SAIP adopts new trademark registration guidelines for ‘Saudi Arabia’

SAIP adopts new trademark registration guidelines for ‘Saudi Arabia’

Saudi Gazette reportRIYADH — The Board of Directors of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) has decided to designate the name "Saudi Arabia" as public property of the state. Consequently, any trademark registration application that includes this name must adhere to newly approved controls.As reported by the official Gazette of the country on Friday, these controls stipulate that the applicant for trademark registration must be a governmental entity, or a special regulatory entity, or the trademark must be linked to a significant and distinctive real estate or service project. Furthermore, the name "Saudi Arabia" must be a component of the trademark, not its essential element.The authority's decision also adopts the names of cities, regions, and public places in Saudi Arabia as state property. Trademark applications containing any of these names must follow specific guidelines: the name of the city, region, or public place should be a component of the trademark, not the primary element. Using these names in a trademark should not cause any confusion about the origin or source of goods or services.According to the decision, these controls also apply to requests for the transfer of ownership of a trademark registered under these guidelines or any other legal