Riyadh-Amlak
A recent study recommended the need to establish a specialized entity to regulate, classify and protect trademarks in the Kingdom.
The study, prepared by a specialized commercial committee, stressed the feasibility of establishing a specialized entity to develop trademarks and the influential role of these marks at the level of companies, consumers and the economy as a whole, considering the trademark as a means of guarantee for the product and the consumer through its role in preventing the mixing of products bearing a certain mark with similar products bearing another mark.

The study concluded with a number of findings on the status of trademarks in the Kingdom. The study concluded with a number of findings on the status of trademarks in the Kingdom, the most important of which is that the trademark system suffers from a number of diverse issues, such as weak institutional structure and human resources, lack of enforcement of laws and delayed legal procedures due to the lack of specialized courts and judges, and weak awareness of the importance of trademarks and their value and circulation among companies.

Weakness of trademarks
The study indicated that trademarks also suffer from the weakness of the Kingdom's presence in international agreements and treaties compared to other countries, although the registration procedures and conditions of trademarks in the Kingdom are consistent with what is stipulated in international agreements.
The study aimed to analyze the current situation of Saudi trademarks compared to others, to identify the best international practices in the matter of trademark development, to investigate the feasibility of establishing a new entity specialized in developing these trademarks, and to seek to determine the form, nature, objectives and mechanisms of its work, as the importance of the study stems from the fact that the trademark has become of international interest as it is considered as part of the components of intellectual property and the private sector in the Kingdom is developing and increasing its contributions to GDP, but the culture of trademark ownership by enterprises or consumer reliance on it in making spending and consumption decisions is not widespread in the Kingdom's private sector in a number of statistical figures. Within a number of statistical figures related to trademarks locally and abroad, the study showed that the registration of trademarks in the Kingdom has become of interest to the companies that own them, as 88% of the total of these companies and institutions in various economic sectors that have trademarks have registered their trademarks in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry registry, recognizing the importance of the registration process and preserving rights.
Trademarks globally
The study indicated that high-income developed countries obtained the largest share in terms of trademark registrations in 2012, representing 48%, then middle-income countries, and explained that this reflects the importance of encouraging the spread of registration and protection of trademarks around the world, which helps raise the degree of competitiveness of these countries where the mark is not seen as a legal tool that indicates the name of the commodity only, but is an effective financial asset that creates a competitive advantage for companies.
Valuing their brands
The study showed a weakness in brand valuation, indicating that 82 % of companies and institutions have not evaluated or valued their brands, and only 18 % of those companies and institutions have done this evaluation by self-management efforts due to the lack of specialized evaluation bodies in the Kingdom and the lack of previous local experiences, While 72 % of companies - according to the study - believed that brand recognition does not play any role in dealing with banks or other financing institutions in the public or private sector, in contrast, 321 TP3T of companies reported that there is a role played by brand recognition in dealing with these banks to make the relationship between the two parties positive.
Brand Infringement
The study found that 82 % of the companies - the study sample - that the current control systems in place in the Kingdom are insufficient to prevent trademark infringement from third parties and the measures that must be taken to protect trademarks are ranked in order of importance from the point of view of companies as follows: Preventing imitation, stopping infringement, right to compensation when infringing, seizure.
The study sample also indicated that one of the obstacles that accompany the process of registering trademarks is the complexity and multiplicity of registration steps with the Trademark Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the absence of a specialized entity for trademarks that provides facilities for companies regarding the trademark registration process.