Article 10 of the Saudi Geographical Indications Law

The rule in the Law is that registration begins with an application submitted to the Authority, but this article allows the Authority to take the initiative itself to register the geographical indication.

• Scope of the article: the national geographical indication only, which under Article 1 is one whose scope lies within the territory of the Kingdom.
• The case: the producer has not applied to register it.
• Nature of the power: discretionary; the Authority “may” do so.
• Controls: as set by the Regulations, and subject to the conditions in Article 5.

The conditions in Article 5 are: the indication must not conflict with public order and public morals or with the Kingdom's obligations under laws and international agreements; it must not be one of identical names unless accompanied by something that distinguishes it; it must not be confusable with a trademark registered in good faith before the Law was applied; it must not be identical to the name of a plant variety or animal breed in a way that misleads consumers; and it must meet any other conditions set by the Regulations.

This power is useful for protecting well-known local products whose producers may not take the initiative to register them. It is preceded by Article 9, which regulates examination of submitted applications, and followed by Article 11, which regulates the grievance committee.