Policy on Commercialization of Intellectual Property and Transfer of Technology and Innovations Resulting from Research, Development, and Innovation Activities

The Research, Development, and Innovation Authority (RDIA) has established this Policy based on the powers granted thereto under Article (4.3) of the Organizational Arrangements for the RDIA issued by Cabinet Resolution No. (508) dated 23/07/1444 H. This Article states: "3. Establishing policies regulating the commercialization and transfer of technology and innovations resulting from research, development, and innovation activities in coordination with relevant entities". The purpose of this Policy is to organize activities related to enabling the utilization of the outcomes of research, development, and innovation activities. The Policy has been developed in consideration of the regulatory and guidance documents issued by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property. This Policy aims to:

A. Protect the rights of individual innovators affiliated with research and innovation entities, encouraging them to unleash their latent creative potential.

B. Safeguard the rights of research and innovation entities and enable them to benefit from the innovations of their personnel within a regulatory framework.

C. Enable and incentivize the private sector to invest in the intellectual property generated by research and innovation entities.​​​

1. Intellectual Property: Outputs of human intellectual creativity, including but not limited to inventions, copyright, trademarks, publishing rights, drawings, designs, models, specifications, concepts, processes, technologies, databases, trade names, plant varieties, trade secrets, etc.

2. Commercialization: A set of processes aimed at directly or indirectly benefiting from the intellectual property rights of intangible assets, including marketing, selling, or licensing.

3. Innovator: As used in this Policy, an individual who has produced a creative work that can give establishment of intellectual property rights.

4. Research and Innovation Entities: As used in this Policy, any entity wholly or partially engaged in any activity of research, development, innovation, and the marketing of its outputs.

5. Outputs of Research, Development, and Innovation: The product produced by research and innovation entities.

6. Patent: A protection document granted to the individual who has reached an invention for a specified period.

7. Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing: The entity responsible for all commercialization activities of intellectual property rights within the Entity, including the initial stages of developing the Entity's innovative works.

8. Chief Technology Transfer and Licensing Officer: The person from the Research and Innovation Entity responsible for managing, protecting, and commercializing all intellectual property affairs of the Entity.

9. Disclosure: Making the work available to others.

10. Personnel of the Research and Innovation Entity and those in their capacity: All individuals working at the Research and Innovation Entity, whether full-time or part-time, including students, consultants, and contractors.

11. Lead Innovator or Principal Researcher: The innovator or researcher who led the research or innovation team and whose name will appear first among the contributors in the published work or patent office filings.​

1. This Policy applies to the outputs of research, development, and innovation activities of all governmental research and innovation entities and to all their personnel, and those in their capacity from the date they commence their association with the Entity.

2. Research and innovation entities shall develop or update their intellectual property policies to align with this Policy.​

1. Each governmental research and innovation entity shall:

A. Define the authority of the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing, guided by the National Guide for Technology Transfer Offices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, issued in 2023 by the RDIA.

B. Appoint the Chief Technology Transfer and Licensing Officer.

C. Form an Intellectual Property Advisory Board for the intellectual property resulting from research, development, and innovation activities within the Entity, guided by the Intellectual Property Policy Guidelines issued by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property.

D. Inform all personnel, clients, and reviewers about the provisions of (a), (b), and (c) in Paragraph (1) of Article (4), making this information available on the Entity's official website.

2. The Chief Technology Transfer and Licensing Officer shall be appointed by a resolution of the Head of the Research and Innovation Entity and shall be authorized with all powers to manage, protect, and commercialize the Entity's intellectual property. This officer may delegate these powers to other personnel of the Entity as necessary and reports administratively to the primary responsible person of the Entity.

3. The Chief Technology Transfer and Licensing Officer shall have the following powers:

A. Signing technology licensing agreements with third parties.

B. Assigning or selling any of the Entity's intellectual property.

C. Proposing and updating intellectual property policies resulting from of the Entity's research, development, and innovation activities to align with this Policy.

D. Acting as a liaison with the RDIA regarding policies on the commercialization and transfer of technologies resulting from research, development, and innovation activities.

E. Representing the Entity in judicial and official bodies concerning the commercialization and transfer of technology and intellectual property resulting from research, development, and innovation activities.

F. Chairing the Intellectual Property Advisory Board mentioned in Article (4.1.C).

4. The Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing shall have the following responsibilities and authorities:

A. Periodic inventory, documentation, and archiving of the Entity's intellectual property.

B. Developing innovation disclosure forms and other innovation-related forms such as innovation assessment, marketability studies, technology readiness, and other related activities.

C. Conducting periodic evaluations of the Entity's intellectual property value.

D. Raising awareness among the Entity's personnel about intellectual property rights resulting from research, development, and innovation activities.

E. Marketing the intellectual property rights resulting from the Entity's research, development, and innovation activities.

F. Negotiating and communicating with interested parties regarding the Entity's intellectual property, both within and outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

G. Reporting administratively to the Chief Technology Transfer and Licensing Officer.

H. Communicating with the Entity's personnel regarding intellectual property and innovation.

I. Before disclosing or revealing any of the Entity's intellectual property for commercialization and technology transfer to a third party, the Office shall sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement with the third party.

J. The Office may adopt any other name or description not specified in this Policy (such as a deanship, center, general administration, etc.).

5. Subject to the activities mentioned in Paragraphs (1, 2, 3, 4) of Article (4), the Entity may adopt a different governance model if deemed appropriate, such as making the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing an administratively independent entity or utilizing the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing of another research entity.​

1. All Entity’s personnel and those in their capacity are required to disclose any potential intellectual property they produce within a maximum period of (30) days from reaching the innovative result in their work.

2. Entity’s personnel may not publish any content with potential IP value without first presenting it to the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing and obtaining its approval. If there are multiple innovators, authors, or developers, the responsibility for reporting falls on the Lead Innovator or Principal Researcher. 

3. Disclosure of potential/latent intellectual property shall be formally done by filling out the technology disclosure form prepared by the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing and submitting it to the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing via email or the designated platform.

4. When filling out the technology Disclosure form, the Entity personnel shall ensure accuracy, clarity, and honesty in presenting the data, and shall not conceal any information to make the technology appear attractive/unattractive, economically feasible/unfeasible, or practically suitable/unsuitable.

5. In the case of multiple innovators for the work to be disclosed, a single technology Disclosure form shall be sufficient, to be submitted by the Lead Innovator or Principal Researcher principal researcher or lead innovator, ensuring that the names of all contributors to the work or idea are listed in the form.

6. When a new employee joins a research and innovation entity, He\She shall disclose any previous or ongoing intellectual property resulting from their research, development, and innovation activities, even if it is in the early stages of production, before commencing work.

1. The Entity, represented by the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing, shall confirm receipt of the Disclosure form within a specific timeframe determined by the Entity's Board of Directors, not exceeding one month from the date of submission. The Entity's confirmation of receipt serves as proof that the applicant has made the Disclosure.

2. The Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing shall transparently explain the workflow procedures to all Entity personnel and those in their capacity, specifying the maximum timeframes for each administrative process conducted on the technology disclosure form.

3. The Applicant shall be informed of the Entity's decision regarding the evaluation of the technology disclosure form within a maximum of (3) months from the date of Disclosure. If the Entity decides not to invest in or adopt the intellectual property described in the Disclosure form, it shall explicitly inform the Applicant with clear justifications. This constitutes a waiver by the Entity of all intellectual property rights resulting from the Applicant's work.

4. The Applicant shall cooperate with the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing when the Office conducts innovation or marketability assessments of the submitted work.

5. If the intellectual property resulting from research, development, and innovation activities is not a patent, but rather a work such as a book, software, industrial design, or plant variety, or a trademark, the Entity shall develop appropriate Disclosure forms tailored to these types of works.

6. The Entity’s right to require its personnel to report potential intellectual property shall be forfeited if it does not provide an electronic platform for Disclosure or Disclosure forms.

7. If a new employee fails to disclose intellectual property to the Entity, as indicated in Article (5.7), the Entity shall have the right to consider the work as a product of research, development, and innovation activities conducted after the employee's commencement of work, without infringing on the rights of the employee's previous employer.​

1. The Entity shall grant its innovator a Share of the net returns from the commercialization or sale of the innovation, not less than (33%), without affecting other incentive rewards (if any) according to the Entity's regulations.

2. If there are multiple innovators, the Share of the net returns shall be distributed equally among the innovators unless they mutually agree in writing to different proportions.

3. The Entity shall have the right, without the innovator's consent, to sell or license the technology or establish a startup under the Entity's umbrella. The Entity shall notify the innovator in writing, in accordance with Paragraph (1) of this Article.

4. With the Entity's written approval, the innovator may establish a startup based on the innovation (with or without the Entity's financial contribution). The innovator shall be given priority for technology licensing compared to others, and the Entity shall retain a share of the startup's returns, not exceeding (25%).

5. The Research and Innovation Entity (represented by the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing) shall inform all personnel and those in their capacity and make this information available on its official website regarding the percentages, rights, and returns of intellectual property for intangible assets when they innovate any technology. The Entity shall be bound by what it has announced.

6. The Entity shall have the right to deduct administrative expenses spent on the innovation from the returns of the commercialization (or sale) of intellectual property rights before distributing the returns, provided that the deductions do not exceed (15%) of the annual returns.

7. The Entity may allocate up to (15%) of the Entity's share of the intellectual property returns resulting from research, development, and innovation activities to be spent on marketing the intellectual property portfolio and providing incentive rewards for employees in the Offices of Technology Transfer and Licensing.

8. The Entity shall have the right to change the mechanisms and percentages for distributing the returns from intellectual property resulting from research, development, and innovation activities. The changes shall take effect after a period determined by the Entity, not less than (6) months from the date of announcement. The new distribution policy does not apply to those who disclosed technology to the entity before the effective date of the new policy.​​​​

1. In the case where the innovation work intended for Disclosure results from research funding, the distribution of returns from investment and commercialization of the innovation shall be subject to the research funding contract.

2. All Entity’s personnel and those in their capacity shall notify the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing of any research funding source. They shall obtain written approval from the Entity before signing any partial or full research or innovation funding contract.​

1. All personnel affiliated with the Entity, as well as anyone holding a position within it, shall disclose any research collaboration with any third party, whether an individual or an entity, whether within or outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and shall notify the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing of this collaboration before commencement.

2. Personnel affiliated with the Entity shall not sign any cooperation agreements or memoranda of understanding without obtaining written approval from the Entity.

3. The distribution of returns from commercialization of intellectual property in activities resulting from joint research collaborations shall be subject to the terms of cooperation agreements and contracts.​

1. All Entity’s personnel, and those in their capacity, shall (for example, but not limited to) adhere to the confidentiality of information, data, models, designs, and prototypes related to intellectual property, even before acquiring intellectual property rights.

2. All Entity’s personnel, and those in their capacity, shall not disclose to third parties any potential or existing intellectual property without obtaining prior written approval from the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing through the official communication channel within the Office.

3. All Entity’s personnel, and those in their capacity, shall notify the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing before publishing any content derived from their work and provide a copy to the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing (even if the individual believes there is no intellectual property for this work), ten business days before the submission date for publication. They are required to refrain from publishing if requested to do so.

4. Personnel of the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing shall adhere to the confidentiality of the requests submitted by the Entity's personnel and make every effort to protect access to this data.​

1. Disputes and disagreements shall be resolved amicably within the Entity.

2. In case disputes cannot be resolved according to Article (11.1), the disputes shall be referred to appropriate authorities within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

3. In the case of joint cooperation agreements or jointly funded projects, resolution shall be in accordance with the provisions of the agreements and contracts.

4. Research and innovation entities shall consider and evaluate conflicts of interest in their resolutions regarding investment in intellectual property assets resulting from research and development activities, ensuring that such resolutions do not harm their affiliated innovators and those in their capacity.

5. The RDIA reserves the right to interpret the provisions of this Policy.​