Intellectual Property Rights

Biography

Based on the vision of the institute, and its keenness on becoming a model that provides training and e-learning services - in accordance with the values ​​of professionalism and quality assurance to achieve the highest levels of excellence - the corporation emphasizes on supporting creativity and innovation. This is accomplished by developing a comprehensive strategy, in which priority is given to the essential areas of training, and encouraging a culture of creativity and excellence. Our ambition is to encourage distinguished trainees from the institute by motivating them to input a continuous effort.

Believing in the need to contribute to activate and enhance the protection of intellectual property rights; this developed private policy dealing with intellectual property should not be construed as limiting the ability of the institute to fulfill all of its obligations under any contract or partnership agreement with a third party of any kind, in the absence of a clear provision for this. This policy is developed so that it does not conflict with the intellectual property laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On the contrary, it is consistent with international conventions and laws, and is completely subjected to them and thus must be interpreted accordingly.

Introduction

The Intellectual Property Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Policy) preserves the intellectual property rights of the institute, its employees, and all other parties in an effort by the institute to support and enable innovation and creativity.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the Copyright Protection Law issued by Royal Decree No. M/41 dated 2/7/1424 AH, and the legislation and laws in force in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that govern intellectual property, this policy complements it and by no means does it replace it.

Where the organization’s intellectual property policy aims to take all measures to protect intellectual property rights that are in the institute -in addition to supporting innovation, and respecting the intellectual property rights of other entities- it must take into account that this policy does not conflict with the laws and regulations within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, or policies and treaties to which the Kingdom is a party of.

Beneficiaries of Intellectual Property Management

The employees of the institute benefit from the intellectual property management services regardless whether they are members of the training staff in the institute or collaborators, or whether they are trainees in all stages. This is feasible:

1. If they achieve intellectual performance while exercising their training or job duties during a period of time or
2. If they are granted technical, or financial support by the institute or
3. If they are supported indirectly through grant programs and funding for research and studies, or cooperation and partnership agreements that the institute concludes with others or
4. If they are supported as a result of using the means, materials and devices provided by the institute to them, or its tools, or its coefficients.

This policy allows non-Saudi and non-Saudi innovators, who are not affiliated with the institute, to benefit from the institute's services, in accordance with the rules and principles followed by the institute with regard to intellectual property rights.

Policy Principles

This policy does not conflict with the laws and regulations applied in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It should not conflict with international treaties and agreements of which the Kingdom is a member. It shall observe and respect the intellectual property rights of other entities and seek to take the necessary measures to protect the intellectual property rights that have been reached, as well as to support innovation and enable the utilization of innovations.

• ألا تتعارض هذه السياسة مع الأنظمة واللوائح المطبقة في المملكة العربية السعودية.
• ألا تتعارض هذه السياسة مع المعاهدات والاتفاقيات الدولية التي تكون المملكة عضواً فيها.
• مراعاة واحترام حقوق الملكية الفكرية الخاصة بالكيانات الأخرى.
• السعي إلى اتخاذ الإجراءات اللازمة لحماية حقوق الملكية الفكرية التي تم التوصل إليها.
• السعي إلى دعم الإبتكار والتمكين من إستغلال الإبتكارات.

Definitions

The following terms and expressions, wherever they appear in this policy, shall have the meanings indicated next to them, unless the context requires otherwise:

Intellectual property: They are the outputs of the creativity of the human mind, that include, but are not limited to: inventions, copyrights, trademarks, copyrights, graphics, designs, models, specifications, concepts, processes, technologies, databases, trade names, and others.

Commercial exploitation: It is the benefit from the Kingdom's exclusive rights to intangible assets in trade, industry and services, directly or indirectly, including but not limited to: patents, industrial designs, etc.

Politics: They are the organizing principles, procedures, and instructions adopted by the entity in dealing with intellectual property.

Intellectual property management: A set of administrative procedures and steps that are carried out by the institute to manage and regulate intellectual property.

Patent: A document granted to a person who invents an invention for a specified period.

Classifier: It means any literary, scientific or artistic work.

Author: The person who created the work.

Copyright: A group of moral and material rights that provide proof of its owner.

Trade mark: Everything that takes a distinctive form, including names, words, signatures, letters, symbols, numbers, addresses, seals, drawings, pictures, inscriptions, packaging, graphic elements, shapes, colors, combinations of colors or a combination thereof, or any sign or group of signs- if It was used or intended to be used to: distinguish the goods or services of a facility from the goods or services of other facilities, to indicate the performance of a service, to conduct monitoring or examination of goods or services. The mark for sound or smell may be considered a trademark.

Industrial Models: A combination of two-dimensional lines or colors, or a three-dimensional shape that gives any industrial product or product of traditional crafts a special appearance, provided that it is not merely for a functional or technical purpose and is included in textile designs..

Confidential processes: Any information that is characterized by the following:

1. If it is not usually known in its final form, or in any of its subtle components and
2. It is difficult to obtain among those who deal with this type of information usually
3. If it is of real or potential commercial value due to its confidentiality
4. If the right holder has subjected it to reasonable measures, commensurate with its nature and the surrounding circumstances, to maintain its confidentiality.

Non-exclusive license: A license that gives the licensee the right to utilize intellectual property rights but does not prevent the licensor from giving the same rights to others.

Exclusive license: A license that gives the licensee the right to utilize intellectual property rights and prevents the licensor from giving the same rights to others according to certain conditions between the two parties.

Compulsory fees: Payments received for the use of, or the right to use, intellectual rights, including, but not limited to, copyrights, patents, designs, industrial secrets, trademarks and trade names, know-how, trade secrets, business, goodwill, and payments received for information relating to industrial expertise, commercial, or scientific, or in exchange for authorizing the right to utilize natural and mineral resources.

Office for Intellectual Property Management: It is the entity that is created within the framework of this policy to oversee all aspects of intellectual property proposed by this policy.

Objectives and Scope of the Intellectual Property Policy

Policy goals

1. Support and enable innovation, creativity and the economy based on intellectual property
2. Awareness of national legislation and regulations related to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
3. Protect the intellectual property rights of the entity, its employees and customers.
4. Avoid inadvertent infringements of the intellectual property rights of others.

Policy scope

This policy covers all areas of intellectual property, including but not limited to: Patents, copyright and related rights, trademarks, undisclosed commercial information, and any other related subjects that may fall within the subject matter of intellectual property

• Protection of electronic publishing, digital content, and scientific resources published in the training and e-learning environment and related titles.
• All parties governed by the policy, such as its employees, consultants, contractors, and any related party specified by the entity.
• The institute, represented in one of its branches, may involve the members of the training staff or employees in preparing training bags or writing digital training content, publications or related works as part of their professional duties. The innovator's workload will be re-evaluated to ensure that they have time for such tasks, and to reward them for their efforts.
• The institute owns all such materials and works and may provide licenses and related assignments upon request, unless otherwise agreed by the Standing Committee on Intellectual Property in advance.

Intellectual Property Policy

Disclosure Policy

The institute prepares the necessary forms for disclosure, whether electronic or paper, and explains them clearly to the disclosure so that he/she can fill them out.

• Employees are obligated to fully disclose, within the period specified by the institute, the intellectual property generated in accordance with this policy of the institute or its representative, in a clear and explicit manner that makes it understandable to the disclosed party
• The institute shall maintain and document all disclosed information, classify it according to its field, and maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed.
• The institute works to maintain the confidentiality of information to the extent necessary for a smooth and efficient conduct of business.
• Confidential information is disclosed to third parties only under a non-disclosure agreement which is signed by the relevant parties, and all employees of the institute must comply fully when dealing with confidential information.
• The information received by the institute from a third party under the confidentiality agreement may not be disclosed except to persons who need to know this information within the institute and with the knowledge of the management.

Evaluation of the Disclosed Intellectual Property

• The institute is committed to evaluating the disclosed intellectual property in a recognized and professional manner within a period specified by the institute.
• The institute is obligated to notify the disclosure of the evaluation result and the action taken in this regard.
• If the two parties agree on the outcome of the evaluation, the institute will complete the necessary procedures in accordance with this policy.

Intellectual Property Rights Ownership Policy

I. Patents

The institute has the right to take what it deems appropriate from the following options in accordance with its strategic objectives:

1. The ownership of the protection document shall be joint between the two parties.
2. The entity shall have the findings of one of its employees regarding the worker’s eligibility to obtain an appropriate compensation, based on paragraph (b) of Article VI of the patent system, layout designs for integrated roundabouts, plant varieties, and industrial models.
3. The worker owns the intellectual property protection document, with the right of the entity he works for to obtain a license, in exchange for a waiver by the worker.

II. Brands

The trademark that was produced within the entity, or any trademark related to the products or services provided by the entity, is considered its exclusive property.

III. Copyrights

Ownership of literary and scientific works shall be for the person who authored them if this was not from his core work or from using the resources of the entity in which he works.

The ownership of literary and scientific works shall be for the entity if it is from the core work of the person who authored it, or if it was reached using the resources of the entity.

The entity may waive any literary or scientific work.

Moral rights are an inherent right of the person who authored the literary or scientific work and cannot be waived in any way.

General Policy for Intellectual Property Registration

I. Patents

• A- The institute seeks to evaluate the idea and knows its ability to be a patent.
• B - The institute seeks to register patents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia first to take advantage of the right of priority.
• C- The institute shall pay the registration fees for patent applications that it owns, and if another party is the right owner of the patent, then they shall pay the prescribed fees.

Entity authorized to register patents and grant protection document:

The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property is the Official Government Agency authorized to receive and register all applications for protection of intellectual property in the relevant national systems.

The GCC Patent Office is the authority authorized to receive and register patent applications in accordance with the Patent System of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (regional system).

II. Brands

The institute seeks to register its trademarks associated with its products and services, according to the places of utilization of those products and services, and it must ensure that there is no other trademark similar to it in the country in which it is to be utilized. The institute will follow up on the payment of registration fees and other procedures associated with the registration process.

III. Copyrights

No copyright registration is required in any country that is a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the date of publication of the work is the date the protection of literary works began.

The Foundation seeks to register copyrights within the country, whenever possible, in order to document publication in accordance with the regulations that allow this. All published works owned by the institute must have a copyright notice placed and included in accordance with the copyright law of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The material owned by the institute must include the notice: Institute name © (publication year). No other name or affiliate of another institute may be included in the copyright notice.

Computer programs and architectural designs may be registered with the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property. This registration is optional.

Dispute Resolution Policy

In the event of any dispute between the owner of the intellectual property right and the institute regarding theft, academic dishonesty or identity theft in accordance with the provisions of this policy, such disputes shall be resolved as follows:

• Cordially between the two parties
• In the event that the parties do not reach an agreement between them, either of the parties may resort to mediation
• Referral to the judicial authorities in the Kingdom.

General Policy for Litigation of Intellectual Property Subjects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

All intellectual property systems in the Kingdom include articles on litigation procedures, enforcement of rights, and objections to the decisions of the donors of protection documents. Cases of infringement are defined as any act of exploitation provided by law by the infringer without the written consent of the right owner.

The general judiciary within the commercial departments is competent to consider civil and criminal cases arising from violations of the provisions of the copyright protection system, the system of patents, plant varieties, industrial designs and layout designs for integrated circuits, and the Gulf trademark system.

The committees for the resolution of intellectual property disputes are also specialized in considering grievances and appeals, against the decisions of the competent authorities to reject the application for granting, or registering protection documents.

The regulations guarantee the right to appeal against the decisions of these committees before the administrative court in the Board of Grievances, as well as in the cases of requesting the cancellation of trademarks.

General Policy for Marketing and Utilization of Intellectual Property

The institute seeks to utilize the intangible intellectual property assets that it owns either alone or in partnership with another party. The institute may utilize the intellectual property itself or through an institute specialized in this field. The Intellectual Property Management Office is responsible for following up the work related to the utilization and commercialization of intellectual property on behalf of the institute.

The institute may carry out a marketing process for intellectual property according to the following methods:

• Licensing to another party to utilize the intellectual property, where the license can be in the form of an exclusive license or a non-exclusive license according to terms agreed upon by both parties.
• In case of granting the exclusive license, the institute seeks to retain the rights of use, conduct further research and development, and utilize the intellectual property for non-commercial use.