Saudi courts to handle copyrights, patents cases

Saudi commercial courts will handle copyrights and patents-related cases from February 2020. (SPA)

• The Supreme Judicial Council approved the change and the Justice Ministry set up a plan to train judges on copyrights system and on handling patents disputes inside commercial courts

RIYADH: Saudi commercial courts and departments will handle copyrights and patents-related cases from February. The cases will be heard in commercial courts and in commercial departments inside general courts across the Kingdom.
Cases filed before that date to the committees for examining patents on inventions and for copyrights protection will be resolved through those two committees. The Supreme Judicial Council approved the change and the Justice Ministry set up a plan to train judges on copyrights system and on handling patents disputes inside commercial courts.
“We want to provide the best judicial principles and training on intellectual property system based on research and study,” the ministry said.
“We are collecting the previous work done by related committees that looked into those cases to prepare for the shift,” it added.
The digital environment at the ministry has enhanced the overall performance and the issuing of judgments, while saving the beneficiaries’ effort in achieving justice. Saudi Justice Minister Walid Al-Samaani said the Saudi judiciary has proven its speed and efficiency. He stressed the ministry’s keenness to “have a fully digital environment.”