RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/ACC/SAU/10
14November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4827)
Original: English
WORKING PARTY ONTHE ACCESSION OFSAUDI ARABIA
Communication from theKingdom ofSaudi Arabia
Thereplies ofSaudi Arabia tothequestions asked byMembers andthestatements made by
therepresentatives ofSaudi Arabia atthesecond meeting oftheWorking Party on6November 1996
arereproduced hereunder.
_______________
TRIPS
Q1.What arethePlans ofSaudi Arabia toenhance enforcement effectiveness inthearea
ofcopyright inparticular software?
Reply
Heavy fines ofuptoSR20,000 havebeenintroduced. There isprovision forclosure of
offending establishments foruptothreemonths. TheGovernment hasintroduced atraining programme
forofficers which includes training withWIPO andtheUnited States 'Government. Saudi Arabia
would appreciate technical assistance inthisareafrom other donors.
Q2.What areyoudoing toaccelerate thepatent award system?
Reply
Withregard toPatents, theLawhasonlybeeninexistence since1989andourefforts toimprove
enforcement areongoing. Expertise wasneeded bothinconsidering applications andinenforcement.
Even inasituation ofbudget constraint, theGovernment attached priority tothissector andwas
channelling considerable additional resources. TheSaudi delegation willrecommend tothecompetent
authorities theapproval ofadditional resources inthisarea.
Q3.What areyoudoing toprotect satellite broadcasting?
Reply
Satellite broadcasting reception iscurrently illegal inSaudi Arabia. There were issues of
protecting religious andsocial values ofthepopulation. Infacttheissues were those provided for
inGATT Article XX(a) withrespect totrade ingoods. Satellite signals were being received inthe
Kingdom fromanumber sources. Enforcing theprotection ofcopyright wasamatter forgovernments
inStates ofsignal emission rather thaninSaudi Arabia.WT/ACC/SAU/10
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TheGovernment wasreviewing itsoptions fordealing withthisphenomenon including the
opening ofacable system. Although, asanewtechnology itisnotexplicitly covered intheLaw,
itisimplicitly possible thatcomplaints would beexamined.
Q4.Doyouprotect unregistered “well-known ”marks?
Reply
Yes. Please seereply 8indocument WT/ACC/SAU/6/Add.3.
Q5.What areyour plans tobring yourregime intocompliance withyour obligations under
theUniversal Copyright Convention toreflect amendments totheConvention?
Reply
Saudi Arabia ’slawisbrought intolinewithanyamendments tointernational agreements to
which Saudi Arabia isaparty. Responsible Ministries willtakethenecessary actions inorder tofulfil
theinternational commitments.
Q6.With reference totheongoing review ofexisting legislation, when canwehave detailed
information andwhat isyour schedule forcompleting thereview?
Reply
Thereview ofexisting legislation isunder wayinaCommittee ofExperts whowillestablish
induecourse whether legislative changes arerequired. Legislative changes would require consideration
byboththeCouncil ofMinisters andtheConsultative Council. Ifapproved bytheCouncil ofMinisters,
thelawwould beratified byaRoyal Decree.
Q7.When willSaudi Arabia adhere totheBerne, Rome, Paris andMadrid Conventions?
Reply
Itistheunderstanding ofSaudi Arabia thatSaudi Arabia willhavetheobligation toadhere
toTRIPS standards withrespect toprotection levels andenforcement butthatadherence tointernational
Intellectual Property Conventions isnotacondition ofWTO accession.
Q8.Regarding copyright andrelated rights, doyouaccord national treatment toforeign rights
holders? Canyouconfirm thatthere isnoexception inthecopyright protection forforeigners?
Reply
Tobothquestions, theanswer isyes.
Q9.Regarding Trademarks could youexplain howtheIslamic Sharia rulesimpact inthisarea?
Reply
Forreasons ofmorality andpublic order, certain Islamic signs arebanned from usein
commercial trademarks andarenoteligible forprotection under theLaw. TRIPS exceptions relating
tomorality andordre publique areinlinewithGATT Article XX(a) which provides analogous
“safeguards ”withrespect totrade ingoods.WT/ACC/SAU/10
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Allourlawshavetocomply withthesupreme lawoftheSharia. Itisrelevant tonotethat
theSharia doesnotaddress theissue oftrade marks assuch.
Q10.How doyoudefine “wellknown ”inthecontext ofTrademarks?
Reply
Saudi Arabia willconsider amark “wellknown ”ifitisconsidered assuchinitscountry of
origin.
Q11.Regarding Geographical Indications, doesyour lawprotect against unfair competition
asprovided intheParis Convention?
Reply
Yes. Please seereply 9indocument WT/ACC/SAU/6/Add.3.
Q12.When willtrading partners seedetails ofelements ofyour proposed Industrial Design
Law andyour legislation inrelation to“undisclosed information ”what isyour schedule for
introduction fortherules?
Reply
Theproposed lawhasbeenformulated. Efforts havebeenmade toensure itconformity with
international norms. WTO accession willrequire some minor changes.
Q13.Regarding patents, would welcome more information ofconditions forrefusing patents
andwhat istheregime inplace forprotecting plant varieties? What areexceptions? Isthere
judicial review ofrefusals togrant patents?
Reply
Theinvention isrejected ifitdoesnotmeettheconditions stated inArticles 4,8and9ofthe
Patents Law.
Regarding plant varieties, please refertoreply 16indocument WT/ACC/ SAU/6/Add.3.
Yes,there isajudicial review ofreject togrant patents asstated inArticle 49and55ofthe
Patents Law.
Q14.Regarding Enforcement, wewould welcome clarification ofadministrative andlegal
remedies?
Reply
Saudi Arabia hasalready supplied veryfullinformation regarding enforcement. Particular
attention isdrawn toSection 4ofWT/ACC/SAU/5.WT/ACC/SAU/10
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TRIMs
Q15.Reference topara. 22ofdocument WT/ACC/SAU/4, please supply information onfurther
elements onprivatization particularly relating totheparticipation offoreign investors inthis
process?
Reply
Please seereplies 5to11ofdocument WT/ACC/SAU/8.
Q16.Inwhat bases import substitution industries arechosen according tothe6thDevelopment
Plan?
Reply
Planning inSaudi Arabia isindicative whereby thePlansetsonlytheaims. Inorder toincrease
thecontribution oftheindustrial sector totheGDP, the6thDevelopment Plancallsformeeting the
localdemandforconsumerandcapitalgoodsthroughdevelopingeconomicallyfeasibleimportsubstitution
industries. Please refertopage226ofsixth Development PlanDocument.
Q17.During discussions ornegotiations ofpre-orpost-establishment investment projects, are
foreign investors informed ofconditions under which theymight beeligible toreceive grants,
subsides, taxreductions, licences, access toinfrastructure facilities orother regularly benefits?
Under whatcircumstances aredecreased duties andtaxes granted onimports ofgoods andservices?
Reply
Yes,foreign direct investment projects areinformed ofconditions under which theyareeligible
toreceive investment incentives.
Tariff duties suspensions aregranted toallenterprises whether theyareforeign ornational.
Jointventure projects areeligible forincome taxexemption provided thattheSaudi share in
theequity is25percentormore.
Q18.WT/ACC/SAU/5 states thatwork isconsidered aSaudi citizen ’sright andthatthere are
certain requirements inregard tothenumber ofSaudi employees engaged inthetotalworkforce.
What other types ofconditions must investors accept inexchange forobtaining alicence orfor
receiving investment incentives? Areinvestors required toutilize acertain amount orportion
oflocal inputs, forexample? Dolimits existontheamount/value ofinputs thatcanbeusedin
theproduction process? Must investors commit toacertain levelofexports, forinstance?
Reply
Investors arenotrequired touseacertain amount orportion oflocalinputs noristherealimit
ontheamount orvalue ofinputs thatcanbeusedintheproduction process investors arealsonotrequired
tocommit toacertain levelofexports.
Q19.IsSaudi Arabia willing tomake acommitment tonotify andtoeliminate anymeasures
thatwould contravene theprovisions oftheTRIMs Agreement?WT/ACC/SAU/10
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Reply
Yes,Saudi Arabia would commit nottouseTRIMs thatareinconsistent withtheprovisions
ofTRIMs Agreement. Infact,Saudi Arabia doesnotuseanyprohibited TRIMs. Wewould beprepared
tomake anotification tothateffect.
Q20.What measures hasSaudi Arabia willSaudi Arabia taketoensure thatsubnational
authorities areaware oftheTRIMs provisions; arewilling/able toidentify inconsistent measures;
andwould notify andeliminate inconsistent measures? WillSaudi Arabia beabletoidentify
publications thatcitesubfederal TRIMs?
Reply
There arenosub-federal TRIMs. Infact,Saudi Arabia isaunitary formofgovernment. There
arenosub-federal governments.
TheMinistry ofIndustry andElectricity willissue ministerial decisions/guidelines toensure
thatallauthorities areaware oftheobligations under theTRIMs Agreement. There arenoinconsistent
measures. Ifanymeasures arefound tobeinconsistent these would beeither brought intoconformity
orwould beeliminated.
Q21.There isaSaudi sponsorship system which results inimpairment offreeflowoftrade.
What areSaudi Arabia ’splans toterminate ormodify thissystem?
Reply
TheKingdomofSaudiArabiahasaveryliberalpolicyregardingforeignworkers,andmovement
ofnatural persons whocome toSaudi Arabia forbusiness purposes. Thenumber offoreign workers
andprofessionals inSaudi Arabia ismore thanfourmillion, drawn from many countries. Theratio
offoreign workers tothepopulation ofSaudi Arabia isoneofthehighest intheworld. There are
norestrictions ontherepatriation oftheearnings offoreign workers. Unlike some other countries,
therearenorestrictions orrequirements thatforeign workers mustspend partoftheirearnings inSaudi
Arabia.
Thesystem ofsponsorship asacondition forvisas hasbeenconsidered necessary because of
thepeculiar position ofSaudi Arabia, where twooftheholiest places ofIslam aresituated. Muslims
fromallovertheworld come toSaudi Arabia inmillions every yeartoperform Hajj(pilgrimage) or
Umra. Experience hasshown thatsome ofthem tendtostaybackinSaudi Arabia, illegally, either
forwork orforbusiness. Inorder toinsure thatonlygenuine foreign workers, whohavejobcontracts,
andgenuine business people visitSaudi Arabia, andnotpersons whohavenobonafidereason, itwas
considered necessary tohavethesystem ofsponsorship. Itinfactfacilitates thevisitofworkers and
businessmen rather thanactsasahindrance.
Foreign workers andprofessionals coming toworkinSaudi Arabia havenodifficulty ingetting
visas iftheyhavejobcontracts andtherequest forvisaissponsored bythefuture employer.
Similarly, business visitors coming toSaudi Arabia havenodifficulty ingetting visas ifthe
request issponsored bytheSaudi-based company, whether Saudi orforeign, withwhom thebusiness
visitor istodobusiness, tonegotiate acontract, ortoexplore orenter intoajointventure. Those
business visitors whoarecoming toSaudi Arabia forthefirsttimeandhavenoprevious localcontacts,
areconsidered tobesponsored bytheChamber ofCommerce andIndustry oftheSaudi cityorcities
tobevisited, astheChamber islikely tobetheirfirstpoint ofbusiness contact.WT/ACC/SAU/10
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Having saidthat,itmaybestated thatintheviewofSaudi Arabia, theexisting practice does
notviolate anyoftheGATT/WTO rules.