Saudi Arabia

Already an important base for regional law firms, global firms are spending an increasing amount of time and money on Saudi Arabia. Although most still base their Middle East operations in the United Arab Emirates, more of their lawyers are spending an increasing amount of time in Saudi Arabia, with some being co-located between offices in Dubai and Riyadh. 

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Abdulaziz I. Alajlan & Partners is the Saudi office of global firm Baker McKenzie. The firm handles some IP-related matters from offices in Riyadh and Jeddah, including franchising and competition matters, other general commercial work and dispute resolution services, and has a full-service IP team in nearby Dubai.  

Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) is an important regional IP firm with its roots in Kuwait, and its current headquarters in Jordan. Ma’an Al-Khen heads AGIP’s Riyadh office, which handles a wide variety of IP matters. The firm has been involved in revising and drafting important IP laws and regulations in at least half a dozen Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates. The firm has offices spread across more than 30 predominantly Muslim jurisdictions, as well as in China, India and Russia, each of which have their own large Muslim populations. 

Al-Otaishan Intellectual Property & Technology (AIP&T) has successfully prosecuted more than 25,000 trademarks, 10,000 patents and 2,000 designs since its founding in 2008. The IP&T specialist is part of the Law Firm of Mohammad Saleh Alotaishan, and has two offices in Saudi Arabia and branches in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Sudan. The firm’s founder was involved in one of the region’s largest matters of complex IP litigation in Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., an ownership dispute over a petrochemical catalyst. The firm boasts large teams of lawyers, engineers and paralegals.  

Alshahrani Law Firm, which is DLA Piper’s member firm in the kingdom, is led by Mohammed Al Shahrani, who has significant experience assisting local and foreign companies with a range of commercial disputes, arbitration and ADR matters. Legal director Mohamed Moussallati is a key member of the firm’s IP team; he brings a variety of experience in general commercial and supply contracts, franchising, agency and distribution, IP rights licensing, assignment, brand strategy and trademark portfolio management. The firm has offices in Riyadh and Al Khobar.  

Al Tamimi & Company opened its first office in Saudi Arabia in 2008, in Riyadh. It added offices in Jeddah in 2015 and Al Khobar in 2016, and is licensed to practice in Saudi Arabia without a local association. Nick O’Connell is a TMT partner and also head of the firm’s Digital & Data practice in Saudi Arabia; he has recently advised a global social media platform in respect of regional content regulation and risks associated with the proposed roll-out of a curated content offering and an oil and gas sector technology provider in respect of a dispute involving rights in software code developed in the course of a project. 

Baker Botts opened its Riyadh office in 2021; it works in the Kingdom in association with the Law Office of Mohanned bin Saud Al-Rasheed. Mark Bisch, a partner who chairs the firm’s Middle East corporate practice, splits time between Riyadh and Dubai. He has been in the Middle East for a quarter century and is a key contact for IP matters and technology transactions; he regularly advises clients in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and elsewhere in the region. Brussels-based partner Paul Lugard, who chairs the firm’s antitrust, life sciences and healthcare practice, also does work in Riyadh. His areas of experience include distribution agreements in the energy sector and the application of antitrust laws to high technology sectors, including standardization, patent pools and licensing of standard essential patents.  

Clyde & Co. has a staff of 32 in offices in Riyadh and Jeddah, including eight partners, 25 lawyers and 32 legal professionals. The firm’s IP teams work together effectively globally, particularly on the commercialization of intellectual property through licensing and franchising, royalty agreements, white-labelling, and research and development. It also provides guidance on personality rights and on content creation, distribution and acquisition. In Doha, most IP work flows through the firm’s retail and consumer practice. The firm also has offices in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt, as well as more than 60 other offices in Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Americas and Africa. 

New York-based Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle established its Riyadh office in 2021 in association with Trafua Legal Consultants, an independent Saudi Arabian firm. The Curtis team in Riyadh focuses on corporate and commercial advisory work, M&A, project financing and finance transactions, foreign and international investments, international trade, international tax, public-private partnerships, and litigation and arbitration. 

CWB, formerly known as Cedar White Bradley, is an IP consultancy providing IP services in 22 different jurisdictions between the Middle East and North Africa, managing and protecting IP rights across industries including oil and gas, media, technology, transportation, entertainment, consumer electronics, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, confectionary, FMCG, property development, luxury fashion and cosmetics. The firm is headquartered in Dubai – and most of its heavy hitters are based there, including Cameron Crawford, who heads the firm’s technology, media and entertainment practice. He is a top lawyer who has advised clients across all areas of media and entertainment; he has extensive experience of working with clients in the global content production and distribution sectors and independent filmmakers and is credited for his work on several motion pictures including Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and Fast & Furious 7. Theuns van de Merwe, who heads the IP practice, is also based in Dubai, while Claudia Berndt, the firm’s head of MENA patents, is based in Pretoria, South Africa. 

Eversheds Sutherland provides local advice in Saudi Arabia through its association with Al Dhabaan & Partners. The firm opened its Riyadh office in 2001 and serves both local and international clients. Mohammed Aldhabaan, founder and chair of the firm’s Riyadh office, is a key contact for intellectual property and software protection matters; he is an experienced litigator before all levels of the commercial and administrative courts of Saudi Arabia and has represented clients before institutional, quasi-governmental and governmental bodies. 

Herbert Smith Freehills has received a foreign law firm license by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the first firms to receive such a license. The firm has a small TMT practice in Riyadh, as well as a fintech practice. Senior associate Saud Alqahtani is a key contact for fintech matters. 

Qatar-based JAH & Co. IP has more than 20 years of experience in the Middle East and Africa, including Saudi Arabia, advising clients of all sizes, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies on a plethora of IP matters. “Intellectual property is among the most important assets of every enterprise,” says firm CEO Jehad Ali Hasan. “With the globalization of the world economy and commerce, the Middle East and Arab world with its young population and resources contributes significantly towards it.”  

Kadasa Intellectual Property was founded in 1981 by Nassir Ali Kadasa, who has the distinction of being the first Saudi attorney to prosecute and win the first trademark and patent infringement lawsuit on behalf of a foreign entity against a national infringer in Saudi Arabia. He has played an important role in advising the Saudi government on multiple WTO issues. Mohammad Jomoa is the firm’s vice president of intellectual property; he specializes in patent matters and has acted as external counsel for many pharma companies, working on patent drafting, filings, data protection and patent linkage. Asif Iqbal, who was the firm’s head of IP-legal, left the firm in January 2024 to serve as director of intellectual property at Riyadh-based global media group SRMG. 

Almadani & Co., also known as The Law Firm of Hazim Al Madani is a full-service business law firm with offices in Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as branch offices in Jordan and Cairo. The firm handles trademark and copyright matters for clients including large and small corporations, firms, associations and individuals across a variety of sectors, including retail, health, hospitality, entertainment, software and IT, manufacturing and FMCG. 

The Law Firm of Salah Al-Hejailan (LFSH) works alongside global firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer with both local and international clientele on both intellectual property and information technology matters. LFSH, the first firm in Saudi Arabia to successfully enforce a foreign judgment in Saudi Courts, is led by founder Salah Al-Hejailan and two partners, Hussam Al Hejailan and Sultan Al Hejailan and supported by 10 further lawyers. In addition to a Freshfields/LFSH office in Riyadh, LFSH also has offices in Jeddah and Al Khobar. 

Meshal Al Akeel Law Firm is the Saudi Arabia partner of global firm Mayer Brown. Meshal Al Akeel is chairman of the associated firm. His practice concentrates primarily on all forms of disputes (litigation, arbitration and mediation) and Islamic law matters, actively representing banks, real estate developers, contractors, retailers, local agents, foreign principals and multinational companies operating in various industries in commercial disputes. 

Prima Law and Consultations Office was founded in 2003 by HH Prince Dr. Abdulrahman bin Saud Al-Kabier, an accomplished lawyer and scholar. The full-service firm handles franchise agreements, a wide range of services in connection with IP rights and ecommerce and information technology matters, including negotiating and drafting contracts in areas such as website development, ISP licences, software development agreements and website licenses, as well as providing advice on copyright and technology protection.  

Saba & Co. Intellectual Property, also known as Saba IP, operates in Saudi Arabia through its local alliance firm, Al Hadaf Marks Services. As one of the region’s largest IP-focussed practices, Saba IP handles the gamut of IP matters. Malik Al Kammaz leads the Riyadh office; he practices primarily in the areas of trademark counseling, prosecution, diligence, licensing, assignments and litigation, both domestic and foreign, and advises clients on IP matters and coordinates legal and administrative actions. The firm’s offices stretch from the Middle East to Central Asia and throughout much of Africa.  

Regional law firm Baianat Intellectual Property, formerly known as SMAS-IP, has 19 offices across the Middle East and North Africa. The firm, founded in 1964 by Saud Mohammed Ali Shawwaf as a commercial law firm, is now an intellectual property boutique with 250 employees, including managing director Nedal Al Kharouf. The firm a four-member Saudi-based patents team, six Saudi-based partners and seven Saudi-based legal consultants and advisors. Senior trademark specialist Sondos Shabello manages customs matters in Saudi Arabia. 

United Trademark & Patent Services (UTPS) is a top-notch regional law firm which offers the full realm of intellectual property services and domain name services. The firm is led by the well-known Yawar Irfan Khan, Hasan Irfan Khan and Maria Farrukh Irfan Khan. In addition to Riyadh, the firm has offices in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as in parts of North Africa and South Asia.