Article 50 of the Saudi Patents Law
المادة 50 من نظام براءات الاختراع · الفصل الثالث: أحكام خاصة بالتصميمات التخطيطية للدارات المتكاملة
The article requires that a design be original for a design certificate to be granted, meaning the result of the designer's intellectual effort and not familiar when created, and addresses a design made of familiar elements.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
تمنح شهادة التصميم إذا كان التصميم أصيلًا، أي كان نتيجة جهد فكري بذله المصمم بنفسه، وكان غير مألوف لمبتكري التصميمات، وصانعي الدارات المتكاملة عند ابتكاره.
وأما التصميم الذي يتكون من مجموعة من العناصر والوصلات المألوفة فيعد أصيلًا إذا كانت هذه المجموعة كلها أصيلة.
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 50 explained in plain English
This article sets the substantive condition for granting a design certificate for an integrated circuit design, which is originality.
When is a design original? When both of the following are met:
- It is the result of the designer's own intellectual effort, not copied from others.
- It is not familiar to design creators and makers of integrated circuits at the time of its creation.
A design made of familiar elements: a design may consist of elements and interconnections each of which is known separately. In that case the design is treated as original if the combination as a whole is original, that is, the way they are combined and arranged is what is original.
This condition is linked to Article 49, which sets when registration may be applied for at all, namely that the design has not been commercially exploited or has been exploited for no more than two years. It is also linked to Article 51, which sets out the rights of the certificate owner to prevent, without consent, the copying of the design or any original part of it and its importation, sale and distribution.
To assess the originality of a particular design, it is advisable to consult a lawyer specializing in intellectual property and patents.
Practical example
An engineer in Jeddah designed an integrated circuit using well-known electronic elements, but arranged and connected them in a new way that was not familiar to circuit makers. Although each element is familiar on its own, the design is treated as original if the combination as a whole is original, so it can be granted a design certificate.
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 50 of the Saudi Patents Law
What is the condition for granting an integrated circuit design certificate?
The design must be original, that is, the result of the designer's own intellectual effort and not familiar to design creators and integrated circuit makers at the time of its creation.
Is a design made of known elements protected?
Yes. It is treated as original if the combination as a whole is original.
More articles on Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits
- Article 24
The article allows the City to grant a third party a compulsory license to exploit a patented invention or an integrated circuit layout design, on set conditions and with fair compensation to the owner.
أ - يجوز للمدينة أن تمنح ترخيصًا إجباريًّا للغير باستغلال الاختراع المشمول بالبراءة، أو التصميم التخطيطي للدارة المتكاملة المشمول بشهادة التصميم بناء على طلب يق
- Article 49
The article allows an application to register an integrated circuit layout design if it has not yet been commercially exploited, or has been commercially exploited for no more than two years anywhere in the world.
يجوز طلب تسجيل التصميم لدارة متكاملة إذا لم يكن التصميم قد استغل استغلالًا تجاريا بعد، أو كان موضع استغلال تجاري فترة لا تتجاوز السنتين في أي مكان في العالم.
- Article 51
The article gives the owner of a design certificate the right to sue anyone who copies, imports, sells or distributes its design in the Kingdom without consent, with an exception for personal and scientific copying.
لمالك شهادة التصميم الحق في رفع دعوى أمام اللجنة ضد أي شخص يتعدى على تصميمه باستغلاله دون موافقته داخل المملكة، ويعد استغلالًا للتصميم القيام بأي عمل من الأعمال
- Article 52
The article limits the rights of a design certificate to commercial acts, and excepts a similar design created independently and an original design resulting from analysis of the protected design.
تقتصر الحقوق التي تمنحها شهادة التصميم على الأعمال التي تتم لأغراض تجارية، ولا يحق لمالك الشهادة ممارسة حقوقه بشأن تصميم أصيل مماثل لتصميمه إذا ابتكره شخص آخر ب
- Article 53
The article excepts from infringement the acts in paragraph (B) of Article 51 when done by someone who did not know the circuit contains a copied design, and requires him to pay fair compensation.
لا تعد الأعمال المذكورة في الفقرة (ب) من المادة الحادية والخمسين من هذا النظام تعديًا، إذا باشرها، أو أمر بالقيام بها من لم يكن يعلم أو ليس لديه أسباب معقولة لل
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.