Article 58 of the Saudi Patents Law
المادة 58 من نظام براءات الاختراع · الفصل الرابع: أحكام خاصة بحماية الأصناف النباتية الجديدة
The article requires the plant patent owner to maintain the variety, supply the City with information and samples and propose an alternative name, and the patent lapses on breach after notice and a grace period.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
يلتزم مالك البراءة النباتية بما يأتي:
أ - الحفاظ على الصنف المحمي، أو – عند الحاجة – على مكوناته الوراثية طوال مدة الحماية.
ب - تزويد المدينة بناء على طلبها بالمعلومات، أو الوثائق، أو المواد اللازمة لإثبات محافظته على الصنف، خلال المهلة المحددة لذلك.
ج - تقديم تسمية مناسبة للصنف النباتي في حالة شطب المدينة تسمية هذا الصنف، وذلك خلال المهلة المحددة لذلك.
د - تزويد المدينة – عند الاقتضاء – بناء على طلبها، وخلال المهلة المحددة، بعينات ملائمة من الصنف المحمي، أو بمكوناته الوراثية، للأغراض الآتية :
1 - إعداد العينة الرسمية للصنف، أو تجديدها.
2 - إجراء فحص مقارن لأصناف أخرى لأغراض الحماية.
وفي حالة إخلال مالك البراءة النباتية بأي من هذه الالتزامات تسقط البراءة النباتية بعد إبلاغه بوجوب الوفاء بالتزامه، ومنحه مهلة معقولة للوفاء بالالتزام الذي أخل به. وفي جميع الأحوال يتم تسجيل سقوط البراءة النباتية في السجل، والإعلان عنه في النشرة. وتحدد اللائحة المهل المذكورة في هذه المادة.
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 58 explained in plain English
A plant patent grants rights, but it also places continuing obligations on its owner:
- Maintaining the variety: maintaining the protected variety, or where necessary its genetic components, throughout the period of protection.
- Proving maintenance: supplying the City, at its request, with the information, documents or materials needed to prove that it is maintaining the variety, within the set period.
- Alternative name: proposing a suitable name for the variety if the City strikes out its name, within the set period.
- Samples: supplying the City where necessary, at its request and within the set period, with suitable samples of the variety or its genetic components, to prepare or renew the official sample, or to carry out a comparative examination of other varieties for protection purposes.
Consequence of breach: if the owner breaches any of these obligations, the plant patent lapses, but this does not happen suddenly; it follows:
- notifying the owner that it must perform its obligation;
- and giving it a reasonable period to do so.
In all cases the lapse is recorded in the register and announced in the Bulletin. The lengths of the periods mentioned in the article are not set by the text, which refers them to the Regulations.
Anyone who receives a notice from the City about their obligations would do well to consult a lawyer specializing in intellectual property and patents before the period expires.
Practical example
A farm in Tabuk owns a plant patent for an olive variety, and the City asked it for samples of the variety for a comparative examination. If the farm does not supply the samples within the period, the patent does not lapse immediately; the farm is notified that it must comply and given a reasonable period, and if it does not comply the patent lapses, and this is recorded and announced in the Bulletin.
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 58 of the Saudi Patents Law
What are the obligations of a plant patent owner?
Maintaining the variety or its genetic components throughout the protection period, supplying the City on request with what proves its maintenance, proposing a suitable name if the name is struck out, and supplying suitable samples where necessary.
When does a plant patent lapse?
When the owner breaches any of its obligations, after being notified that it must perform and given a reasonable period, and it does not do so.
Who sets the periods in this article?
The Regulations set the periods mentioned in the article.
More articles on Plant Variety Protection
- Article 25
The article allows the City to grant a compulsory license for a plant variety covered by a plant patent on set conditions, including public interest, three years from grant and fair compensation, for two to four years.
أ - يجوز للمدينة أن تمنح ترخيصًا إجباريا للغير باستغلال الصنف النباتي المشمول ببراءة نباتية، وذلك بناء على طلب يقدمه إليها وفقًا لما يأتي : 1- أن يكون الترخيص ا
- Article 54
The article sets the conditions for a plant variety to obtain a plant patent: it must be new, distinct, uniform and stable, and a name must be proposed for it.
يكون الصنف النباتي قابلًا للحصول على براءة نباتية، إذا كان جديدًا، ومميزًا، ومتجانسًا وثابتًا، وشرع في تسميته.
- Article 55
The article defines the conditions for a plant patent: novelty with its periods inside and outside the Kingdom, distinctness, uniformity and stability, and how a plant variety is named.
أ - يعد الصنف النباتي جديدًا إذا لم يتم – عند تاريخ إيداع الطلب، أو تاريخ الأسبقية المطالب بها - بيع مواد التناسل أو التكاثر النباتي للصنف، أو منتجات محصول الصن
- Article 56
The article gives the plant patent owner the right to sue anyone who exploits the protected variety's propagating material in the Kingdom without consent, and extends the rights to harvested material and derived varieties, with exceptions.
أ - لمالك البراءة النباتية الحق في رفع دعوى أمام اللجنة ضد أي شخص يتعدى على الصنف المحمي باستغلال مادة تكاثر الصنف المحمي دون موافقته داخل المملكة، ويعد استغلال
- Article 57
The article bars restricting the right arising from a plant patent by any measure taken to regulate the production, control, marketing, import or export of plant variety materials.
لا يجوز تقييد الحق الناشئ عن البراءة النباتية بأي تدبير يتخذ لتنظيم عمليات إنتاج مواد الأصناف النباتية، ومراقبتها، وتسويقها، واستيرادها، وتصديرها.
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.