GCC Trade Mark Law published in Saudi Arabia

News from good friends Saba & Co in their July 2014 IP Bulletin that the GCC Trade Mark Law has been published in Saudi Arabia. The full report is available on their website here and is reproduced for ease of reference here:

The revised GCC trademark law was recently approved for publication in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The GCC trademark law was initially ratified in 2006 and was approved by the Saudi government in 2007. The governments of Oman and Bahrain, however, could not approve the draft at that time due to their US Free Trade Agreement obligations. The GCC Trade Cooperation Committee had to convene more frequently to address concerns raised by Bahrain and Oman. The draft GCC trademark law was then further revised following the assemblies that had taken place. The aim of the GCC Trademark Law is to replace the local trademark laws of the member states – which are: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The result is a unified implementation of the trademark regulations. Unlike the GCC Patent Law, the GCC Trademark Law is not expected to offer a unified filing system. Trademark applications would still be filed separately in each GCC member state for protection. The GCC Law will be exacted once implementating regulations are issued, which is not in the foreseeable future. The fifty-article GCC Trademark Law outlines the general directives and rulings governing trademark registration, renewal, assignment, and cancellation procedures in the GCC countries. The main features of the law, as approved by the GCC Supreme Council, are as follows:

• The definition of a trademark has been broadened to include sound and smell marks
• A trademark may be individual or collective
• A separate application is required for each class
• Claim of priority, based on an earlier-filed foreign application, is possible
• Trademark applications accepted by the Registrar will be published for opposition purposes.
• Oppositions must be filed within 60 days from publication date
• Trademark registrations are valid for 10 years from filing date and are renewable for like periods.
• There is a grace period of six months for late renewals
• A trademark is vulnerable to cancellation by any interested party if there has been no effective use of the mark for a period of five consecutive years after registration
• The Law shall recognize famous trademarks that are well-known in the GCC member states and shall ensure protection thereof even if the marks are not registered
• The Law gives the right to trademark owners to initiate civil and criminal actions against any infringing party. Penalties include a maximum of five year imprisonment and payment of fines
• of up to US $ 270,000