The UAE participated in the special seminar on protecting intellectual property (IP) that was convened in Munich during July 21-28. The seminar was attended by Mr. Mohammed Bakhit, the head of the Creativity and IP dept. at the Ministry of Media and Culture.
He said: “The seminar took place based on an invitation by the Arab Society for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International (TAGI) and Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP). Numerous registrants of trademarks from the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan Syria and Egypt participated in the seminar. It took place in collaboration with the German Patents Office.”
He added: “The discussions focused on IP protection laws and their various applications and the extent to which they can be used. We conducted field visits to institutions specialized in the area of IP and industrial property protection.”
At the seminar, Professor Eric Hoyser, the President of the German Patents Office, spoke about the office’s activity, its establishment, procedures dealing with trademarks and patents and the methodology of granting licenses of marks.
As for the benefits that may result from this seminar, Bakhit said: “The discussions were extremely valuable, and our field trip to the German Patent Chamber which dates back to 1780 was very beneficial, as we reviewed the latest of human thinking in this field.”
He elaborated: “Meetings between members of the same profession enriches the topic and broadens horizons, and the Arab Society promised to translate the section specific to IP protection in the GATT agreement and send it to us.”
Bakhit further added: “We were surprised after overviewing the advanced technology used in the area of IP protection and computer programs applied for this purpose. This will no doubt assist us in conducting our jobs ideally, and provides us with a new vision to self-improve.”