* The UAE will host the International Conference on the Future of Intellectual Property and Internet
The Board of Directors of the Arab Society for the Protection of Intellectual Property (ASPIP) held a meeting yesterday in Beirut. Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of ASPIP, spoke at the beginning of the meeting about the efforts he made to serve the Arab economy through his membership in international bodies such as the Advisory Board, Industry Advisory Commission, of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and through his participation in conferences and specialized seminars on intellectual property in addition to his role in media, training and consulting in the Arab governments. He also announced that (ASPIP) is in the process of convening the Arab International Conference on the Future of Intellectual Property and Internet in the United Arab Emirates in coordination and cooperation with (WIPO). It is anticipated that this conference will take place coincided with the founding meeting of the Arab Council for the Development of Creativity which will be held under the responsibility of ASPIP.
The council that is to be established, will aim to guide, encourage and assist Arab inventors with investing in their own inventions. The (ASPIP) Advisory Board also approved a program which grants a specialized certificate in intellectual property organized by (ASPIP) in collaboration with some universities and institutes. The Society will be responsible for managing the qualification exams and people who get certified will hold the title of “an intellectual property specialist.”
The completion of the first intellectual property dictionary which will be issued shortly by a major publishing Lebanese house was also announced. Furthermore the Advisory Board declared that the translation of the intellectual property laws into English in all Arab countries had been accomplished and a publishing contract has been signed with a major publishing house in the UK. This has been done in order to inform the international community of the development of legislations and the high level of protection in the Arab World, in addition to compiling the intellectual property laws and regulations of the Arab countries into one folder to be used as a reference for both legal and academic aspects.
The Advisory Board also decided to intensify the training courses by also including most Arab states, and to continue the signing of scientific cooperation agreements with universities in the Arab countries on the lines of the agreements signed with the University of Ajman, in the UAE, the University of Cairo, the University of Hassan II, in Morocco, the Tunisian University, AL-Hekma University and the Lebanese University.
The Advisory Board also examined the current status of the Society’s magazine. It was decided to develop this magazine to include intellectual property laws and amendments present in all Arab countries as well as to include modern jurisprudence studies and legal researches by professors in Universities, judges and lawyers in this the IP field with the allocation of one section for the news and activities of ASPIP and another section for the activities, symposiums, conferences, events, institutions and associations specialized in intellectual property at the Arab and international levels.
The Advisory Board decided to hold its next meeting in April in Kuwait.