*Dr. Al-Masri: “there is a need to develop the necessary management to implement the “TRIPS” agreement”
* Abu-Ghazaleh: “the protection of intellectual property is a prerequisite for the encouragement of national creativity”
Amman-Petra ---Opened in Amman yesterday the national symposium on “Industrial Property and Transfer of Technology in the Arab Countries”. The symposium was organized by the Higher Council for Science and Technology, the Islamic Development Bank and the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO).
Monther Al-Masri:
Dr. Monther Al-Masri, Secretary General of the Higher Council for Science and Technology, said in his opening statement: “The attention to science and technology in Jordan, took place as early as the emergence of the Jordanian state, where the trend towards building a modern country started. The pace towards progress and development continued represented by building institutions, necessary infrastructure and production sectors.”
He added that the world witnesses, since the early 1990s, fundamental changes that will eventually lead to the liberalization of international trade and the flow of capitals and information and communications revolution. He also said that the globalization is facing everyone strongly, therefore, it is required that we benefit from it by developing our competitive abilities and take advantage of the successful experiences of development in industrial and developing countries. He added that the globalization entails also the opening of economies to each other with the accompanying enormous challenges relating to intellectual property rights in general and industrial property in particular.
Dr. Al-Masri stated that the protection of intellectual property rights is not a new subject in the world and even in Jordan; the law of patents and industrial fees goes back to 1953 and the trademarks law to 1952. But what is new about this subject is introducing systems of protection which keep innovators and creators away from the specter of piracy and infringement to end the losses they incurred in the absence of protection.
He stressed that in order to enable the Arab countries to deal with the intellectual property rights in general, they must develop the necessary administration to implement the TRIPS agreement, particularly with regard to the offices which grant patents and trademarks registration. Furthermore, Arab countries must establish a computerized information networks and intellectual property elements ,in addition to finding the real core of founding a unified Arab patent office and bring the Arab council for investment in patents into existence, along with lending a hand of cooperation between specialized regional Arab bodies like the Arab Society for the Protection of Intellectual Property (ASPIP) and international bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) . Dr. Al-Masri clarified that creativity is the only thing which builds the nations’ civilizations, and it works for the welfare of humankind everywhere.
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh:
Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, President of the Arab Society for the Protection of Intellectual (ASPIP), said during the opening ceremony that the establishment of intellectual and industrial property protection systems is a condition for the transfer of technology followed by developing the national technology. He also declared that the protection is a prerequisite for the encouragement of national innovation, progress and development; therefore, protection is the environment which attracts investments and technology.
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh presented a set of recommendations to the symposium. These recommendations are summed up in: urging the Arab governments to work quickly to develop regulations of intellectual and industrial property protection to the highest levels in accordance with the international standards, and creating practical suggestions to lift them up to the decision makers for the development of relevant legislations.
He said that the subject of the transfer of technology must be included in the agenda of future negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) . Mr. Abu Ghazaleh also mentioned that we must benefit from the technical, training and advisory programs which are offered by the World intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Working papers:
Following the opening session, the engineer Saleh Al-Jafdaf Director of Technology Transfer Department at the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO), presented a working paper on the organization's efforts to build technological capabilities in the Arab countries and activate the role of industrial property offices. He also reviewed the features of the Arab reality in the field of technology acquisition and transfer and their means, in addition to the Arab interest in the fields of acquisition, pointing to the efforts of AIDMO in this regard.
Mr. Naif Hijazi, Director of ASPIP, presented a working paper on intellectual property protection in the Arab world.
The pharmacist, Nizar Jardaneh, Chairman of the Arab Union for Medicines and Medical Supplies Producers, presented a working paper on the implications of intellectual property protection on the pharmaceutical industries in the GATT agreement.
At the second session, Dr. Hossam Lotfi, Professor of Civil Law at the Beni Sweif University-Cairo Regional Center for International Commercial Arbitration, presented a working paper on the impact of the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement on the legislations of the Arab countries. He also explained the experience of the Center in the field of international commercial arbitration and means of resolving disputes of intellectual property.
Mr. Walid Audeh, Director of the Economic Research Department at the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries, also presented a working paper on the intellectual property agreement and its impact on the Arab industries.
Dr. Abdul Razzak Kamel, the Adviser of the Islamic Development Bank, presented a working paper on the development of a mechanism to help new inventors to overcome the difficulties they face in the protection of intellectual property rights.
The symposium which will last for three days will include 72 participants, representing: officials from the ministries of industry of a number of Arab countries, specialists in the field of intellectual property protection, officials from the national offices of industrial property and patent offices, representatives of correlation points of the Arab Network for the Exchange of Technological Information and the private sector interested in the transfer of technology and patents.
The symposium aims at coordinating the efforts of bodies concerned in industrial property in Arab countries. It also aims at examining the expected results of the application of the intellectual property agreement under the GATT at the level of the Arab states, as well as activating the role of national offices of industrial property in the Arab countries in the fields of technology transfer and absorption.