The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) is preparing systems for the implementation of the Geographical Indications Protection Law and its executive framework, which are expected to take effect in mid-November 2026. The work is being linked to a broader cultural and handicraft protection strategy, encouraging makers in fields such as weaving, woodworking and leathercraft to review collective marks and industrial design protection before the GI registration system is fully operational.The practical message is to build a layered rights strategy rather than wait for a single new...
Saudi Arabia’s new Copyright Law will take effect on 12 August 2026, replacing the 2003 framework. Approved by Royal Decree No. M/169 and published in the Official Gazette on 13 February 2026, the law introduces a closely watched exception allowing reproduction of lawfully published works for the development of artificial intelligence products and algorithms, provided the user has lawfully obtained the original and the copying remains limited to that purpose. The provision is not a blanket licence for web scraping or large-scale model training: use must still satisfy the law’s safeguards...
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) announced on 22 July 2026 that the implementing regulations under the Geographical Indications Protection Law had entered fully into force, opening the formal filing and examination process for geographical indications. The framework gives agricultural goods, food products and traditional handicrafts linked to a particular place, quality or reputation a protection route distinct from ordinary trademark registration. Applicants will need to support claims concerning the defined area, product specifications, the link with origin and the...
On 31 July 2026, the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) issued a dedicated report on intellectual property protection for the esports and gaming sector, alongside the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. The report separates a game into distinct protectable assets: source code and underlying scripts may fall under copyright, user interfaces and character models may qualify for industrial design protection, interactive technologies and hardware innovations may support patent filings, while names, event identities and commercial signs remain within the trademark system. For creators,...
Regional IP industry briefings published on 5 August 2026 point to a concentrated round of reform across the Middle East, spanning design classification, trademark border enforcement and examination practice. The United Arab Emirates is approaching the effective stage of its accession to the Locarno Agreement, prompting practitioners to assess how fuller use of the international design classification system may standardise cross-border filing practice. In Saudi Arabia, the recently introduced Tahaqaq digital platform is bringing customs trademark enforcement and registered-rights...
Saudi Arabia has now moved from hosting the Riyadh Design Law Treaty to formally backing it at Cabinet level. That matters. The Treaty is designed to simplify and harmonize the formal requirements that govern industrial design registration, which means the real target is not diplomatic symbolism but filing friction: the formal steps that still make design protection slower, costlier and less predictable than many applicants expect.For businesses, this is not just a treaty story. Design portfolios are often delayed less by the design itself than by the mechanics around it: what...
WIPO’s new City of Innovation award turned the end of June into a real policy deadline for cities, not just a communications moment. For the 2026 edition, applications closed on June 30, each member state could forward no more than three cities, and submissions had to move through diplomatic channels rather than go straight from city hall to WIPO. That design forces cities to present innovation, creativity and IP as an integrated public strategy instead of a loose collection of projects.For the Middle East, especially the Gulf, the timing is unusually good. Cities in the United Arab...
On 16 July, regional IP firm Al-Ajaleen published an update revisiting Qatar’s implementation of the GCC Trademark Law. The development should not be read as a new law taking effect this week: Qatar’s Ministerial Decision No. 56 and its implementing regulations were published in the Official Gazette on 9 July 2023 and entered into force on 10 August 2023. The framework shortened several examination, response and opposition periods, while revising official fees for registration, renewal and related procedures.For international brand owners, closer alignment across GCC jurisdictions can...
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has confirmed in Madrid (Marks) Notification No. 243 that Saudi Arabia deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol on July 8, 2026. The Protocol will enter into force for Saudi Arabia on October 8, 2026. From that date, applicants from other Madrid System members will be able to designate Saudi Arabia in an international application or subsequent designation, while Saudi rights holders will be able to seek trademark protection abroad through the same system. Saudi Arabia has also declared an 18-month time limit for...
This article updates our report of 27 July, “Saudi Arabia to Join the Madrid System in October 2026”.
WIPO confirmed in Information Notice No. 35/2026 that Saudi Arabia deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol on 8 July 2026. The Protocol will enter into force for the Kingdom on 8 October 2026, allowing trademark owners from other Madrid System members to designate Saudi Arabia in an international application or subsequent designation. Saudi Arabia becomes the fifth Gulf Cooperation Council state to join the system, with Kuwait remaining outside it. The Kingdom has...
This article updates our report of 27 July, “Saudi Copyright Reform Rewrites AI Training and Platform Liability”.
Saudi Arabia’s new Copyright Law is due to take effect on 12 August 2026, replacing the 2003 regime. Based on Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) materials and pre-effective-date compliance alerts, the reform brings AI training, software licensing and online content distribution into a more explicit copyright framework. The provision drawing the closest attention from technology businesses is a statutory AI-training exception, under which certain data scraping and...
This article updates our report of 2 August, “Saudi Arabia Joins the Madrid System from 8 October”.
WIPO Information Notice No. 35/2026 confirms that Saudi Arabia’s accession to the Madrid Protocol will take effect on October 8, 2026, and sets out several procedural points for designations of the Kingdom. Most importantly for filing practice, Saudi Arabia has declared an 18-month time limit for notifying provisional refusals rather than the standard one-year period; refusals based on opposition may, in specified circumstances, be notified after that period. Saudi Arabia will also apply...
This article updates our report of 17 August, “Saudi Madrid Entry Sets an 18-Month Refusal Window”.
Saudi Arabia is sharpening the operational framework for Madrid System designations before the Madrid Protocol takes effect in the Kingdom on 8 October 2026. WIPO and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) have confirmed that Saudi Arabia will use an 18-month period for notifying provisional refusals and will charge individual fees for designations. SAIP has also indicated that requests to divide an international registration will not be accepted under the Saudi national...
This article updates our report of 13 September, “Saudi Arabia Sets Madrid Filing Rules Ahead of October Entry”.
On 1 September WIPO issued Information Notice No. 37/2026 publishing the declaration made by Saudi Arabia under Article 8(7)(a) of the Madrid Protocol: an individual fee of CHF 1,397 per class of goods or services applies where Saudi Arabia is designated in an international application or a subsequent designation, rising to CHF 1,719 per class for collective or certification marks; renewal costs CHF 1,397 per class, or CHF 1,612 per class where payment is made within the grace...
