The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) organized a National Seminar on Intellectual Property for the Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) January 11-12 in Amman, Jordan.
The Seminar, organized under the patronage of Princess Sumaya bint Al Hassan, head of the PSUT’s Board of Trustees, was held in cooperation with the University and King Abdullah II Center for Intellectual Property.
Tawfiq Tabbaa, attorney and legal consultant from Tabbaa and Partners, tackled in his presentation all categories of industrial property including trademarks, patents, industrial designs and models, layout designs of integrated circuits, geographical indications and trade secrets.
Tabbaa elaborated on the international treaties relating to industrial property such as Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) and others.
Khaled Arabeyyat, director of the Industrial Property Protection Department at the Jordanian Ministry of Industry and Trade, discussed the legislative environment regulating industrial property rights focusing on the following laws: Trademarks Law No. 34 of 1999, Patents of Invention Law No. 32 of 1999, Industrial Designs and Models Law No. 14 of 2000, Geographical Indications Law No. 8 of 2000, Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition Law No. 15 of 2000 and Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits Law No. 10 of 2000.
Arabeyyat pointed out that Jordan is a member of the Paris Convention, Convention Establishing the WIPO and TRIPs.
He added that Jordan is taking the necessary steps to join the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks.
Latest statistics released by the Ministry show that 77752 trademarks have been registered, 2269 patents granted and 11730 industrial designs and models registered up to January 1, 2005.
On the other hand, Heike Wollgast, legal officer, Copyright and Related Rights and Industry Relations Sector, Enforcement and Special Projects Division, WIPO discussed the international protection for copyright and neighboring rights. Wollgast elaborated on treaties governing copyright such as: Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), and TRIPs and on treaties governing related rights such as Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).
Other keynote speakers at the Seminar were: Samer Tarawneh, counselor, Cooperation for Development Bureau for Arab Countries, WIPO, Mamoun Talhouni, director general of Jordan National Library Department and Mohammad Asfour, counselor, Board of Trustees at PSUT