Ministry of Economy presents intellectual property developments in UAE during WIPO meetings

GENEVA, (Pakistan Point News - 01st Oct, 2019) A delegation from the UAE participated in the 59th meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, WIPO, held at the organisation's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The delegation was led by Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Shehhi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs.

The WIPO meetings, held under the two-year presidency of Omar Zniber, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, discussed several topics on its agenda, including reports on enforcing intellectual property, copyrights, neighbouring rights, patent law, trademark law, industrial designs and geographical indications.

During the UAE’s speech, Al Shehhi stressed the importance of the cooperation between the organisation’s member countries to improving intellectual-property systems and ensuring their application.

He also pointed out that the UAE supports a proposal by the Asian Group to enforce the compulsory attendance of WIPO member countries while praising the organisation’s leading role in advancing intellectual property.

Al Shehhi then noted that the Emirati delegation is calling on other member countries to review its proposal to host a WIPO office in Abu Dhabi, explaining the potential advantages offered by the country.

Al Shehhi stressed that intellectual property and innovation support is the cornerstone of the UAE's development vision while highlighting its efforts to build a competitive knowledge-based economy, in line with the UAE Vision 2021.

He added that the UAE has made progress in certain areas of innovation and intellectual property, namely in the space sector, noting the recent journey of Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansoori to the International Space Station, ISS, which was monitored by an Emirati satellite that has five patents.

Al Shehhi also highlighted the UAE's keenness to develop Artificial Intelligence, AI, sector and reinforce its developmental role.