INSIGHTS

The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, in cooperation with its partners in the public and private sectors, held the fourth Council for Respecting Intellectual Property. The year is represented by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the Ministry of Commerce and more than 47 bodies from the private sector, representing local and international brands and trademark agents.

The Council was opened by the CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al-Suwailem, speaking about the initiative of the Council for Respecting Intellectual Property and expressing the importance of intellectual property protection as an essential element of national economic policies. In improving enforcement processes, increasing communication and transparency between the authority and the private sector, increasing access to new updates in various areas that fall under the authority’s scope and responsibilities, identifying problems and challenges facing the private sector in intellectual property issues and working to solve them jointly.

The concepts and paths of trademarks from registration to enforcement were also reviewed, in addition to clarifying the intellectual property systems in Saudi Arabia and the international agreements to which the Kingdom joined. Statistics and work of the Intellectual Property Respect Department concerned with enforcement were presented, and the method and mechanism for filing trademark complaints and the necessary requirements for that were explained. An opportunity was provided for discussion between the private and public sectors, the obstacles facing the private sector, and the sharing of ideas that help in increasing the level of respect for intellectual property and limiting violations in the field of trademarks.

It is noteworthy that the council held a number of meetings during the last period, addressing a number of topics related to several sectors, such as the pharmaceutical sector, the publishing sector, the visual production sector and satellite broadcasting, within the framework of the Kingdom’s efforts to protect intellectual property rights in these sectors, discussing ways of cooperation and discussing challenges and proposed solutions.