Preface

2、 Governing Authority

1. GCC patent invalid:

Jurisdiction: GCC Patent Office "Objection and Appeal Committee".

Effectiveness: It is decided to take effect uniformly in all GCC member countries.

2. Invalid Saudi national patent:

Administrative Procedure: The Appeals Committee of the Saudi Intellectual Property Office (SAIP).

Judicial procedure: Saudi Commercial Court (first instance) → Court of Appeal → Supreme Court (final instance).

3、 Invalid Reason

According to GCC Patent Law (Article 22) and Saudi Patent Law (Article 22), the reasons include:

1. Substantive defects:

Lack of novelty (previously disclosed on priority dates worldwide).

Lack of creativity (non obviousness).

Lack of industrial practicality.

2. Procedural defects:

The specification does not fully disclose the invention (which cannot be implemented by technical personnel).

The claims exceed the scope of the original application.

Violating public order and good customs (such as bioethical regulations).

3. Ownership issue:

The patentee is not the actual inventor or has not been legally authorized.

4、 Invalid program flow

(1) Administrative procedures (SAIP or GCC Patent Office)

1. Submit request:

Written materials in Arabic with evidence (such as existing technical literature) are required.

Cost: SAIP program costs approximately $1000-2000; The GCC program costs approximately $2000-5000.

2. Patent holder's defense:

Defense period: 3 months (can be extended by 1 month).

3. Review and Hearing:

SAIP/GCC can organize technical experts to evaluate.

Non mandatory oral hearing (usually written hearing).

4. Decision cycle:

SAIP: 1-2 years; GCC: 1.5-3 years.

5. Result: All/part of the results are invalid or remain valid.

(2) Judicial Procedure (Commercial Court)

Applicable situation: counterclaim or independent invalidation lawsuit in infringement litigation.

Evidence requirement: Arabic translation that requires notarization, with high weight given to expert testimony.

Cycle: 2-4 years (including appeals).

5、 Key features

1. Language mandatory requirement:

All documents must be in Arabic, and non Arabic evidence must be translated and authenticated by the Saudi consulate.

2. Local proxy mandatory:

Foreign parties must appoint a registered patent agent in Saudi Arabia.

3. Patent amendment right:

The patentee may request a reduction in the scope of the claims in the invalidation process to maintain partial validity.

4. Acceleration program:

Paying additional fees can shorten the SAIP review cycle (up to 6 months).

5. Malicious Invalid Restrictions:

Frequent invalidation may be deemed as abuse of procedure (Article 3 of the Anti Litigation Abuse Law).

6、 Appeal mechanism

SAIP/GCC decision: may appeal to the Saudi Administrative Court.

Court ruling: Appeals can be made to the Supreme Court (final appeal) step by step.

7、 Time

1. SAIP administrative procedures: 1-2 years

2. GCC administrative procedures: 1.5-3 years

3. Court proceedings: 2-4 years

8、 Practical suggestions

1. Strategy selection:

Prioritize invalidation of Saudi national patents through SAIP administrative procedures (low cost, high efficiency).

GCC patents must be invalidated through the GCC unified procedure.

2. Evidence preparation:

Focus on collecting Arabic literature that has been publicly released prior to priority dates (such as local journals and patents in Saudi Arabia).

Technical comparison experiments must comply with Saudi standards (such as GSO certification).

3. Risk prevention and control:

Assess patent stability in advance to avoid patent fraud lawsuits in Saudi Arabia.

Take advantage of the opportunity to modify the claims to retain the core protection scope.