What is a trademark?
Trademarks are distinctive signs consisting of names, words, signatures, letters, symbols, numbers, titles, seals, designs, drawings, images, distinctive engravings, packaging, figurative elements, shapes, a colour, a combination of colours, or any combination of these, or any sign or combination of signs used or intended to distinguish the goods or services of an undertaking. A sound or a scent may also be considered a trademark.
Key information about trademark registration
- Trademark protection lasts for ten (10) years from the registration date and may be renewed for a similar period.
- The trademark owner may transfer the trademark, license its use, lease it, pledge it or give it as a gift to another party.
- A transfer or licence agreement must be registered with the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP).
- Our team at Asas Law Firm and Legal Consultations reviews and prepares the trademark registration application for submission to SAIP within two (2) working days after receiving all required documents.
- SAIP’s examination of a trademark registration application may take up to fourteen (14) days.
- If acceptance is subject to amendments, the application must be amended within ninety (90) days of acceptance. Failure to submit the amendments within that period results in the application being treated as abandoned.
- The period for amendment in the event of rejection is ten (10) days from the date of rejection.
- Once the registration application is accepted, the trademark is published in the Intellectual Property Gazette for sixty (60) days to allow objections.
- Asas Law Firm and Legal Consultations does not guarantee acceptance of the trademark registration. Fees received are non-refundable unless the firm makes an error in the registration process.
What does the trademark owner receive?
- A trademark registration number.
- A trademark registration certificate bearing the owner’s name, city and nationality, and identifying the goods or services covered by the trademark for ten years.
- Publication of the trademark and certificate details on the SAIP website and in the Intellectual Property Gazette.
Required documents
- The name, address and nationality of the applicant/trademark owner (an individual or a legal entity), commercial registration and articles of incorporation.
- The original digital version of the trademark, with a resolution between 200 and 400 pixels, a file size not exceeding 1 MB, and JPG or JPEG format.
- A power of attorney authorising an agent before SAIP to register trademarks.
- The required type of trademark registration: figurative, combined figurative and word, or sound.
- A certified Arabic translation of the trademark — we provide this for the client.
- The trademark name.
- A description of the trademark not exceeding 549 characters — we provide this for the client.