Khaberni - A Saudi royal decree has been issued approving the Geographic Indications Protection System for the year 1447 AH, in a step aimed at enhancing intellectual property rights and preventing geographic names or products from misleading consumers.
The new system, published in the "Umm Al-Qura" newspaper, encompasses all agricultural, food, natural, craft, and industrial products whose quality, characteristics, or reputation are linked to their geographic origin. The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property is required to prepare a register of geographic indications and to register them according to specific regulations.
The system prohibits the use or imitation of geographic indications in ways that deceive the consumer about the source of the product, specifying penalties of up to three years in prison and a financial fine of up to one million Riyals, along with the confiscation of tools used in the violation and the destruction of counterfeit products.
The system allows anyone harmed by the refusal to register a geographic indicator to appeal within 60 days before the competent committee, while the protection period is ten years and renewable.
The system clarifies what is meant by a geographic indicator, which is a statement that identifies a product by its origin, used on products whose quality, reputation, or characteristics are primarily due to their geographic origin. These products include any agricultural, food, or natural product, as well as any craft or industrial product whose manufacturing process is linked to a specific area.
The system aims to protect national geographic indications registered in the register, foreign geographic indications protected in their country of origin, and foreign geographic indications protected under international agreements in which the Kingdom is a party.
The system states that the definition of a geographic indication includes natural and human factors or either of them, and it is required that it does not conflict with public order and morals, and that its registration does not conflict with the Kingdom’s obligations under the international laws and agreements to which the Kingdom is a party.
