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Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers today, October 20, 2026, approved a Patent and Utility Models Law, together with 3 other laws covering designs, plant varieties and integrated circuit layout designs. They replace a single 2004 law that covered all four. The full text and start date have not been published yet, and until they are, the current rules are the ones the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property applies. Three things matter to you today and do not wait for the new law: announcing your invention before filing can cost it the novelty requirement, your employee's invention belongs to your company only in specific cases, and a patent's 20-year term runs from the filing date, not the grant date.
What did the Cabinet approve today?
According to Ajel English on today’s Cabinet session, the Council approved 4 separate laws:
- Patent and Utility Models Law: protects technical inventions and adds a utility model category.
- Designs Law: for a product's shape and appearance, which the current law calls industrial designs.
- New Plant Varieties Law.
- Integrated Circuit Layout Designs Law: for the design of microchips.
Today these four subjects sit in one law, the Law of Patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties and Industrial Designs, issued by Royal Decree M/27 dated 29/5/1425 AH, July 17, 2004. The notable addition in the new name is utility models: we checked the current law in the IP laws compendium published by SAIP and found no category by that name.
Utility models: protection for smaller improvements
The World Intellectual Property Organization explains that a utility model protects so-called minor inventions: an improvement to or adaptation of an existing product that does not reach the inventive level a patent requires. Requirements are usually lighter, procedures simpler and protection shorter, often 6 to 10 years from filing, and it varies by country. So a factory, workshop or tech company that keeps making practical improvements to its products may find an easier route to protect them than a full patent.
The Saudi utility model's conditions and term have not been published, so do not base decisions on other countries' numbers. Start by listing and documenting your improvements, and wait for the official text to see which ones are worth registering.
What stays in force until the new text is published?
These are the main rules in Article 19 of the current law, as published by SAIP:
- Patent: 20 years from the filing date.
- Industrial design certificate: 15 years from the filing date.
- Integrated circuit layout design: 10 years, and never more than 15 years from the date the design was created.
- Plant patent: 20 years, and 25 years for trees and vines.
Because the term counts from filing day, every month you delay the application does not extend your protection; it only leaves your invention exposed.
The mistake that kills protection: announcing before filing
Article 43 requires an invention to be new, involve an inventive step and be industrially applicable. Article 44 defines novelty: the invention must not be anticipated by anything disclosed to the public anywhere in the world before the filing date, whether in writing, orally, through use or by any other means, with limited exceptions set by the regulations. In practice, all of these can hurt you:
- A LinkedIn post or video explaining how your product works.
- A live demo at an exhibition or conference before filing.
- A pitch deck shown to an investor or client without a confidentiality agreement.
- Selling or operating the product in public before the application is in.
On the other side, Article 20 protects you if someone else files first: anyone who in good faith exploited a product or process before the filing date of the protection application may keep doing the same thing without expanding it. So keep records of your development and first-use dates; they are your evidence if you ever need them.
Who owns your employee's invention?
Article 6 gives the protection document to the employer, unless the employment contract says otherwise, in three cases: when the invention results from carrying out a contract, from an obligation to work on developing it, or when the employer proves the employee would not have reached it without the facilities, means or data the job provided. The same article holds three rules many companies miss:
- The employee is entitled to a special reward, agreed by both sides or set by the committee, and any agreement that removes it is void.
- An application the employee files within two years of leaving is treated as if it were filed during employment.
- The same rules apply to government employees.
If your engineers' and developers' contracts do not mention intellectual property explicitly, in a dispute you are relying on proving one of these cases rather than on a clear clause.
The Origami view
We read this decision as a clear message: the Kingdom wants its companies to register their innovations, not just build them. Splitting the four laws and adding utility models opens the door to protecting the practical improvements that actually set Saudi companies apart, not only the big inventions.
What we see most with clients is not a lack of innovation but a lack of records: an idea developed by an internal team, contracts that say nothing about ownership, and a demo published before any filing. At Origami we build systems and platforms for companies, and we document what we build in a way that makes it easier for your legal adviser to protect. Contact us if you are developing a tech product and want its ownership sorted from day one.
What to do this week
- List the products, processes and improvements your company has developed, and mark which ones have not been made public yet.
- Stop any announcement or detailed demo of an invention you have not filed, or put it under a confidentiality agreement.
- Review employee and contractor contracts and add an explicit intellectual property and reward clause.
- Record the development and first-use dates of each product.
- Watch SAIP’s laws and regulations page for the new text and its start date.
Sources
- SAIP: Intellectual Property Laws and Regulations in the Kingdom (Articles 6, 19, 20, 43 and 44)
- SAIP: Systems and Regulations
- WIPO Lex: Law of Patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties and Industrial Designs (M/27)
- WIPO: Utility models
- Ajel English: Saudi Cabinet Approves New Patent Law and 13 Decisions (October 20, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Is the new Saudi Patent and Utility Models Law in force yet?
The Cabinet approved it on October 20, 2026, but its full text and start date have not been published. Until then, the 2004 law is what the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property applies.
What is the difference between a patent and a utility model?
A patent covers an invention with a full inventive step and lasts 20 years from filing under the current law. According to WIPO, a utility model protects smaller improvements with lighter conditions and a shorter term, often 6 to 10 years; the Saudi term will be set when the law is published.
Does the employer own an employee's invention in Saudi Arabia?
Yes when it results from the contract, from an obligation to work on it, or from using the job's facilities and data, unless the contract says otherwise. The employee keeps a right to a reward that cannot be waived, and an application filed within two years of leaving counts as filed during employment.
Do I lose my rights if I show my product before filing?
You may. The law treats an invention as not new if it was disclosed to the public anywhere before filing, by publication, demo or use, apart from limited exceptions in the regulations. File first, or show it only under a confidentiality agreement.
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