Geographical Indications Symposium to Open in Abu Dhabi Tuesday
10 Apr 2005ABU DHABI - The significance of organizing the first Geographical Indications Symposium in the Arab region stems from the importance of protecting Arab products and preserving their heritage, stated the Chairman of the Arab Society for Intellectual Property (ASIP), Talal Abu-Ghazaleh.
"Arab countries have many geographical indications that should be protected, the Palestinian traditional dress, is one example, and there are several others. It is about time to discuss this matter on a higher level," he added.
With the aim of meeting the increasing need in the Arab region for protecting geographical indications, ASIP, in cooperation with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is organizing the First Geographical Indications Symposium in the Arab region at Beach Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi from April 12-13, 2005.
The Symposium, which is the first international platform to discuss geographical indications in the Arab world, is held under the patronage of the United Arab Emirates Minister of Economy and Planning, HE Sheikha Lubna Al-Qasimi.
The event, which is supported by the Middle East Program Initiative (MEPI), will focus on several key issues concerning the protection of geographical indications in the Arab countries, and intends to present various case studies from Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and the USA.
Along with the symposium, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGO) is holding several other meetings including the five-year strategy planning meeting of the group, TAGO International Board of Advisors Meeting, the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF) Arab Regional Network meeting, and the Licensing Executives
Society-Arab Countries meetings.
"TAGO, as the leading group of professional services in the Arab world and the largest in Intellectual Property protection, aims at a continuous growth of at least %20 as we have been doing for the last 20 years," he said.
Abu-Ghazaleh, who is also chairman of the UN ICT TF Arab Regional Network, said that the Task Force’s meetings will discuss several important issues concerning the Internet.
"We will fully tackle the Internet Arabization and how we, as Arabs, should work as one team concerning this issue," he said during a press conference on Sunday.
He added that the process of Internet Arabization is taking too much time; therefore, urgent action is needed.
Meanwhile, TAGO has announced a strategic partnership agreement with
APCO Worldwide, a global strategic communications consultancy.
"The agreement aims at contributing to the socioeconomic development of the Arab world by providing Arab business, governmental, and nongovernmental leaders with sophisticated strategic communications and public relation services," he said.
"These services will contribute to the enhancement of the Arab business environment and thus add positively to the economy," he added.
Furthermore, TAGO will be announcing the launch of several projects related
to professional services.
"We have several key projects: a technology transfer company and the first registrar of domain names in the Arab world, in addition to others," Abu-Ghazaleh pointed out.
"These projects aim to present quality and exceptional services, a trademark of TAGO's mission in the business world," he concluded.
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