Use of trade name, by a merchant, that was reserved or registered earlier for another merchant is prohibited

The use of a trade name by a merchant that was previously registered or reserved for another merchant, is a significant infraction that carries SR10,000 fine. Merchants that use a trade name that is not allowed to be registered or reserved will also be fined SR15,000 in the same way. These sanctions are part of the Saudi Trade Name Law's draft executive regulations for major infractions, available via the Istila'a public survey platform by the Ministry of Commerce. The revised Trade Name Law was passed by the Council of Ministers on September 17, 2024 wherin all merchants must choose a trade name and enter it in the commercial register. 

Under the law, which is divided into 23 articles, following usage of trade names are forbidden:

- trade name having political, military, or religious meaning, connotation, or content 

- similar to the name, honorary badge, or particular emblem of any local, regional, or global organization or one of its institutions 

- false or that transgresses public morals or order cannot be reserved or registered, if it is similar to a well-known brand or trade name worldwide, or to a prominent trademark that is registered in the Kingdom.

- Saudi Arabia's name, names of cities, regions, and public spaces, may be reserved or registered under the draft regulations. These names may be registered in the commercial registry subject to several restrictions, the most significant of which is that they cannot be the same as or similar to the names of government agencies or similar entities.

Regulations classified violations into serious and non-serious ones: 

Non-serious infractions carry fines ranging from SR1000 to SR5000, which included the following: 

- the merchant failed to use his trade name in a way that was misleading or in violation of the law; 

- failed to display his trade name on the facade of his place of business; 

- failed to register a trade name within the allotted time as a substitute for his deleted trade name; 

or the merchant failed to display his trade name in his documents, correspondence, or publications.

A charge of SR200 is required to reserve a trade name in Arabic, SR500 is required to reserve a trade name in English, and SR100 is required to extend the time frame for reserving or disposing of a trade name, according to the executive rules.