ABCK-AmCham Kuwait hosted a Briefing on Intellectual Property Law Updates in the Region on Monday, February 15. The event was organized by ABCK-AmCham Kuwait, U.S. Department of Commerce, and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; in collaboration with AmCham Dubai, AmCham Abu Dhabi, AmCham Qatar, AmCham Bahrain, AmCham Oman, and AmCham Saudi Arabia.
The virtual event started off with opening remarks by the Regional Senior Commercial Officer, Mr. Thomas Bruns who identified intellectual property as a key part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s work. He also noted the regional trade transition from natural resources to diversified economy, which requires intellectual property regulations. He concluded his introduction by informing the participants of the work of U.S. Department trade in the GCC region like data privacy issues and virtual infrastructure roadshows in U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia.
Peter Mehravari who is the Regional Attaché for Intellectual Property explained his position as a resource who helps U.S. businesses protect their intellectual properties MENA region. He explained the process for obtaining IP rights in governments in the GCC region. Mehravari also discussed the developments of IP; Kuwait passed its first copyright law to protect businesses and creatives. With the help of the U.S. Embassy, the parliament of Kuwait passed a modernized copyright law in the summer of 2019. Mehravari also pointed out Kuwait’s recent effort in stopping counterfeits’ violations even without receiving complaints from businesses. Kuwait has improved their Intellectual Property enforcement actions against counterfeits.
Mehravari added that in U.A.E in September 2020, the country passed the decree 321 which protects IP for innovative pharmaceutical industry as it provides an 8-year data protection to prevent generics from using the clinical trial data. He noted, “This law symbolizes an intent by the Emirates to create the strongest place to protect intellectual property for pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the entire gulf region’’. In U.A.E, a new patent law is coming out soon that enforces new protections and damages and new trade secret regulations. He pointed out of the lowering of trademark fees 18 months ago, as U.A.E previously had the highest trademark fees in the world.
He also announced the recent changes to the Regional GCC Patent office which as of January the 6th 2021, stopped accepting regional patent applications. Mehravari advised U.S. companies to closely monitor the status of the regional patent system as new procedures will likely be introduced in the coming months.
Mehravari mentioned that one of the biggest Intellectual Property concerns for companies is trade secrets. Trade secrets are any commercial information that has value to a company that they take measures to remain secretive, but is not registered with a government, like one would for a patent or trademark. He noted that it can be more commonly categorized as a competitive advantage like data, the recruitment processes for a company, or any other secretive information. U.S. businesses’ trade secrets are not well protected in the GCC under existing legislative and judicial frameworks which results in information theft by other entities that offer cheaper price and quality for said trade secret. Mehravari suggested that companies should include more detailed trade secret clauses within their contracts than they would normally do in the U.S., including adding definition of what a trade secret is, listing the trade secrets within the contract and defining what is trade secret misappropriation. Mehravari also advised defining damages/penalties within the contract for said trade secret misappropriation.
The event was a success as it provided participants with informative updates about patent, trademark, copyright, and IP enforcement issues in the GCC. The event also provided all local chambers with a chance to connect and discuss the pace of IP development within every country. Both members and non-members were able to get informed on how to protect their intellectual property and get acquainted with local IP regulations updates.
Mehravari concluded his talk by giving suggestions regarding intellectual property and offered his assistance for U.S. businesses that are planning to expand to Kuwait and the GCC region. He thanked ABCK-AmCham Kuwait and all other AmCham entities in the region. The event was concluded by closing remarks by ABCK-AmCham Kuwait Chairman, Frank Belonus who thanked the speaker for the briefing and the participants for attending.
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