Intellectual Property and You Series Under Spotlight at TAGCB
14 Jun 2007AMMAN - International, regional and local officials and experts highlighted the significance of protecting Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for developing economy and attracting investments from one side and for safeguarding human lives since fake products lead to fatal death from the other.
This significant conclusion was reached at the end of the one-day seminar organized by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Middle East Partnership Initiative to present the books from "Intellectual Property and You" series entitled: "Essentials of Intellectual Property" – a Basic Primer for Everyone; and "The Use and Protection of Intellectual Property" – A Guide for Arab Professionals; composed by Dr. Amir H. Khoury.
The presentation was organized in two separate venues; the first was held at Hyatt Hotel Amman, while the second was hosted by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh College of Business (TAGCB) / German-Jordanian University and the Arab Society for Intellectual Property (ASIP).
During the first meeting, US Ambassador to Jordan David Hale stressed on the fatal impact caused by fake and counterfeited products mainly in the pharmaceutical field.
"Failure to protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) can devastate the economy, since the lack of such protection will discourage pharmaceutical companies to invest in a country with high level of piracy and counterfeiting," he said.
Hale noted that the Jordanian government deserves the credit in educating the Jordanian community about the importance of the IPRs.
"Counterfeited medicines have caused death in recent years, similar to what happened in Niger in 1995 when 50,000 people were inoculated with fake vaccines resulting in 2500 death. Similar incidents occurred in India in 1998, when 30 infants died," the Ambassador elaborated.
Meanwhile, General Secretary at Jordan Ministry of Industry and Trade Montaser Oklah said, "We have seen great progress in the cooperation between Jordan and the United States concerning Intellectual Property. We strongly believe in the significant role of IP in developing Jordan's economy."
Oklah revealed that the Ministry has started working on the establishment of an independent IP Commission which will regroup all efforts of organizations and institutions exerted in this field.
During the afternoon meeting, entitled student seminar on "Intellectual Property Rights", Khoury highly appreciated TAGCB and ASIP's efforts to promote the concepts of IP, creativity and innovation in the region.
“Creating a legal safe-haven for innovation and investing in human capital is the pre-requisite for creating a thriving environment, which lead to an IP-based economy," Khoury told ag-IP-news Agency.
Khoury, the researcher and author of this series, specializes in intellectual property (IP) laws, is a well-recognized academic author, having written numerous articles on IP issues in the Middle East and the US, and a frequent speaker at international conferences and seminar dealing with IP protection and enforcement.
The series of books explore definitions of different IP concepts, copyrights and related rights, industrial designs in the Arab region, infringement actions and remedies.
“As per my case studies, it is clear that Arabs always had some form of IPRs regulations that date back to the Egyptian Pharos and the mark of Al-Mohtasib who was in charge of quality assurance,” Khoury highlighted.
Even nowadays, “the West and the East do not clash in Intellectual Property concepts; on the contrary they are in a parallel line in such theoretical paradigms,” he concluded.
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