RIYADH — 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 transactions. The rules also apply to applications for any trademark that includes the name "Saudi Arabia," "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," or any symbol or meaning that refers to the state in Arabic or any other language. The authority allowed the registration of a trademark that bears the name of a city, region, or public place if it has a different meaning than the geographical name and is used earnestly for that purpose. The registered trademark owner must ensure its use does not harm or distort the image or reputation of the Kingdom, its cities, regions, or public places. The authority emphasized that registering a trademark under these guidelines does not grant exclusive rights to the owner over a specific name, nor does it allow them to prevent others from using the name. The registration of certification marks or collective marks as geographical indicators is permitted. These controls apply to trademark registration applications that were not processed before the issuance of these controls.
