UAE signs cooperation deal to improve patent system
Xinhua, April 30, 2017 Adjust font size:
The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Ministry of Economy (MoE) signed a cooperation deal with Korean Intellectual Property Office KIPO to improve the state's patent system, the state news agency WAM reported Sunday.
The agreement falls within the framework of completing and implementing the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties in October 2016, aiming to upgrade the UAE's patent system.
The agreement was signed during the recently held Emirati -Korean bilateral meeting in Seoul by MoE Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs, Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, and General Commissioner of KIPO, Choi Dong Yu, reported WAM.
Under the terms of the agreement, Korean "highly qualified technical experts and patent examination experts" will be assigned to the International Centre for Patent Registration to assess how they can consolidate and reinforce the UAE's intellectual property infrastructure.
Furthermore the experts will simultaneously provide consultation and training services to update legislative and regulatory frameworks, thereby assisting efforts in support of the UAE's strategy toward intellectual property.
The Arab world lags behind emerging markets concerning patents issued.
The Arab-American newspaper Arab Times reported that only 3,000 patents were issued to Arabs in all Arab countries in 2016, compared with 20,000 patents issued to South Koreans in the same period. Endit