WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/SAU/O/2 
17 November 2006 
 (06-5573) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER 
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
SAUDI ARABIA 
  The present document reproduces the text
1 of The Executive Regulation of Competition Law, 
which Saudi Arabia has notified under Article 63. 2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/SAU/1). 
 
 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce  
 
 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA 
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
ARABIE SAOUDITE 
  Le présent document contient le texte
1 du Règlement d'application de la Loi sur la 
concurrence, notifié par l'Arabie saoudite au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document 
IP/N/1/SAU/1). 
 
 Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio  
  
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA PROPIEDAD 
INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD DEL PÁRRAFO 2 
DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
ARABIA SAUDITA 
  En el presente documento se reproduce el texto
1 del Reglamento de aplicación de la Ley de 
Competencia, que Arabia Saudita ha notificado en  virtud del párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo 
(véase el documento IP/N/1/SAU/1). 
                                                      
1 In English only. The text in the original language is available for consultation by interested 
Delegations at the WTO Secretariat./En anglais seulemen t.  Les délégations intéressées peuvent consulter le 
texte dans sa langue d'origine, au Secrétariat de l'OM C./En inglés solamente.  Las delegaciones interesadas 
podrán consultar en la Secretaría de la OMC el texto en su idioma original. 
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The Executive Regulation of Competition Law 
  IP/N/1/SAU/O/2 
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  Chapter I:  Definitions 
 
Article 1: 
The following terms wherever met in the re gulation Law herein shall have the meanings 
indicated opposite thereto unless the context requires otherwise: 
 • The Institution:   The factory, the establishment or the company owned by a person or 
persons of natural and legal individuals, all the compounds practicing commercial or 
agricultural or industrial or any servic e or selling and buying goods or services. 
 
• Market:   A place or a method where a group of current or expected investors and 
sellers during a definite period of time. 
 
• Governance:   is a position where an institution or a group of institutions hold a ratio of 
about 35% and more of the market's volume and are able to impact in the prevailed 
price through controlling in a specific ratio of the wholly offer of a piece of goods or a 
definite service of the industry wher e it practices its activity in.   
 • Mergering:   To merge an institution into another or more, or to emerge two 
institutions or more into a new one. 
 • The Council:  The Council of Competition Protection. 
 
• The Ministry:   The Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
 
• The Minister:   The Minister of Commerce and Industry. 
 • Rules:   The Executive Rules of this Law. 
 
Chapter II:  The Goals of the Law and its Applicable Field 
 
Article 2: 
The Law aims at the following: 
 
1- Controlling the provisions regarding the prices freedom. IP/N/1/SAU/O/2 
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2- Defining the rules regulating the freedom of competition and defining the obligations 
of producers, traders, people giving serv ice and other brokers aiming at avoiding 
every action violating the competition rules. 
 3- Securing transparency of prices. 
 
4- Overcoming the monopoly practices or practices aiming at affecting the legal 
competition. 
 
5- Prohibiting irregular excesses of prices and controlling the economic concentration. 
 
Article 3: 
A- The Law shall be applicable on the following: 
 
1- All the commercial and industrial institutions working in the market. 
 2- All the institutions marketing its produc ts or submitting its services inside the 
Kingdom even if they have not any presence in the Kingdom. 
 B- To be excluded of the provisions of this law: 
 
1- All the companies, establishments and organizations fully owned by the 
government. 
 
2- All the companies, establishments and  organizations having a governmental 
concession. 
 
Chapter III:  Conditions and Terms of the Competition 
 
Article 4: 
1- The seller shall treat all the customers in a fair manner which does not lead to 
discrimination in services and facilities. 
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  2- The actions of illegal competition shall not be contrary to honest customs in the 
industrial and commercial matters. 
 
Chapter IV:  Violations Against Competition 
 
Article 5: 
The following is deemed violating practices to the Law:- 
 1- Agreements among competitors to decide prices whether the prices are defined on 
basis of minimum or maximu m price or an appointed range of prices for goods and 
services. 
 
2- Agreement among competitors to distribute  markets or customers whether definition 
is on basis of naming a certain establishmen t among a group of commercial activity for 
the producers or distribution of sale on ba sis of geographical boundaries or deciding 
customers for each seller. 
 3- Conspiring in tenders where two companies or more agree together on not to compete 
against each other in goods and services or agree to give a chance for a certain 
company to submit with lower prices. 
 
4- Agreement between two competitors or mo re to exclude treatment with a certain 
company. 
 
5- The company makes to sell a certain product on condition that the buyer buys another 
product or buying a certain quantity or bu ying spare parts or any certain selling. 
 
6- The contract that prevents the distributo r from marketing similar goods produced by 
competitors of the manufacturing agency. 
 
7- Imposing different prices on the same go ods in different markets to get the maximum 
price in the reach of different categories of consumers. 
 
8- The importer tends to sell at low price le ss than cost price in order to discharge his 
competitors from the circle of commercial acti vity, and the importer tends – if he has a IP/N/1/SAU/O/2 
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  governance stand to import intermediary in puts at expensive prices to achieve the 
same goal. 
 
9- The factory or the distributor agency tend s to enforce the buyer maintain the reselling 
price. 
 
10- The persons having a control situation in the market are prohibited from misusing 
such situation in doing useless practices against competition especially as follows: 
 
a- Imposing an imaginary price of the pr oduct as a result to impede or – to 
minimize – or to refuse dealing with it  whether in selling or buying or in any 
form else. 
 
b- Enacting an imaginary short or plenty of the products as a result of playing 
within the available quantities. 
 
c-  Minimizing the freedom of any person from accessing or existing the market at 
any time whether by refusing holding tr ansactions of selling or buying a certain 
product with him without justification – or selling the concerned products at 
lower price less that their actual cost price – or to stop treatment with him 
completely. 
 
d- Wasting chance equity among competitors by giving conditions of selling and 
buying to the some differ from the ot hers without giving justification. 
 
11- All the activities that of its nature in any  way creating doubt with an institution of one 
of the competitors or his products or his industrial or commercial activity. 
 
12- Claims contrary to reality in practicing trade of its nature eliminating trust from the 
institution of one of competitors or his products or his industrial or commercial 
activity. 
 13- Data and claims if used in trade leading to deceive the public regarding goods nature 
or their manufacturing method or their char acteristics or their use validity or their 
quantity.  IP/N/1/SAU/O/2 
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14- The institution concerned with the complain t shall not be permitted to hide any data 
because of undisclosure or any reason when ever requested to do so by the judicial 
seizure officers and the judicial seizure offi cers and others who obtain such data shall 
have to maintain the undisclosure of data  and protect them from illegal commercial 
usage. 
 
Article 6:  
The provisions of the previous article ar e not drawn on agreements held between 
individuals and competitive institutions that informed (Competition Council) with, and the 
Council detects after revision and study that the basic aim is the contribution in enhancing 
production of goods or services or their di stribution or encouraging technological or 
economical progress such as:  
 a- If the agreement shall lead to lessening pr oduction cost or distribution or if a big 
portion of such depreciation is translated to consumers in a shape of depreciating 
prices. 
 
b- If the agreement shall lead to producing go ods or services of more quality and doesn't 
lead to impede the possibilities of compet ition with others without legal reason. 
 
Chapter V:  Emerger Provisions 
Article 7: 
The institution, desiring merger or acquisitio n or joining two managements or more into one 
mutual management aiming at go vernance of 50% of the total volume of the market, shall 
have submit an application to the Council including the following:  
1- Name of institution, address and nationality. 
 2- A statement shows the size of its products and sales and deciding his ratio of the local 
market. 
 3- Paying (SR. 1000) one thousand Saudi Riyals to inspect the application. 
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  4- If the applicant is submitted from an agent,  then he shall state his name, his title and 
his address and enclose a photocopy of his po wer of attorney and to bring the original 
to verification. 
 
5- Signature and seal of the applicant or his agent.  
6- Submitting the application before (60) sixty days since emerger date. 
 
Chapter VI:  Competition Council 
 
Article 8: 
The seat of the Council shall be in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
 
Article 9: 
The Council consists of the Chairman and eight members as follows: 
 
1- The Minister of Commerce and Industry   Chairman 2- A representative from the Ministry of Commerce   Member 
 a n d  I n d u s t r y          
3- A representative from th e Finance Ministry   Member 
4- A representative from the Ministry of Economy  Member 
 and Planning 
5- A representative from the Saudi Arabian General  Member  Investment Authority  
6- Four members having experience nomi nated by the Ministry of Commerce and 
Industry 
 
Article 10: 
The Council held its meetings cyclical once  every three months at least or whenever 
necessary. 
 
Article 11: 
1- The Council shall have a General Secretar iat chaired by General Secretary appointed 
by the Minister of Commerce and Industry  with a degree not less than fifteen who 
undertakes preparing the Council agenda and notifying the Council's members with  IP/N/1/SAU/O/2 
 Page 9 
 
 
  the appointments of holding sessions and following up what the Council issues of 
resolutions without having the right of voting. 
 
2- The General Secretariat comprises economic  legal, technician, secretary experts to 
undertake the jobs granted to them. 
 
Article 12: 
The Chairman of the Council shall chair the session s and in case of his absence the Council is 
chaired by the Vice-Chairman appointed by him. 
 
Chapter VII:  Violations Seizure 
 
Article 13: 
The employees referred to in Article 11 of the La w jointly or severally shall have the right to 
seize what they see of violations to the prov isions of the Law and its executive regulation. 
 
Article 14: 
Any employee, referred to in the previous arti cle shall have the right to fulfill the jobs he 
undertakes, to do the following: 
 a- Entering the institutions suspected in its violation of such Law and reviewing all 
instruments. 
 b- Doing an urgent investigation with the vi olator if such thing is relevant after 
confronting the violator with the violatio n attributed to him and in all cases his 
comments written and signed by him and atta ching such thing with the seizure record 
after writing the violator's name, his addre ss, the address of the commercial institution 
and transferring all the papers to the comp etent committee formed under Article 15 of 
the Law. 
 
Article 15: 
The judicial investigation officers shall bear what approves his identity and show it when 
requested. 
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  Article 16: 
 
The violator shall adjust his positions and re move his violation immediately after informing 
him with such violation.  Notwithstanding, the removal of violation doesn't exempt him 
from the punishments consequent of such viol ation against him under the provisions of the 
Law. 
 
Chapter VIII:  Rules and Proce dures of Violations' Settlement 
 
Article 17: 
The Chair of the committee – appointed by the issu ed resolution to form it – shall supervise 
its activities, deciding appointments of sessi ons and distributing work between him and its 
members. 
 
Article 18: 
Those who are concerned shall be notified with  the time of decided session to view the 
violation before the mentioned appointment with  a week at minimum but on condition that 
the notification shall include the charge attribut ed to the violator and order him to attend to 
hear his statements and to submit what conc erns him of instruments.  Also, the committee 
shall have the right – when necessary – to su mmon the employee who seized the violation to 
explain any matter in regard to it. 
 
Article 19: 
A committee or committees shall be formed by a resolution of the Minister in places where 
such committees are necessary to be formed up on a recommendation of the Council.  Each 
committee is formed of five members, among them shall be a regular advisor at minimum 
and shall undertake reviewing and deciding violations need fine. 
 
Article 20: 
The committee shall be entitled to complete ne cessary investigations and inspections of the 
place of seizure and it entitled to do inspecti on with all its members or to represent one of 
them for such mission upon condition that a report – shall be submitted to the committee – 
of the result of inspection. 
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  Article 21: 
The committee shall decide in violations transferre d to it immediately.  Notwithstanding, if 
the matter necessitates to review the violation in  more than one session, it is better to notify 
the concerned absentees, of one of the session s, with the appointment of the following 
session.  
Article 22: 
The meeting of the committee shall be proper in case of the presence of all its members and 
its resolutions are issued by majority and  every member undertakes preparing the 
resolutions he is entrusted to. 
 
Article 23: 
The concerned bodies shall be notified with a co py of the resolution issued against them and 
must include a statement of their right to a ppeal against the committee's resolutions before 
the Board of Grievances within a period not mo re than sixty (60) days since the convict was 
notified with the resolution of penalty in accordance with Article 15 of the Law. 
 
Article 24: 
The issued resolution regarding the cause shall not be deemed final except after expiry of 
the period of grievance referred to in Article ( 15) of the Law without submitting it or after 
refusing it if submitted. 
 
Article 25: 
The notification of the concerned bodies with appointments of sessions, issued resolutions 
by the committee by handling it to them personally of them.  And if the concerned bodies 
reject receiving, such thing must be record ed and the notification is deemed proper. 
 
Article 26: 
The resolution shall be published in the official  Gazette and shall be become effective on the 
date of publication. 
 
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