Saudi Arabia Approves 4 Intellectual Property Laws, Including Patents and Utility Models

The Saudi Council of Ministers, in its session chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz on October 20, 2026, approved four new laws in the field of intellectual property, among 14 decisions issued during the session.

Minister of Information Salman bin Yousuf Al-Dossary explained in a statement reported by the Saudi Press Agency that the council approved the Patent and Utility Models Law, the New Plant Varieties Law, the Integrated Circuit Layout-Designs Law, and the Designs Law.

The other decisions varied between approving international memorandums of understanding in the fields of training, cybersecurity, financial investigation, food and drugs, and tourism, extending the sustainable agricultural development program for villages until the end of 2032, and approving final accounts for several entities.

The statement did not specify an exact date for the entry into force of the four laws or their publication date in the official gazette, meaning their executive framework is not yet clear. The new laws cover the protection of inventions, agricultural varieties, microchip designs, and industrial designs, which are areas required by tech, agricultural, and industrial companies to invest in innovation.

What Do These Terms Mean?

Intellectual Property: Legal rights protecting human creations such as inventions, trademarks, designs, and artistic works.

Patents: A protection right granted by law to the creator of a new invention, preventing others from using or selling it without permission for a specified period.

Utility Models: A protection right for new inventions that are industrially applicable but may involve a smaller inventive step than patents, often covering minor mechanical improvements.

New Plant Varieties: Developed plant strains carrying new traits, with the law protecting the rights of those who developed them.

Integrated Circuit Designs: Engineering drawings for microelectronic chips, protected because copying them without a license harms the technology sector.

Designs: A protection right covering a product's visual appearance, such as its shape, pattern, or color, preventing others from copying that appearance.