patent or a certificate of
design, their holder shall be promptly informed.
(3) The compulsory license is basically granted to make the
invention or design available in the local markets. But this
provision does not apply where the aim of the license is to
prevent or restrict practices against which a decision or
judgment is issued declaring them to be acts of unlawful
competition.
(4) The decision granting the license shall specify the scope and
term of the license, according to the purpose for which it was
granted. The license shall be subject to termination if the
conditions for which it was granted cease to exist and their
recurrence is not likely, with due regards to the lawful
interests of the licensee.
(5) The license shall not be exclusive.
(6) Each application shall be independently decided.
(7) The owner of the protection document or the holder of a
certificate of a design shall be awarded a fair compensation.
The Committee shall determine the amount of the
compensation, and the licensee undertakes to pay it.
(b) If the compulsory license is related to a patent of semiconductor
technology, the purpose of the license shall be for public non-
commercial purposes only or to control acts concerning which a
decision or judgment is issued declaring them to be acts of unlawful
competition.
(c) If the patent involves a significant technological advance with a
considerable economic value, which requires the exploitation of
another patent, the City may grant that owner of the protection
document a compulsory license to exploit the other patent. In such
a case the compulsory license shall not be assigned unless the

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 other patent is assigned. The owner of the other patent shall be
entitled to a counter license from the compulsory licensee, in
accordance with reasonable conditions.

:Article Twenty Five

(a) The City may grant a compulsory license to a third party to exploit a
plant variety patented by a plant patent, upon an application
submitted to it in accordance with the following:
(1) The compulsory license is necessary to protect public
interest.
(2) The applicant for the compulsory license being able
financially and technically.
(3) Failure of the applicant to obtain a license from the
owner of the plant patent at reasonable terms.
(4) The elapse of three years between the date of granting
the plant patent and the date of applying for the compulsory
license.
(5) The compulsory license shall not be restricted to
performing all or some of the acts referred to in Article 56 of
this Law to meet the needs of the local market.
(6) The owner of the patent shall be awarded a fair
compensation. The Committee shall determine the amount of
compensation, and the licensee shall undertake to pay it.
(b) The City may instruct the owner of the plant patent to provide the
holder of a compulsory license with the required quantity of
propagation material for the use of the compulsory license in a
reasonable fashion.
(c) In other than exceptional circumstances, the compulsory
license shall not be granted for a period less than two years or
more than four years. The City may extend the term for additional
periods, upon verifying that the grounds for granting the
compulsory license still exist.

:Article Twenty Six

If a compulsory license is granted for a patented subject matter the
beneficiary of the compulsory license may not assign it to others, unless

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the assignment includes all or part of the firm benefiting from the license
or its goodwill. The City’s approval of the assignment is required;
otherwise, it shall be null and void. If the City approves such assignment,
the assignee becomes liable for the obligations assumed by the first
beneficiary prior to the approval of the assignment.

Article Twenty Seven:

The City may amend the decision to grant the compulsory license if
need arises. The owner of the protection document or the beneficiary of
the compulsory license may request the City to make this amendment if
its pre-requisites are fulfilled. The reasons for the decision of the City to
amend the license or to reject the request must be stated.

Article Twenty Eight:

The City shall cancel the compulsory license in the following cases:

(a) If the beneficiary of the license fails to exploit it in a way

that satisfies the Kingdom’s needs, within two years from
the grant of the license, renewable for an equal period, if it
is proved that there is a legitimate cause.

(b) If the beneficiary of the compulsory license fails to pay the

due fees within ninety days from the due date, including
the compensations to which the owner of the protection
document is entitled, as stipulated in the decision granting
the license.

(c) If the beneficiary of the compulsory license fails to observe

any condition necessary for granting of the license.

Article Twenty Nine:

The beneficiary of the compulsory license may relinquish the

license by a written request to the City. However, the relinquishment
becomes effective from the date of approval of the City.

Article Thirty:

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 Decisions of compulsory license, its amendment, withdrawal,
transference to others and relinquishment shall be entered in the records
of the Directorate, published in the Gazette and notified to the owner of
the protection document.

Article Thirty One:

The owner of the protection document may relinquish it by

submitting a written request to the City. The relinquishment may be
confined to one or more of the stated elements of protection. However,
relinquishment of the protection document, in case of compulsory license,
shall only be accepted with a written consent of the beneficiary of the
license, or the proof of the existence of compelling circumstances
justifying this relinquishment. The relinquishment shall be registered and
published in the Gazette, and it shall not be effective against a third party
except from the date of publication.

Article Thirty Two:

Any party with interest may challenge the decision of granting of a

protection document before the Committee, and seek total or partial
revocation, relying upon the violation of the stipulated conditions for
granting the protection document. The owner of the protection document
shall include the beneficiary of the license as a party to the lawsuit;
otherwise, the latter may interfere on his own. The Committee may order
to enter any party with interest, and the Implementing Regulations shall
specify the grounds upon which the request for the revocation of any
protection document shall be based.

Article Thirty Three:

A judgment of total or partial invalidity of the decision granting the

protection document renders the decision null and void from the date of
issuance, within the scope of what is nullified. However, the decision to
nullify the protection document shall not imply a refund of the sums paid
for the license to exploit it, unless the licensee proves that what he has
gained, as a result of the license, is not equal to what he has paid, in

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which case he may recover the amount exceeding the gain he received.
The decision of annulment of granting the protection document shall be
published after its issuance, and shall be effective vis-à-vis a third party
from the date of publication.

Article Thirty Four:

Any act of exploitation provided for in the special provisions

governing each of the protection subject matters, performed by any
person in the Kingdom without a written consent of the owner of the
protection document recorded with the Directorate, shall be deemed an
infringement on the subject matter of protection. At the request of the
owner of the protection document, and any party with interest, the
Committee shall grant an injunction to prevent the infringement in
addition to the necessary damages, and it may impose a fine upon the
infringer not exceeding one hundred thousand riyals. The maximum fine
shall be doubled in case of repetition. If the Committee sees that the
infringement calls for the punishment of imprisonment, the infringer shall
be referred from the start to the Board of Grievances. The Committee may
take the necessary prompt measures it deems necessary to prevent the
damages resulting from the infringement.

The decision issued by the Committee in this case shall be

published in the Official Gazette, the Gazette and two daily newspapers,
at the expense of the party against whom the decision is issued. The
provision of this article shall be applied, without prejudice, to any harsher
punishment provided for in any other law.

Article Thirty Five:

(a) A committee shall be formed of three law specialists and two

technical experts whose grade shall not be lower than grade twelve.

(b) The members shall be nominated by the President of the City.

(c) The formation of the Committee shall be pursuant to a resolution

by the Council of Ministers for a term of three years renewable for one
time only. The resolution shall appoint one of the law specialists as
chairman of the Committee.

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Article Thirty Six:

(a) The Committee shall have jurisdiction over the following:

(1) All disputes and appeals against decisions issued in

connection with protection documents.

(2) Penal lawsuits for violations of the provisions of this

Law and its Implementing Regulations.

(b) The litigants shall be notified of the lawsuits filed with the
Committee, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations.

Article Thirty Seven:

Decisions of the Committee shall be issued by majority vote,

provided that the grounds for the decisions are stated, and their text is
read in a public session. The Committee shall not refuse to issue a
decision in the lawsuit on the ground that there is no provision to govern
the dispute in the Law or the Implementing Regulations. In that case the
Committee shall refer to the general rules observed in the Kingdom. An
appeal against any decision issued by the Committee may be brought
before the Board of Grievances within sixty days from the date of
notification of the decision.

Article Thirty Eight:

The Committee may contact the government bodies concerned and

request any explanation and information it deems necessary. The City
shall provide the Committee with all documents and papers relating to
applications or subject matters of protection in dispute, whenever
requested to do so by the Committee.

Article Thirty Nine:

The Committee may seek the assistance of different expert bodies

for whatever it deems necessary of the technical matters referred to it,
and it shall determine the litigants liable for the expenses incurred.

Article Forty:

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 Reviewing of the protection documents and any related information
registered with the Directorate may be allowed free of charge. Any person
may obtain copies therefrom, upon payment of the required fees.

Article Forty One:

Employees of the Directorate and members of the Committee shall

not disclose technical information relating to the protection applications of
which they become cognizant in their capacity to any person, unless such
person is officially authorized to receive that information in accordance
with the rules applicable in the Kingdom. They shall also not disclose such
information to the public, or use it in any way. This undertaking continues
after the end of their service.

Employees of the Directorate and members of the Committee may

not obtain any of the protection documents or deal in any of the rights
relating to them during their service and for two years after the end of
service.

Article Forty Two:

Fees payable under the provisions of this Law shall be determined

in accordance with the Table attached hereto, which may be amended by
a resolution of the Council of Ministers upon the recommendation of the
President of the City.

Chapter Two:

Special Provisions Governing Patents

Article Forty Three:

A patent may be issued on an invention, in accordance with the

provisions of this Law, if it is new, involves an inventive step, and capable
of industrial application. The invention may be a product, a process or
relates to either.

Article Forty Four:

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(a) An invention is new if it is not anticipated by prior art. In this respect,
prior art means all that is disclosed to the public anywhere by means of
written or oral disclosure, by use or by any other way through which
knowledge of the invention is realized. This has to be prior to the filing
date of the patent application or the priority application. The disclosure of
the invention to the public shall not count if it takes place during the
priority period. The Regulations shall specify other cases of invention
disclosure which do not fall within the meaning of prior art and the
provisions governing temporary protection of inventions.

(b) An invention is deemed to involve an inventive step if, with regard to

prior art related to the patent application, it is not obvious to a person
with ordinary skills in the art.

(c) An invention is deemed industrially applicable if it can be

manufactured or used in any type of industry or agriculture, including
handicrafts, fishing and services.

Article Forty Five:

In the application of provisions of this Law, the following shall not

be regarded as inventions:

(a) Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods.

(b) Schemes, rules and methods of conducting commercial activities,

exercising pure mental activities or playing a game.

(c) Plants, animals and processes – which are mostly biological – used
for the production of plants or animals, with the exception of micro-
organisms, non- biological and microbiology processes.

(d) Methods of surgical or therapeutic treatment of human or animal

body and methods of diagnosis applied to human or animal bodies, with
the exception of products used in any of these methods.

Article Forty Six:

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 The application shall relate to a single invention or to a group of
integrated parts that form a single inventive concept. The applicant,
before a decision to grant him a patent is made, may divide his
application into more than one, provided that none of them shall deviate
from what was disclosed in the original application. The date of filing the
original application or the date of priority shall be deemed to be the date
of filing of these applications.

Article Forty Seven:

The owner of the protection document may initiate an action before

the Committee against any person who infringes his invention by
exploiting it in the Kingdom without his consent. The following shall be
deemed as exploitation of the invention:

(a) If it is a product: Its manufacture, sale, offering for sale, use, storage
or its importation for any of these purposes.

(b) If it is a process: The use of the process, or performing any of the

acts referred to in the pervious paragraph, in relation to the product which
is directly obtained by the use of this process.

However, the owner of the protection document’s right shall not

preclude others from exploiting his invention in non-commercial activities
relating to scientific research.

Article Forty Eight:

Subject to the legitimate interests of the defendant in protecting his

industrial and commercial secrets, if the subject matter of the patent
claimed to be infringed is a process to manufacture a certain product, the
defendant must prove that the identical product was not manufactured by
this process without the consent of the owner of the protection document,
if one of the following two conditions is satisfied:

(a) Where the product obtained through a patented process is a new

product.

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(b) Where there is a substantial probability that the identical product
was manufactured through the patented process, and the owner of the
protection document was unable to determine the method actually used,
by exerting reasonable efforts in this respect.

Chapter Three

Provisions Governing Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits.

Article Forty Nine:

An application for registration of a layout design of an integrated

circuit may be filed, if the design has not been commercially exploited
before or was subject to commercial exploitation for a period not
exceeding two years in any part of the world.

Article Fifty:

The certificate of layout design shall be granted, if the layout design

is original; i.e., a result of its creator’s own intellectual effort, and is not
commonplace among creators of designs and manufacturers of integrated
circuits at the time of its creation. As to a design that consists of a
combination of elements and interconnections that are commonplace, it
shall be deemed original if the whole combination is original.

Article Fifty One:

The owner of the certificate of design may initiate an action before

the Committee against any person who infringes his design by exploiting
it without his consent inside the Kingdom. The performance of any of the
following acts shall be deemed to be exploitation of the design:

(a) Reproducing the whole design or any original part of it, whether by
incorporation in an integrated circuit or otherwise. Acts relating to
personal purposes, or scientific purposes such as research, analysis,
education or evaluation shall not be deemed to be infringement.

(b) Importing, selling or distributing a design, or any integrated circuit in

which a design is incorporated. It shall also be deemed to be infringement
the performance of any of the acts referred to in this paragraph in relation

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to any article incorporating such an integrated circuit, if this circuit
contains an unlawfully reproduced design.

Article Fifty Two:

The rights conferred by the certificate of design are confined to
acts performed for commercial purposes. The owner of the certificate
shall not be entitled to exercise his rights in relation to an identical
original design independently created by another party. These rights do
not extend to any other original design created on the basis of analyzing
or evaluating the protected design, nor to any integrated circuit in which
the other design is incorporated.

Article Fifty Three:

Acts mentioned in paragraph (b) of Article Fifty One shall not be

deemed an infringement, if exercised or ordered to be performed by a
person who does not know or has no reasonable grounds to know - when
acquiring the integrated circuit or the article incorporating such circuit–
that it incorporated an unlawfully reproduced design. He may perform
these acts in relation to the stock on hand or ordered before he had
received a sufficient notice that the design was unlawfully reproduced. He
shall, however, pay the owner of the certificate of design a fair
compensation estimated by the Committee on the basis of licenses
granted pursuant to contractual negotiation.

Chapter Four

Provisions Governing the Protection of New Plant Varieties

Article Fifty Four:

The plant variety shall be patentable if it is new, distinct, uniform

and stable, and proceedings have been taken to designate a
denomination for it.

Article Fifty Five:

(a) The plant variety shall be deemed new if, at the date of filing the
application or the date of the claimed priority, propagating or harvested
materials of the variety have not been sold or otherwise made available to

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others by the breeder or with his consent, for the purposes of exploiting
the variety in accordance with the following:

(1) In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for more than one year.

(2) In other countries for more than four years or, in case of trees
or vines, for more than six years.

(b) The plant variety shall be deemed distinct if it is clearly

distinguishable from any other variety whose existence is a matter of
common knowledge at the time of filling the application or the time of the
claimed priority. The Regulations shall specify the cases in which the
existence of the plant variety is a matter of common knowledge.

(c) The plant variety shall be deemed uniform if, subject to the variation
that may be expected from the particular features of its propagation, it is
sufficiently uniform in its basic characteristics.

(d) The plant variety shall be deemed stable if its basic characteristics
remain unchanged after repeated propagation or at the end of each given
propagation cycle.

(e) The plant variety shall be named by specifying its genus and
species, and the denomination must enable people to identify it.

Article Fifty Six:

(a) The plant owner of the protection document may initiate an action
before the Committee against any person who infringes the patented
variety by exploiting the propagating material of the patented variety
without his consent inside the Kingdom. The following shall be deemed to
be exploitation of the propagating material of the patented variety:

(1) Producing or propagating it.

(2) Conditioning it for purposes of propagation.

(3) Exporting it.

(4) Importing it.

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(5) Offering it for sale, selling it or any other sort of marketing.

(6) Stocking it for any of the above purposes.

(b) Rights stipulated in paragraph (a) of this Article include harvested

material of the variety, including the whole plant or part thereof obtained
by unlawful use of the propagating material of the variety. This applies
where the owner of the protection document of the plant patent was not
given a reasonable chance to exercise his rights in relation to the
propagating material of the said variety.

(c) Rights stipulated in paragraphs (a) and (b) extend to the varieties
derived essentially from the protected variety if it is not possible to
distinguish such varieties clearly, in accordance with paragraph (b) of
Article Fifty Five of this Law, from the said protected variety, or that the
production of these varieties requires the repeated use of the said
protected variety.

(d) Rights stipulated in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this Article shall not
extend to acts performed for non-commercial personal purposes or for
experimental purposes or for purposes of breeding new varieties.

Article Fifty Seven:

The right conferred by the plant patent shall not be restricted by

any measure taken to regulate the operations of producing the materials
of plant varieties, their monitoring, marketing, importation and
exportation.

Article Fifty Eight:

The owner of the plant patent is obligated to do the following:

(a) Maintain the protected variety or, when necessary, its hereditary
components for the whole duration of the term of protection.

(b) Provide the City, upon its request, and within the specified period,
with information, documents or necessary materials to prove his
maintenance of the variety.

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(c) Propose a suitable denomination for the variety, within the specified
period, in case its denomination was cancelled by the City.

(d) Provide the City when necessary, upon its request and within the
specified period, with reasonable samples of the protected variety or its
hereditary components for the following purposes.

(1) Establishing or renewing the official sample of the variety.

(2) Undertaking a comparative test of other varieties for purposes

of protection.

In case the owner of the plant patent does not observe any of these
obligations, the plant patent shall be forfeited after notifying him of the
necessity of fulfilling his obligation and giving him a reasonable grace
period to fulfill the obligation he has violated. In all cases the forfeiture of
the plant patent shall be entered in the register and published in the
Gazette. The Regulations shall specify the grace periods stated in this
Article.

Chapter Five
Special Provisions Governing Industrial Designs

Article Fifty Nine:

The industrial design certificate shall be granted, if it is novel and

has features that distinguish it from known industrial designs. The
industrial design shall be deemed novel if it was not disclosed to the
public through publication anywhere in a tangible form, by use or by any
other way, prior to the date of filing the registration application or the
priority application. Disclosure of the industrial design to the public shall
have no effect if it occurs during the priority period. The Regulations shall
determine the other cases of disclosure which have no effect, as well as
the provisions governing temporary protection of industrial designs.

Article Sixty:

The owner of the industrial design certificate may initiate an action

before the Committee against any person who infringes the industrial

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design by exploiting it for commercial purposes without his consent within
the Kingdom through manufacture, sale or importation of a product that
includes or represents a wholly or substantially copied industrial design.

Chapter Six
Concluding Provisions

Article Sixty One:

Without prejudice to what Article Thirty Four stipulates, any party

that violates any of the provisions provided for in this Law shall be
punished with a fine not exceeding fifty thousand riyals, and the
maximum limit shall be doubled in case of repetition.

Article Sixty Two:

Grace periods and time limits stated in this Law shall be in

accordance with what is provided for by the international agreements in
this respect.

Article Sixty Three:

The President of the City shall issue the Implementing Regulations for this
Law, within one hundred eighty days from the date of its coming into
effect. They shall be published in the Official Gazette. He shall also issue
the necessary decisions for implementing the provisions of this Law.

Article Sixty Four:

This Law shall replace the Patent Law issued by the Royal Decree No.
(M/38) dated 10/6/1409H, and its provisions shall govern the patent
applications and the patents in force, and shall supersede all provisions
that are inconsistent therewith.

Article Sixty Five:

25
 This Law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into
force after thirty days from the date of publication.

Table of fees referred to in Article Forty Two

No. Fees Patent Industrial Designs of New Plants

Designs Integrated Varieties
Circuits
1
Registration Individual Establishme Individual Establishme Individuals Establishme Individual Establishme
s nt s nt nt s nt
application
400 800 150 300 500 1000 500 1000
2 Change or
transfer of 200 400 75 150 500 1000 500 1000
ownership
3 Amendment
or addition to
100 200 50 100 250 500 100 200
the
application
4 Obtaining a
copy of the
50 100 50 100 50 100 50 100
application or
certificate
5 Registration 400 800 150 300 500 1000 500 1000

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 of license
contracts
6 Grant of
compulsory 4000 8000 1500 3000 2500 5000 2500 5000
license
7 Grant and
500 1000 175 350 500 1000 500 1000
publication
8 Annual fees

8/1 First year 250 500 150 300 500 1000 500 1000

8/2 Second year 500 1000 150 300 750 1500 500 1000

8/3 Third year 750 1500 300 600 1000 2000 750 1500
(Continuation: Table…)
8/4 Fourth year 1000 2000 300 600 1250 2500 750 1500

8/5 Fifth year 1250 2500 450 900 1500 3000 1000 2000

8/6 Sixth year 1500 3000 450 900 1750 3500 1000 2000

8/7 Seventh year 1750 3500 600 1200 2000 4000 1250 2500

8/8 Eighth year 2000 4000 600 1200 2250 4500 1250 2500

8/9 Ninth year 2250 4500 750 1500 2500 5000 1500 3000

8/10 Tenth year 2500 5000 750 1500 2750 5500 1500 3000

8/11 Eleventh year 2750 5500 1750 3500

8/12 Twelfth year 3000 6000 1750 3500

8/13 Thirteenth 3250 6500 2000 4000

year

8/14 Fourteenth 3500 7000 2000 4000

year

8/15 Fifteenth year 3750 7500 2250 4500

8/16 Sixteenth 4000 8000 2250 4500

year

8/17 Seventeenth 4250 8500 2500 5000

year

8/18 Eighteenth 4500 9000 2500 5000

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 year

8/19 Nineteenth 4750 9500 2750 5500

year

8/20 Twentieth 5000 10000 2750 5500

year

8/21 Twenty first year to twenty fifth year for protection of trees 3500 7000

28