Article 5 of the Saudi Law of Commercial Data

This article deals with the case of a manufacturer whose main factory is in a particular place and who makes products for his account in another place.

The rule is that he may not use the name of the place where his main factory is located on products made in the other place. The exception is that this name is accompanied by a statement of the other place where the product was actually made, in a way that leaves no confusion.

The practical meaning is that the reputation of a factory in a given country or city does not automatically pass to the same manufacturer's products made elsewhere, and that the consumer must know where the product he buys was made.

This article comes within a group of articles that bar misleading as to source. Article 4 bars putting the seller's name on imported products without a clear statement of the country of manufacture, and bars marks that mislead about the source of products. Article 6 allows the Minister of Commerce to issue a decision barring the import, sale or offering for sale of products unless they carry certain statements that bear on assessing their value, such as quantity, weight, source or ingredients.

Note that the article does not bar the manufacturer from mentioning the name of the main place at all; it requires that it be accompanied by a statement of the other place in a way that leaves no room for confusion. To assess how statements should be worded on a particular product, a lawyer specializing in commercial cases can be consulted.