A regional conference entitled “Industrial Property System for Actively Promoting Innovation in the Arab Region” was concluded in Cairo, Egypt, June 7-10, 2004 with the participation of around 10 Arab countries including Jordan.
The 4-day event, jointly organized by the European Patent Office (EPO), the Academy for Scientific Research and Technology of Egypt (ASRT) and supported by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International (TAGI), was held under the patronage of Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Minister of State for Scientific Research Dr. Moufeed M. Shehab.
A total of 40 Intellectual Property and patent experts from Europe and the region tackled the current findings on Intellectual Property, economic growth and promoting innovation in developing countries.
Dr. Shehab, Mr. Richard Yung, EPO’s director of International Cooperation, Mr. Ian Boag, head of the EU Delegation in Egypt, and Dr. Fawzi A. Elrefaie, president of the Academy of Scientific Research & Technology delivered speeches at the opening session of the conference.
Dr. Shehab pointed out that a regional patent office has been established as part of the Egyptian Patent Office, which is, a step forward in supporting inventions and inventors in the region.
Meanwhile, Mr. Boag said cooperation between the EU and Arab countries was moving fast in all areas.
“The EU has been working closely with Arab countries such as Jordan and Egypt in promoting economic reforms and industrial modernization, which are essential to compete in the world market,” he said.
Several study cases were discussed such as Jordan’s effort for promoting innovation as well as the contribution of the Jordanian Patent Office to this effort.
“The primary , which Jordan concentrated on, is spreading awareness concerning the importance of industrial IP through workshops and conferences,” Head of the Patent Section at the Industrial Property Protection Directorate - Ministry of Industry and Trade in Jordan, Ms. Hala Khdiri said.
Ms. Khdiri noted that Jordan has the lowest patent registration fees in the region and that there are no annual renewal fees to be paid.
Participants representing IP offices, governments, IP stakeholders and NGOs from Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan in addition to the Gulf countries stressed the need to reach a solution to develop an efficient marketing and protection tool for inventions and direct cooperation.