Saudi Arabia Trademark Filing Guide: Key Points for Chinese Applicants

Guide
IP WORLD
saip

by Fredrick Xie

Saudi Arabia is becoming an increasingly important market for international brand owners, including Chinese businesses expanding into the Middle East.

A comparison of filing volumes provides some useful context.

In 2025, approximately 6.95 million trademark applications were filed in China, with approximately 4.21 million registrations granted. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property ("SAIP") received more than 64,200 trademark applications during the same year, representing year-on-year growth of approximately 23%. In other words, China’s annual trademark filing volume is more than 100 times that of Saudi Arabia.

The size of the systems is very different, and so are some of their filing practices.

 

Although the general framework for trademark registration in Saudi Arabia is relatively straightforward, foreign applicants should pay particular attention to classification, specifications of goods and services, powers of attorney, local examination practice and the overall cost structure.

There is also an important change taking place in 2026. Saudi Arabia deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol on July 8, 2026, and the Protocol will enter into force in the Kingdom on October 8, 2026. From that date, trademark owners in other Madrid System members will be able to designate Saudi Arabia through an international registration.

This article highlights some of the main practical considerations for businesses seeking trademark protection in Saudi Arabia.

1. How Can a Trademark Be Filed in Saudi Arabia?

At present, the principal route is a national trademark application filed with the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP). From October 8, 2026, applicants will also be able to seek protection in Saudi Arabia through the Madrid System.

a. National filing

An application is filed directly in Saudi Arabia. This route may offer greater flexibility where Saudi Arabia is a key individual market or where the specification of goods and services requires significant adaptation to local practice.

b. Madrid designation

Where a business already owns an appropriate basic trademark application or registration and intends to enter several Madrid System markets, an international registration may provide administrative convenience and centralized portfolio management.

It is important, however, to distinguish filing convenience from registrability. The Madrid System simplifies the filing and administration of international trademarks. It does not eliminate substantive examination in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has declared an 18-month refusal period for international registrations. Where a refusal may result from an opposition, notification may, in certain circumstances, be made after the expiry of that period.

2. Applications Should Generally Be Planned on a Single-Class Basis

Classification has a direct impact on both protection and cost.

 

Under the GCC Executive Regulation applicable in Saudi Arabia, an application is generally based on one class, although multiple classes may be included in the same application with the approval of the competent authority. For practical filing and budgeting purposes, foreign applicants should normally plan on a class-by-class basis and confirm the then-current SAIP system and local practice before filing.

  • One trademark in Classes 9 and 35 would generally be planned as two applications;

  • Two trademarks in Classes 9 and 35 would generally be planned as four applications.

The number of classes therefore affects not only the scope of protection but also the overall filing budget. Rather than automatically reproducing an existing home-country portfolio, businesses should identify the classes that are commercially relevant to their actual products, future activities and likely enforcement needs in Saudi Arabia.

3. Goods and Services Should Be Adapted to Saudi Practice

Saudi Arabia applies the Nice Classification. However, use of the same international classification system does not mean that a specification accepted in China, the European Union or another jurisdiction can simply be translated and filed unchanged.

Applicants should consider:

  • whether the relevant goods or services are acceptable under Saudi practice;
  • whether the wording should be adjusted to the applicable local classification practice; and
  • whether the specification raises public policy, religious or cultural issues.
  • The GCC trademark framework applicable in Saudi Arabia excludes, among other matters, marks contrary to public order or public morals and marks identical or similar to symbols of a purely religious nature.
  • Saudi practice also places clear restrictions on alcohol-related goods and certain other locally sensitive items. The acceptability of specific goods and services should therefore be checked against the then-current SAIP classification system and local examination practice before filing.

 

The better approach is therefore not to reproduce a foreign registration mechanically, but to identify the goods and services that are commercially important in Saudi Arabia and then adapt the specification to local requirements.

This is relevant not only to prosecution. The specification will ultimately determine the scope of protection available to the trademark owner.

4. Power of Attorney Requirements

A Power of Attorney ("POA") is an important filing document for foreign applicants.

 

For foreign applicants without a domicile in Saudi Arabia, the GCC Executive Regulation applicable in the Kingdom provides for filing through an authorized agent in the State recorded in the trademark agent register. Appropriate authorization must be provided when the application is handled by an agent.

A standard filing package for a foreign corporate applicant will generally require:

  • the applicant’s full name and address;
  • a representation of the trademark;
  • the relevant goods and services;
  • priority information and documents, where priority is claimed; and
  • an appropriately executed POA.

 

In practice, POAs for Chinese corporate applicants commonly involve notarization and Apostille formalities. Both China and Saudi Arabia are Contracting Parties to the 1961 Apostille Convention. The exact form, signatory and authentication requirements should nevertheless be confirmed with Saudi local counsel before execution.

Applicants anticipating multiple Saudi filings may also consider using a General Power of Attorney, which can facilitate simultaneous and future applications made by the same applicant.

From a project-management perspective, execution and authentication of the POA may sometimes take longer than preparation of the trademark application itself, so the process should be started early.

5. What Is the Registration Process?

Filing → Examination → Acceptance / Amendment / Refusal → Publication → 60-day opposition period → Registration fee → Certificate

Following examination, SAIP may:

  • accept the application;
  • require amendments; or
  • refuse the application.
  • For an application conditionally accepted subject to amendment, SAIP’s current service page lists a 90-day amendment period. Other types of decisions may carry different response, opposition or appeal deadlines, so the specific official notice should always be checked.
  • 60-Day Opposition Period
  • Once accepted, the trademark proceeds to publication. The publication period is 60 days, during which an interested party may file an opposition.
  • If no opposition is filed, the applicant must pay the final registration invoice within 30 days of its issuance, after which the registration certificate may be generated through the system.

 

SAIP currently indicates an execution time of approximately 90 days for its trademark registration service. This should not be treated as a guaranteed filing-to-registration timeline for every application. Office actions, amendments, oppositions and other procedural matters may extend the overall process.

6. How Much Does a Saudi Trademark Application Cost?

An important distinction should be made at the outset:

SAIP official fees are not the total cost of obtaining trademark protection in Saudi Arabia.

For an ordinary trademark in one class, SAIP currently publishes the following official fees:

Stage

SAIP Official Fee

Approx. USD

Approx. RMB

Filing

SAR 1,000

USD 267

RMB 1,800

Publication

SAR 500

USD 133

RMB 900

Registration and certificate

SAR 5,000

USD 1,333

RMB 8,900

Total official fees

SAR 6,500

approx. USD 1,730

approx. RMB 11,600

Several comments for foreign applicants:

First, SAR 6,500 represents government fees only

It does not include legal fees, trademark agent fees, authentication expenses or other professional costs. Depending on how the applicant manages its trademark portfolio, professional services may be provided at more than one level.

A Saudi local counsel or trademark agent will typically be responsible for matters such as:

  • filing and prosecuting the Saudi application;
  • communicating with SAIP;
  • reviewing specifications under Saudi law and local practice;
  • dealing with office actions, oppositions and other local proceedings; and
  • advising on Saudi trademark law.

Where a company’s international trademark portfolio is centrally managed by its headquarters, regional counsel or international IP counsel, there may also be a coordinating or leading counsel responsible for matters such as:

  • developing the overall international filing strategy;
  • determining which marks and classes should be protected in each jurisdiction;
  • coordinating specifications across different countries;
  • preparing and reviewing filing instructions and documents;
  • instructing and coordinating local counsel;
  • managing deadlines, budgets and prosecution status; and
  • providing consolidated portfolio reporting and strategic advice to the business.

Accordingly, for a business using a centrally managed global trademark portfolio, the overall cost of an international filing may comprise:

Government fees + local counsel fees + global portfolio coordination / management fees, where applicable + document, notarization, authentication and other disbursements

The professional cost will therefore vary depending on the applicant’s portfolio-management structure and the complexity of the filing.

Second, the official fees are not all payable at filing

The SAR 6,500 total arises at different stages. SAR 1,000 is paid at the application stage; SAR 500 becomes payable when the application is accepted for publication; and the SAR 5,000 registration and certificate fee is payable after successful completion of the publication stage.

The number of marks and classes will therefore have a significant impact on the total government fees. For example, if two trademarks are each filed in two classes, the filing strategy would generally involve four applications.

If all four applications proceed smoothly to registration, the aggregate SAIP official fees would currently be approximately:

SAR 26,000 | USD 6,930 | RMB 46,500

Again, these figures represent official fees only. The RMB figures are indicative and may vary depending on the applicable exchange rate.

7. Five Practical Points for Foreign Applicants

a. Conduct a Clearance Search Before Filing

Registration of a trademark in another jurisdiction does not mean that the mark will necessarily be available in Saudi Arabia. A preliminary search for identical and confusingly similar marks should generally be conducted before filing.

b. Do Not Simply Copy a Foreign Specification

The use of the Nice Classification does not mean that every jurisdiction applies identical specification practice. Goods and services should be reviewed specifically for Saudi Arabia.

c. Prepare the POA Early

For foreign applicants, execution, notarization and authentication of the authorization documents can be one of the more time-consuming pre-filing steps. This process should therefore begin once the Saudi filing strategy has been confirmed.

d. Consider Local Public Policy and Cultural Restrictions

Saudi trademark examination reflects the Kingdom’s legal and cultural environment. Marks and specifications involving religious matters, public morality, alcohol-related products or other sensitive subject matter should be reviewed carefully before filing.

e. More Classes Are Not Necessarily Better

Each additional class may increase both filing volume and cost. Portfolio design should therefore be driven by core products, actual business activities, future market plans and enforcement needs rather than by the objective of covering as many classes as possible.

8. Should Applicants Use the Madrid System After October 2026?

Saudi Arabia’s accession to the Madrid Protocol creates an important new option for international brand owners.

 

Where a business already holds an appropriate basic application or registration and intends to seek protection in several Madrid System members, the Madrid route may provide meaningful administrative advantages.

A direct Saudi national filing may nevertheless remain attractive where Saudi Arabia is the primary market of interest, the specification requires substantial adaptation to Saudi practice, the applicant requires greater flexibility in local prosecution, or the wider international strategy does not justify a Madrid filing.

The key point is:

the Madrid System changes the filing route, not the substantive standard for trademark protection in Saudi Arabia.

From October 8, 2026, trademark owners in other Madrid members will be able to designate Saudi Arabia, but those designations will remain subject to examination under Saudi law.

The appropriate filing route should therefore be determined in the context of the applicant’s broader trademark portfolio, target markets, specifications, budget and portfolio-management strategy.

Conclusion

Saudi Arabia received more than 64,200 trademark applications in 2025, representing year-on-year growth of approximately 23%. For businesses entering the Middle East, trademark protection in Saudi Arabia is increasingly becoming an issue to address before market entry, rather than after commercial operations have begun.

Effective international trademark protection is also about much more than submitting an application. The more important questions are:

Which marks should be protected?

Which classes matter commercially?

How should the goods and services be drafted?

Should the applicant file nationally or through the Madrid System?

And how should the Saudi applications fit within the company’s wider global trademark portfolio?

Saudi Arabia’s entry into the Madrid System will give international businesses greater flexibility in structuring their trademark portfolios.

 

Whether protection is sought nationally or through the Madrid System, however, the fundamentals remain the same: conduct appropriate clearance searches, select commercially relevant classes, adapt the specification to local practice, prepare the required authorization documents in advance and manage the filing as part of a coherent international trademark strategy.

ALLASYA has practical experience handling Saudi trademark filings and coordinating them within broader international trademark portfolios. We can assist with clearance, filing strategy, specifications and POA formalities, as well as Saudi local-counsel coordination and post-filing portfolio management.

Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available laws and official information as of September 2026 and is intended for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice for any particular matter. Filing requirements, official fees and procedures may change and should be confirmed for each individual application.