Why is there no longer a British IP Attaché to the Gulf Co-operation Council?

Author IJA Public Domain Source Wikimedia Commons

British EmbassyAbu Dhabi

 

Jane Lambert

The UK Intellectual Property Office has published a Linkedin newsletter called IPO Overseas,  It is about the UK's network of overseas IP attachés, trade experts and UK-based policy teams.  The latest issue, which was published on 26 July 2024, is entitled "IPO's Middle East and North Africa ('MENA') International Team.,  Although the subtitle is "How our IP Attaché network can help you do business with the Middle East and North Africa" the publication features an interview with  Ben Llewellyn-Jones, IPO’s Director of Business and International Policy and not with an attaché.

The British government used to have an attaché to the Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC"), On 27 Oct 2021 I wrote that HM government signalled the importance of the GCC as a trading and investment partner by appointing Yamish Yakoob as its first Intellectual Property Attaché to the bloc in UK's New Intellectual Property Attache to the GCC.  I based my article on the IPO's Case Study IP Attaché: Yamish Yakoob, Gulf Cooperation Council of 7 Oct 2021 which was apparently withdrawn on 27 March 2024.  No explanation has been given for the withdrawal.  Mr Yakoob is still at the British embassy in Riyadh but his new job title is "Retail, Food & Drink @ British Embassy." His LinkedIn page indicates that he started that job in April 2024.

In his interview, Mr Llewellyn-Jones said that the GCC is this country's 4th largest non-EU trading partner after the USA, China and Switzerland and that British trade with that region is worth around £59 billion.  He indicated that the government is negotiating a free trade agreement with the GCC.  He mentioned that UK businesses can face a number of challenges when registering and protecting their IP in the Middle East. These can range from the need to take effective action against trade mark infringement to high registration fees.

Mr Llewellyn Jones encouraged British businesses to use the IPO's international team: The team knows that local IP systems can be difficult for some to navigate even if a business has registered its IP in the UK with the IPO. He said:

“This is where our international team can help with their local knowledge”, said Ben. “We can help to guide businesses through these IP systems, guide you through what to expect and support you as you build your business overseas”

His top tips were:

• "If you're looking to trade in MENA and the GCC, include IP as part of your market research or export plan
• Do your due diligence and check, for example, if someone already registered a trade mark that is the same as yours. If you're not sure, we'll have a complex portfolio of IP rights and legal experts who will be able to help you.
• Finally, if your IP is an important part of your business value, register your rights as soon as you can!"

The British government has published further guidance and information on doing business and the IP issues that arise in the Middle East which is not linked directly to the IPO's newsletter.   However, I incorporated that guidance and information and combined it with my own in IPO Guidance on the Gulf Cooperation Council on 8 April 2023.

One resource that the IPO does not mention and perhaps should is that there are English-speaking common law courts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.  Each of those courts has judges who practised in the UK or other Commonwealth common law jurisdictions and all members of the Bar of England and Wales can qualify easily to appear before them.  If a British company is thinking of licensing its technology, distributing its goods or franchising its services in the region it may find advantages in choosing the law of one of those legal systems as the proper law and its courts as the forum for future dispute resolution. 

This is an area in which my chambers have some expertise.  Colleagues who practise other areas of law already appear before those courts.  Last year, Stephen Somerville, our first deputy senior clerk visited Dubai and he has been sufficiently encouraged by that visit to make a second trip later this year.   Anyone interested in using our expertise and connections should contact me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message at other times through my contact page.

IPO Guidance on the Gulf Cooperation Council

 

Jane Lambert

On 6 April 2023 the UK Intellectual Property Office ("the IPO") circulated an email headed "Are you a UK business trading in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)? Or thinking of doing so?" to its mailing list, The email announced that the IPO had published guidance to help businesses navigate the IP regimes in each of the six GCC member states providing information on the main IP rights and where to go for further guidance,  It added that the GCC was the UK's 7th largest export market worth £33.1 billion in 2021, that the UK has a longstanding relationship with the GCC, particularly in areas like technology, life sciences, creative industries, financial services and education, and that intellectual property will play a vital role in securing British ambitions in the region.

International IP Service

A button on the email connects to a web page on the British government's website headed Collection International IP Service with the strapline "Protecting your trade marks, patents, designs and copyright abroad" which was first published on 20 Aug 2021 and last updated on 10 March 2023.  It begins with a general observation:

"Intellectual property rights are territorial. You should consider getting IP protection if you want to trade overseas or sell to overseas customers via the internet. Start by developing an international strategy, identifying your markets, business goals and resources."

 I would endorse that advice adding only that an international strategy is an aspect of an IP strategy which is something that every business should develop whether an individual on his or her first day in business or a mighty multinational  (see What is an Intellectual Property Strategy? 19 May 2017 last updated 8 April 2023).  I could help with that as I have many years experience of advising on IP strategy and have written many articles on the topic.

Top Tip

I would also endorse the IPO's "Top Tip":

"Know before you go. Wherever you want to do business, it is important that you understand the steps you should take to protect your IP before entering the market. It is a lot easier to jump over any hurdles before realising it might be too late to act. You will also need to do some research to make sure you’re not infringing someone else’s IP."

Meet the Experts: Yamesh Yaqoob

The next link introduces our IP attachés which are listed on a separate Attaché contact details page.  Our main in the GCC countries is Mr Yamish Yaqoob whose appointment I reported in UK's New Intellectual Property Attache to the GCC on 27 Oct 2021.  The section on Mr Yaqoob states:

"Focus on the GCC: Yamish provides guidance to UK stakeholders in the GCC region on how to effectively protect and manage their IP assets. He also works closely with regional IPOs and official authorities on outreach and awareness raising of the value of IP. Yamish will input on IP in a Free Trade Agreement with the GCC, to further build bilateral cooperation within the GCC on IP practice and policy. Currently, he is also working in close collaboration with the Saudi IP authority on delivering a joint work plan aimed at improving the local IP ecosystem."

IP Country Guides

The International IP Service page links to a list of IP Country Guides.  These include guides on:

• Bahrain 
• Kuwait 
• Oman 
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia and 
• the United Arab Emirates ("UAE"). 

Each of those guides was published on 2 March 2023 and follows a similar format.  There are passages on trade marks, patents, designs, copyright, enforcement and sources of further information.

The guidance on the UAE fails to mention the English speaking common law jurisdictions in the Abu Dhabi Global Market and the Dubai International Financial Centre free zones.  I have discussed the DIFC courts extensively in this publication and I introduced the Abu Dhabi Global Market legal system in Abu Dhabi Global Market - Yet Another Common Law Enclave in the Gulf on 22 Feb 2016.  It is worth remembering that the DIFC has its own intellectual property legislation which I mentioned in Introduction to, and Overview of, the New DIFC Intellectual Property Law on 13 Dec 2019.  The DIFC courts have always had jurisdiction to hear and determine breach of confidence and passing off and there seems to be no reason in principle why they should not grant injunctions, delivery up of infringing matter and pecuniary relief for infringements of the DIFC Intellectual Property Law.  Having said that, the Law establishes an Intellectual Property Commissioner with extensive powers to resolve IP disputes.

There is a similar English speaking common law jurisdiction at the Qatar Financial Centre known as the  Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre which I discussed in Qatar Financial Centre: Civil and Commercial Court Regulations on 28 June 2011 and subsequent articles.  The IPO guidance on Qatar does not mention that court or legal system.

Any member of the Bar of England and Wales in good standing can quickly be granted rights of audience in any of those courts.  The procedural law and practice of all three courts are modelled on the English Civil Procedure Rules.  Much of the substantive law is also modelled on British statutes or codifications of English case law. Some of the litigation is conducted online which means that members of the English bar can represent parties from their chambers in London or even their homes elsewhere in the UK. 

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact page.

Science and Innovation Network in Saudi Arabia

Jane Lambert

 

Earlier today I wrote about Yamish Yakoob's appointment as the first British intellectual property attaché to the Gulf Cooperation Council or "GCC" (see UK's New Intellectual Property Attache to the GCC 27 April 2021).  I posted Mr Yakoob's contact details at the British embassy in Riyadh but forgot to check whether our embassy has a website and I have discovered that it does (British embassy website).   It also has some information about a lot of useful services in Saudi Arabia and the GCC which merit this postscript.

Science & Innovation Network in Saudi Arabia

The Science and Innovation Network in Saudi Arabia is part of a wider network of approximately 110 officers in over 40 countries and territories around the world who are building partnerships and collaborations in science and innovation.  According to the network's website, it has 3 officers covering all 6 GCC countries. The head of the network in the GCC, who is referred to curiously as "the Head of SIN (Gulf)", is based in Doha.  The officials in Saudi Arabia are based at the British embassy in Riyadh.

The Network's Objectives in Saudi Arabia

According to the network's website, its officials in Saudi Arabia are working on the following objectives

"Establishing the UK as Saudi Arabia’s pivotal partner of choice in science and innovation.

Supporting the Saudi Arabia in enhancing their resilience and security by addressing long-term threats, including emerging health issues and global challenges on water and food security, as well as through building their capacity to deliver evidence-based policies.

Increasing trade and investment cooperation in education, healthcare, infrastructure, water, clean energy, cyber security, Science and Innovation – working on higher education, collaborating with the British Council and the Gulf Science and Innovation, Knowledge and Economy programme.

Broadening security cooperation between the UK and Saudi Arabia – keeping Britain, and our interests, safe.

Strengthening bilateral relationship through engagement on science and innovation.

Helping Saudi Arabia to deliver commitments made at COP 22.

Helping Saudi Arabia with Vision 2030 and achieving economic diversification.

Engaging with the next generation of thinkers.

Helping Saudi Arabia to deliver on G20 commitments."

Priorities

The website states that the officials in Saudi Arabia are focusing on the following priorities:

"Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

Genomics and Precision Medicine.

Food Security

Cyber and ICT

Clean and Renewable Energy

Future/SMART Cities"

Possible Overlap

The reference to "SMART Cities" reminds me of the work on SMART Towns carried out by the Enterprise Hub (Yr Hwb Menter) at the Menai Science Park in North Wales. There may be scope for fruitful collaboration between Welsh and Saudi collaborators in that field.   

Snapshot

The network has produced the following snapshot of its work in Saudi Arabia.

Further Information

I have summarized the links in the following table:

British Embassy in Saudi Arabia	https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-riyadh
UK Science & Innovation Network In Saudi Arabia	https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/uk-science-innovation-network-in-kingdom-of-saudi-arabia
UK Science & Innovation Network Country Snapshot	https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/910663/Saudi_Arabia_Snapshot-2020.pdf
British embassy Facebook page	https://www.facebook.com/ukinsaudiarabia
UK Science & Innovation Network Twitter stream	https://twitter.com/uksinet?lang=en-gb

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK business hours or send me a message at any time through my contact form.

UK's New Intellectual Property Attache to the GCC

Author Furfur Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikimedia Commons

Jane Lambert

The British government has signalled the importance of the Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") as a trading and investment partner by appointing Yamish Yakoob as its first Intellectual Property Attaché to the bloc (see the IPO's Case Study IP Attaché: Yamish Yakoob, Gulf Cooperation Council 7 Oct 2021 IPO website). Yakoob's appointment increases the number of IP attachés to 7.  The others are in North America, South-East Asia, China, Brazil, India and Geneva (see Guidance Attaché contact details 7 Oct 2021 IPO website).

I first learnt about the work of our attachés when I chaired meetings for Tom Duke and Monica Su at the studios of Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre in Leeds and the Business Village in Barnsley on 19 Sept 2018 (see Meet our IP Attaché to China 21 July 2017 IP Yorkshire). At those meetings, our representatives met business leaders and IP practitioners from the Leeds and Sheffield city regions.  

Yakoob was educated at the International Indian School and Asan Memorial College from where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration and economics.  He has spent the greater part of his career in the consular service as a trade and investment advisor between 2004 and 2018 at the British Consulate-General. Since 2018 he has served in the diplomatic service as Senior Trade Advisor - Creative (Culture, Sport and Tourism) at our embassy in Riyadh. He speaks Arabic, Hindi, Malayalam. Tamil and Urdu as well as English.

He can be contacted at the British embassy in Riyadh at 

Abdullah Alsahmi Street,
Near Circle 10,
As Safarat
Al Safarat,
Riyadh
12513,
Saudi Arabia.
Tel: +966 (0)11 481 9100 and
Email Yamish.Yakoob@fcdo.gov.uk

I congratulate Yamish Yakoob on his appointment and wish him every success.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article can call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during normal business hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Postscript

In view of the worldwide interest in this post, I have added a short postscript on the work of the UK's Science & Innovation Network in Saudi Arabia and other GCC states with some useful links. Mr Yakoob is likely to be closely involved in the Network's activities.