Emirates Intellectual Property Association and Dubai Government Excellence Program affirm commitment to jointly promote innovation and intellectual property rights protection in the UAE

Emirates Intellectual Property Association and Dubai Government Excellence Program affirm commitment to jointly promote innovation and intellectual property rights protection in the UAE

Parties recommend creation of intellectual property departments across government bodies during joint workshop

As per the directives of Major General Dr. Abdul Quddus Abdul Razzaq Al Obaidly, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Dubai Police’s Quality and Excellence and Chairman of the Emirates Intellectual Property Association’s (EIPA) Board of Directors, the participants of a recently concluded joint workshop between EIPA and Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP) has recommended the creation of intellectual property departments across all government entities in the UAE. The workshop, which was held under the theme ‘Intellectual Property and Support of Government Innovation,’ was attended by around 400 representatives coming from various government and private bodies. Dr. Ahmed Al Nusairat, DGEP’s Coordinator General, attended the session along with Dubai’s elite group of stakeholders involved in innovation, creation, and intellectual property rights. Main discussions focused on how the local government agencies can best harness their brands in the efforts to increase their income through the privatization of some sectors.

Participants also called on DGEP to develop a rating system and develop a set of standards of excellence governing intellectual, literary, artistic, industrial and commercial property within government departments. This move supports ongoing national efforts aimed towards promoting innovation in all aspects of government work--falling in line with the directives of the country’s wise leadership. The government seeks to build a knowledge-driven economy led by forward-thinking innovators who can catapult the UAE into being one of the most advanced countries in the world.

Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullah Al Mur, Director General of Dubai Police’s Human Rights Department and Vice Chairman of EIPA’s Board of Directors, delivered a welcome speech on behalf of H.E. Major General Dr. Al Obaidly.

He said: “Intellectual property plays a strategically important role in driving innovation in line with the vision and guidance of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, who said, ‘Innovation is to be or not to be: I am an innovative government, then I exist.’ It was an honor to collaborate with DGEP in organizing this workshop designed to add more value to our efforts to create a stimulating environment for people with creative and innovative ideas. The event took place to support the human capital development in the country and contribute to building our intellectual capabilities as we shift towards a knowledge-based economy. The UAE is taking pioneering steps towards shaping a prosperous future based on progress, modernization, and innovation.”

"We are fully aware of the importance of establishing the concept of intellectual property and identifying ways of protecting and granting patents. Such a move will provide innovators with theoretical and practical information on how to apply for patents at the national and international levels. The EIPA is committed to introducing concepts and types of innovation and raising awareness of its importance in achieving sustainable development based on science, technology and innovation. This could be done through conferences, workshops, and public lectures,” Al Mur added.

Dr. Al Nusairat said: “There is an increasing need to raise awareness on the importance of intellectual property and promote the concepts of innovation in the government. Both intellectual property and innovation play a fundamental role in building excellent individual and corporate capabilities and empowering creative and innovative employees to enable them to actively contribute to the development of their organizations. It is necessary to set clear goals consistent with national development policies and develop awareness programs targeting all segments of society to establish and instill the culture of protecting intellectual property rights in knowledge environment as well as in academic and professional work.

Inspired by the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai,’ we seek to make intellectual property a key pillar of innovation to encourage creative and innovative employees to transform their ideas into useful innovations. This way they are supporting the government’s efforts to protect intellectual property rights through a pioneering, leading, and sophisticated legislative, legal, and executive infrastructure.”

Image-1-6.jpg The workshop also included a panel discussion entitled ‘Intellectual Property and its Importance in Government Initiatives,’ which was led by Colonel Saleh Al Hamrani, Deputy Director General of the General Administration of Total Quality – Dubai Police, Assistant Professor of Commercial Law. During the session, Al Hamrani presented details on how various intellectual property laws are applied to meet challenges. He also highlighted the key guidelines and standards covering patent registration in the UAE and how to register ideas. Al Hamrani further explained the procedures for the registration to enable participants in gaining a better understanding on the importance of creativity, innovation, intellectual property and its role in developing governmental institutions.

Al Hamrani emphasized the importance of establishing a solid foundation to reinforce intellectual property in government works as innovation is one of the key elements that support the country’s vision to build a competitive knowledge economy. He noted that it is imperative today to intensify national efforts of cultivating a culture of intellectual property protection and trademarks for government system to support the Dubai Government’s bid to become among the most innovative governments in the world. This follows the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

“The workshop served as a strategic platform that looked towards providing a better understanding of the role of intellectual property in supporting innovation by discussing the significance of the main concepts and how it advances government innovation, protect the rights of creators and innovators, provide a conducive environment to transform creative ideas into actual projects, and support the government's efforts to build a unified system that helps bring change to people's lives. This will also position Dubai and the UAE into the map of the most innovative countries in the world. We highly appreciate the excellent cooperation between DGEP and EIPA in arranging this workshop, in which we have produced major recommendations which we are set to implement, particularly in terms of making IP an integral part of the government innovation system," concluded Al Hamrani.

The second panel discussion entitled, ‘Managing creativity and innovation in government institutions’ was chaired by Mohammed Bakr Esteitah, Legal Advisor, EIPA with the participation of Lt. Col Muhammad Ismail Al Harmoudi, Director of the Innovation Center at the General Secretariat of the Office of H.H Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; Amna Al Shehhi, Head of Corporate Innovation, Dubai Police; Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO, souq.com and Malek Hannouf, Head of Anti-counterfeiting Middle East & Africa, Louis Vuitton. The discussion covered several topics such as the concept of creativity and innovation; ways to create effective innovative ideas and revitalize creative and innovation in institutions and organizations; the importance of developing innovative thinking; the role of governmental institutions in the industry to create a conducive environment for innovative ideas; and how to manage intellectual property in government institutions.

The workshop concluded with a session on ‘Patents Registration in the UAE,’ which was presented by Dr. Lt. Col. Abdulrahman Al-Mu'aini, Director of the Innovation Center at TQM, Dubai Police and Secretary of EIPA and Hoda Barakat, Managing Partner and Head of International Trade Mark Association (INTA). The session focused on a review on the patent registration process in the UAE and took particular attention on how to register ideas, the importance of these patents and procedures to register a patent application.

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From the joint workshop

The Dubai Government Excellence Program plays a pivotal role in implementing pioneering initiatives, including Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in October 2012 to provide a creative work environment for the government sector and encourage employees to share innovative ideas and develop projects and initiatives that contribute to the improvement of their respective departments and community to enhance government services and strengthen national development. The initiative is based on the government’s main goal of establishing a work environment that encourages creativity, innovation and motivation for government employees to think and be creative and innovative at work and break away from the routine, while also improving institutional performance and services for customers.