全球知识产权保护指南丨沙特阿拉伯发明专利篇

The Saudi Patent Office (SPO) is responsible for providing examination and protection for inventions, integrated circuit layout designs, plant varieties, and industrial designs in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is a member of the Patent PCT Treaty, so applying for a Saudi invention patent can be done directly through SPO or designated as Saudi Arabia through the PCT pathway.

Applicants can submit patent application documents, related forms, and images online through the electronic services provided by SPO.

If the applicant does not have a residence or place of business in Saudi Arabia, they should entrust an agent to handle it on their behalf.

The authorization letter needs to be submitted to the competent authority for approval and recognized by the Saudi embassy or consulate abroad.

The application documents and forms should be in Arabic (with simplified fonts for Arabic letters). For those who do not use Arabic, a translation must be submitted within 3 months from the application date.

If the application documents do not meet the requirements of formal examination, SPO will notify the applicant to make modifications.

The applicant shall revise the application materials within 90 days after receiving the notification, otherwise the application will be deemed invalid.

The patent application meets the requirements of formal examination, and SPO will require the applicant to pay the prescribed publication fee within 3 months.

If the applicant fails to pay within the prescribed time, the application will be rejected and recorded in the registration book and published in the patent gazette.

If the applicant withdraws the application before the deadline mentioned above, it will not be published.

SPO will require applicants to pay substantive examination fees based on the evaluation of the required fees for substantive examination. The applicant must pay the fee within 3 months after receiving the notification. After the applicant pays the fee, SPO initiates the substantive examination process.

After receiving the substantive examination report of SPO, the applicant can modify the application materials. If the applicant disagrees with the opinions on the examination report, they should provide reasons for their defense.

If SPO accepts the applicant's modifications or defense opinions, it will authorize the application. Otherwise, a second substantive examination report will be issued.

If SPO believes that the amended application materials or the defense reasons provided by the applicant still do not meet the requirements of Saudi law, it will make a decision to reject the patent application.

The applicant shall respond within 3 months after the rejection notice, otherwise the patent application will be rejected.

After the patent application passes the substantive examination, SPO will notify the applicant to pay the authorization fee and publication fee within 3 months after receiving the notification.

After the applicant pays the fee, SPO will publish the patent registration documents in the patent bulletin. Otherwise, the patent application will be rejected.

In Saudi Arabia, the protection period of patents starts from the date of application and is up to 20 years.