RIYADH — The new Saudi Trade Name Law prohibits religious, military and political trade names. The Council of Ministers adopted the Commercial Registration Law and the Trade Name Law during its weekly session held on Sept. 17. The salient features of the law are made known after their publication in the official Umm Al-Qura newspaper.

There is a provision in the law to impose fines amounting to a maximum of SR50000 on anyone who violates the law by using a reserved or restricted trade name in violation of the provisions of the law. The law obliges every merchant to adopt a trade name and register it in the commercial register. The law stipulates imposing a fine of SR50000 on every merchant who does not adopt a trade name.

The law, which consists of 23 articles, stipulates that it is prohibited the use of a trade name that contains a political, military or religious meaning, connotation or content. It is not allowed to use a trade name that resembles a name, honorary badge or specific symbol of any local, regional or international organization or one of its institutions.

It is also prohibited to reserve or register a trade name that violates public order or public morals or that leads to misleading. The law stipulates that it is not permissible for the reservation or registration of a trade name if it resembles a world-famous trade name or trademark, or resembles a registered or famous trademark in the Kingdom, unless the trademark is owned by the applicant.

The Law of Trade Names aims to organize the procedures for reserving and registering names in the commercial registration, maximizing their value, and ensuring their protection and the rights related to them. The law allowed the reservation of the trade name before its registration for a specific period that can be extended, specifying the conditions that must be met in the trade names to be registered or reserved. The law also expanded its scope by allowing naming with Arabic, non-Arabic, or Arabized words, or consisting of letters or numbers.

In an effort to enrich Arabic content, the law created the Arabic Language Experts Platform, which aims to increase the linguistic stock of Arabic names in the commercial environment. The new Commercial Registration Law has allowed the merchant to register multiple activities in the commercial register without requiring homogeneity between them. There is a provision in the law to impose a fine of up to SR50000 on those who provide incorrect data upon registration.

According to the directives, the Saudi Center for Economic Business was granted the authority to consider the appropriateness of establishing a comprehensive and unified economic platform that suits all business sectors in the Kingdom and to submit what is necessary. This is in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Investment, and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property

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