Arab States Should Unify Their IP Regulations - Poll
12 Jun 2004AMMAN - The majority of Internet users find that Arab countries should unify their Intellectual Property (IP) regulations in order to form a single patent region similar to that of the European Union (EU).
According to a recent poll by ag-IP-news Agency, around 79 percent of Internet users believe that Arab countries should unify their IP regulations, whereas around 14 percent said 'I don't know' and 7 percent said 'No'.
The European Patent Office (EPO), the African Regional Industrial Property Organization (ARIPO), the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI), and the European Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) are the only recognized regional bodies that unify certain phases of IP registrations.
However, legislators and lawyers agree that IP regulations of Copyright, Trademark, and Patent registration vary between Arab states.
"Procedures and regulations differ between most of these states. Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria and Syria, for instance, are known for their easy filing and registration procedures of trademarks and copyrights, and thus, fast approval of applications," said Zuhdy Al-Alami, Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) Professional Controller.
On the other hand, Al-Alami pointed out that some countries provide more healthy, though lengthy, procedures in examining, refusing or accepting the applications. "These procedures protect the consumers and clients from easy infringements and brand counterfeits," he noted.
"AGIP has gone far in attempting to improve the standards and regulations of IP among Arab countries, and still offers its consultations to pave the way for upgrading the regulations of these countries," added Al-Alami.
"In developed countries, modifications and improvements on IP Implementing Regulations are drafted by IP practitioners, lawyers and NGOs - rather than governmental or official bodies. This case, unfortunately, doesn't exist in most of Arab countries. Though it is worth to mention that Jordan has started to adopt the bottom-up procedure of improving the regulations," he pointed out.
After all, Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) represent a good example in proper patent laws integration.
Patents registration is unified in the Gulf States through a single application issued from the GCC Patent Office in Riyadh. The unified procedures apply in all the six member states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and United Arab Emirates), which operate by one unified system of filing, examination and publication of the new patent registration.
"Having a regional body like the GCC is certainly an economical and social advantage with regard to IP laws. Intellectual Property is one of the fields where economic cooperation is taking place," said Nada Qaddoura, an IP practitioner and marketing officer at AGIP.
Qaddoura believes that mutual IP regulations in GCC States will certainly help putting them on the right track towards strengthening their economic presence in global markets.
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