Industrial Design registration in Saudi Arabia

As per the Saudi Law of Patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties, and Industrial Design, it defines the Industrial Design as a composition of two-dimensional lines or colours or any three-dimensional shape that gives an industrial product or product of traditional craft a special appearance can be registered as an industrial design.

Article 59 stipulates that 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.

The Saudi Law also provides with the priority claim for Industrial Design and states that 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. The priority period for the industrial design shall be six months.

Pre-Requisite for Industrial Design Registration In Saudi Arabia

The criteria or rather requirements for getting a design registration in Saudi Arabia are-

  • Novelty
  • Visibility
  • Distinguishing features
  • Not necessitated by functional or technical features
  • Design shall not be in violation of Shariah (Islamic) law
Documents Required For Filing Industrial Design Registration In Saudi Arabia

To obtain the date of filing, a design application in Saudi Arabia should contain:

  • an application for registration including applicant's and designer's details;
  • type of product to which the industrial design will be applied;
  • the title, description, and classes according the International Classification of Industrial Designs;
  • a representation of the design;
  • the country, application number, filing date of the priority application (if any).
  • A certified copy of the Priority Document should be submitted within 3 months from the filing date.
  • Original Power of Attorney notarized and legalised up to the Saudi Consulate should be submitted within 3 months from the filing date. At the time of filing a copy is sufficient.
  • If the application is filed by a person other than the designer, a legalised Assignment Deed between the applicant and the designer must be submitted simultaneously with filing the application.
  • Saudi design applications claiming conventional priority should be filed within six months from the priority date. Restoration of the priority right is not possible.
Examination and Grant - Industrial Design

For Examination purpose, only formality examination is conducted by the patent office and no such substantive examination is conducted. After the examination, the industrial design certificate protection period shall be ten years from the date of filing the application.