Article 15 of the Saudi Geographical Indications Law
المادة 15 من نظام حماية المؤشرات الجغرافية · الفصل الثاني: تسجيل المؤشر الجغرافي
The Authority issues a list of geographical indications protected under the Law and Regulations or international agreements to which the Kingdom is a party, and it is available for inspection free of charge.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
تصدر الهيئة قائمة تتضمن المؤشرات الجغرافية المحمية بموجب أحكام النظام واللائحة أو بموجب اتفاقيات دولية تكون المملكة طرفاً فيها، ويتاح الاطلاع عليها دون مقابل.
This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Article 15 explained in plain English
This article requires the Authority to issue a list of protected geographical indications, which provides transparency and lets everyone know what is protected.
- Who issues it: the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property.
- What it contains: the geographical indications protected under the provisions of the Law and the Regulations, or under international agreements to which the Kingdom is a party.
- Access to it: available free of charge.
The list serves different groups: a merchant, before using the name of a geographical region on his products, can check that it is not a protected indication whose guide his product does not meet; the producer knows what has been registered for his region; and the consumer can recognize the recognized indications.
The article does not specify how or where the list is published or how often it is updated.
It is preceded by Article 14, which regulates cancelling indications from the register and making the cancellation public, and followed by Article 16, which assigns the detection of violations of the Law and the Regulations to inspectors named by a decision of the Authority's board of directors, who have law-enforcement capacity.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
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Frequently asked questions about Article 15 of the Saudi Geographical Indications Law
Is there an official list of protected geographical indications in Saudi Arabia?
Yes. The Authority issues a list of the indications protected under the Law and the Regulations or international agreements to which the Kingdom is a party.
Is access to the list of geographical indications free?
Yes. It is available for inspection free of charge.
More articles on Scope of Geographical Indications Protection
- Article 1
The article defines the key terms of the Geographical Indications Protection Law, such as geographical indication, product, producer, specification, register and committee.
يقصد بالعبارات والمصطلحات الآتية -أينما وردت في هذا النظام- المعاني المبينة أمامها ما لم يقتضِ السياق غير ذلك: النظام: نظام حماية المؤشرات الجغرافية. اللائحة: ا
- Article 2
The Law aims to protect the geographical indications set out in Article 3 and to prevent unauthorized persons from exploiting or imitating them in a way that misleads consumers about the products' source.
يهدف النظام إلى توفير الحماية للمؤشرات الجغرافية المبينة في المادة (الثالثة) من النظام، ومنع غير المصرح لهم من استغلال المؤشرات الجغرافية، أو تقليدها بطريقة تؤد
- Article 3
The article sets out the indications that receive protection: national indications entered in the register, foreign indications protected and registered in their country of origin, and foreign indications protected under international agreements to which the Kingdom is a party.
يتمتع بالحماية المقررة بموجب النظام ما يأتي: 1- المؤشرات الجغرافية الوطنية المسجلة في السجل. 2- المؤشرات الجغرافية الأجنبية المحمية في بلد منشئها المسجلة في سجل
- Article 26
The Authority's board issues the Implementing Regulations of the Law within 180 days of the Law's publication.
يصدر المجلس اللائحة خلال (مائة وثمانين) يومًا من تاريخ نشر النظام.
- Article 27
The Geographical Indications Protection Law takes effect 180 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.
يعمل بالنظام بعد مضي (مائة وثمانين) يومًا من تاريخ نشره في الجريدة الرسمية.
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.

