I. General Overview
Area: 2.25 million square kilometers
Population: 32.18 million (June 2023), of which approximately 58.4% are Saudi citizens. Islam is the state religion, with Sunnis comprising 85% and Shiites comprising 15%. Key economic data for 2022 are as follows:
GDP: $1,108.1 billion
GDP growth rate: 8.7%
Total import and export volume: US$598.7 billion
Imports: $410.4 billion
Exports: $188.3 billion
GDP per capita: US $34,400

II. Treaty Membership
1. Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention)
Accession: 2004

2. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Accession: 2013

Saudi Arabia has not yet joined the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol, nor has it joined the Hague Agreement. Therefore, trademarks and designs in Saudi Arabia can only be applied for directly, but patents can be applied for directly or through the PCT.

III. Trademark Application Procedure and Required Documents
1. Trademark Registrable Elements and Types
Elements that can be registered as trademarks in Saudi Arabia include: text, graphics, symbols, slogans, three-dimensional logos, color combinations, sounds, etc.
The types of trademarks that can be registered in Saudi Arabia include: trademarks, service marks, collective marks, and certification marks.

2. Filing Routes
National filing (direct filing)

3. Required Documents
⦁ Applicant's name, address and nationality;
⦁ List of goods and/or services;
⦁ Clear representation of the mark;
⦁ Power of attorney, legalized or apostille;
⦁ If priority is claimed, a certified copy of the priority document and its Arabic translation are required.
Remark:
a. Alcoholic products in Class 33, alcoholic beer in Class 32, Christmas trees and related items in Class 28, pork in Class 29, and related retail services in Class 35 are not protected by trademarks.
b. Tribal or clan names cannot be registered as trademarks

4. Application Procedure and Timeline
Filing: the 12th edition of Nice Classification is adopted; multiple class applications are not allowed; the first-to-file principle is followed.
Examination: formal examination and substantive examination; 3-4 months.
Publication/Opposition: The opposition period is 60 days.
Registration: It takes about 5-6 months from filing to registration.

5. Protection Period and Renewal
The validity period is 10 years from the date of application (according to the Saudi calendar, it is actually 9 years, 8 months and 13 days). It can be renewed after expiration for 10 years each time.

6. Assignment
Only registered trademarks can be assigned. An apostilled power of attorney and an apostilled assignment agreement must be provided, and the processing period is approximately 3-4 months.

7. Chang of Name/Address
To change a trademark, you need to provide an apostilled power of attorney and an apostilled proof of change and their translations, and the processing time is about 3-4 months.

8. Cancellation
Non-use Cancellation: If a trademark has not been used for 5 consecutive years, any interested party may file a cancellation request for the non-used trademark.

IV. Trademark application statistics *:
A: Statistics on total trademark applications:
2020: 30,184
2021: 38,130
2022: 40,287
B: Statistics of trademark applications from China:
2020: 1,109
2021 ： 73
2022: 1,495