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 framework, and related merger procedures arising from such divisions are likewise unavailable.
For applicants, the practical consequence is straightforward: Saudi designations may remain under examination longer than under the default 12-month period, while a problematic class or subset of goods and services cannot simply be carved out through division to let the rest move ahead separately. Filing strategy therefore matters more at the drafting stage. Applicants planning to designate Saudi Arabia should review specifications carefully, budget separately for Saudi individual fees, and avoid assuming that all Madrid post-registration tools available elsewhere will operate in the same way in the Kingdom.
