The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) accepted the first sound trademark application in Saudi Arabia, with the sound represented on the application by a musical notation. The application was examined as to form only, and was subsequently registered.
By way of background, according to Article 2 of the Gulf Cooperation Council Trademark Law, the definition of a trademark includes color marks, sound marks, and smell marks. However, there are no precedents in Saudi Arabia on how prior cases regarding infringement of unconventional sound trademarks have been decided. Generally speaking, the existence of such precedents gives an indication of how the local Saudi judicial interpretation of the Law would be in cases involving identical circumstances.
This means that the question of enforceability of sound trademarks is a matter solely determined by the articles on trademark infringement as referred to under the GCC Trademark Law.
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