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.

Fajer Ahmed's Law Column

National Assembly of Kuwait

Author: xiquinhosilva
Source Wikipedia
Creative Commons Licence

Serendipity means a "fortunate happenstance" or "pleasant surprise". The word was coined by Horace Walpole who explained an unexpected discovery he had made by reference to a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip in which the princes were “always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”.  A practical example of serendipity occurred this morning when I was referred to an article in the Kuwait Times about a ballet teacher in Kuwait by the Royal Academy of Dance (see Jane Lambert Dance in the Gulf 10 June 2016 Terpsichore).

I discovered that the Kuwait Times has a legal column in English called Legalese. The columnist is called "Attorney Fajer Ahmed".  His columns seems to cover everything from What happens if you’re fired by telephone? which was published on 5 June 2016 to Understanding Kuwait's Laws on 15 Nov 2015. Articles that my readers might find particularly interesting include The Law and Franchises in Kuwait (28 Feb 2016), How to start a Business in Kuwait 31 Jan 2016) and Protecting your Intellectual Property (17 Jan 2016).

Fajer also contributes to a an online publication called 248AM which also has a legal column. Interesting articles on that site include Kuwait Law: How a Law becomes a Law 2 Nov 2015 and Kuwait Law: SMEs and Small Businesses in Kuwait 25 Nov 2013. 

I also learned from 248AM that Kuwait is building a cultural centre that will include a stage for opera, ballet and other performing arts (see Sneak Peak: Kuwait Cultural Centre 5 May 2014 and A Photographic Journey inside Qasr Al Salam 9 Apr 2014). Since copyright protects librettos, musical scores, choreographic notation, stage backdrops and sometimes costumes and props and as actors, dancers, singers and musicians have the right to object to filming, taping or broadcasting of their performances it is perhaps time to revisit Kuwait copyright and related rights which I last discussed in Intellectual Property Law in Kuwait on 14 July 2011.

World Intellectual Property Day in the Gulf

On 26 April 1970 the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization came into force. The anniversary of that event is celebrated throughout the world as World Intellectual Property Day. A different theme is selected for the event each year. This year it is "The Movies - A Global Passion."

The WIPO enters details of the celebrations on a special Facebook page. So far the WIPO appears to be aware of three events in the GCC region:

• The Third Saudi Forum for Intellectual Property at King Abulaziz City for Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia which will address issues of existing Saudi laws and enforcement;
• Also in Saudi Arabia, a series of lectures on IP by Dr. Mohamed Gasim Ibrahim and Dr. Fawaz Ahmed Saad of Umm Al-Qura University; and
• In DubaI a course on patent valuation offered by The Licensing Executives Society – Arab Countries in cooperation with Business Development Academy.

Should any other events in the region to mark World Intellectual Property Day appear on the WIPO Facebook page between now and Saturday I shall mention them here.

None of those events relates to film which may be explained by the fact that film making and distribution in the GCC countries is quite small. According to Wikepedia there are no cinemas at all in Saudi Arabia though films are seen in that country on television, over the internet and on DVD and at least one Saudi film has been made though it was shot abroad and the lead female actor was Jordanian (see Cinema of Saudi Arabia). Kuwait seems to be the only state in the region with a highly developed film industry and local cinemas (see cinema of Kuwait) and the industry is growing in the United Arab Emirates (see Cinema of the UAE). Initiatives like the incentives offered by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission upon which I reported in 

Abu Dhabi: An Offer to Film Makers that will be hard to refuse 31 May 2012 should certainly help.

World Intellectual Property Day falls on a Saturday this year so it is difficult to mark the day. Over the next few weeks or so I shall be writing about copyright and rights in performances, the intellectual property rights that protect film makers, distributors and actors, as my contribution to the day. In the meantime, as the greeting "Happy World Intellectual Property Day" is something of a mouthful I wish all my readers around the world a good weekend (whether they celebrate it on Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday). I hope they take in some of their local events to mark World IP day and that at the very least that they get to see a good movie or some other show.

Intellectual Property and its Role in Economic Development, Kuwait 30-31 March 2014

On the 30 and 31 March 2014 a conference and exhibition on Intellectual Property and its Role in Economic Development at the Kuwait Marriott. The event was organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Kuwait in collaboration with the University and the Gulf Co-operation Council.

The event's objective was

"to activate the community partnership between the official bodies concerned with intellectual property and private sector business represented by the owners of the trademarks authorized in the local market and regional and international experts concerned with the implementation of IPRs laws highlighting the importance of providing adequate protection to the production and services companies, as well as safeguarding human health, safety and environment from the damages resulting from trading in counterfeited goods and their impacts on countries' economies."

The organizers set out to achieve those objectives by

• promoting avenues for activating the role of the intellectual property in economic development;
• encouraging and motivating inventors and individuals with creative thoughts;
• highlighting the official efforts exerted by the State of Kuwait in enacting IP regulatory laws and legislations and implementation thereof;
• highlighting the damages caused by counterfeited trade marks and raising consumers' awareness of such damages;
• exchanging expertise and experiences of the GCC States, the other Arab countries and international organizations.

Four topics were discussed:

• counterfeit trade marks, their damage to the national economy and how to combat and control them;
• the economic and industrial importance of patents;
• Kuwait's national IP legislation; and
• the role of chambers of commerce and other private sector organizations in suppressing counterfeiting.

Speakers included the Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce and Industry, the GCC Secretary General, the Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade and Intellectual Property Affairs in Kuwait, the Dean of the Law Faculty of Kuwait University and the Chair of the Intellectual Property Training Centre.

Gulf Co-operation Council Member States - Treaties and Intellectual Property Authorities

Country	Treaties and Conventions	Intellectual Property Office
Bahrain	Berne, Brussels, Madrid Protocol, Paris, Patent Co-operation, Patent Law, Rome, Trademark Law, TRIPS, WIPO Copyright, WIPO Performances and Phonograms	Ministry of Industry and Commerce P.O. Box 5479 Manama Bahrain +973 17530335
Kuwait	TRIPS	Ministry of Trade and Industry Trademarks and Patents Department P.O. Box 2944 Safat 13030 Kuwait +965 22 42 4426
Oman	Berne, Brussels, Budapest, Hague, Madrid Protocol, Nairobi, Paris, Patent Co-operation, Patent Law, Trademark Law, TRIPS, UPOV, WIPO Copyright, WIPO Performances and Phonograms	Ministry of Commerce and Industry P.O. Box 550 Code No. 113 Muscat Oman+968 247 741 26 / 992 226 22
Qatar	Berne, Nairobi, Paris, Patent Co-operation, TRIPS, WIPO Copyright, WIPO Performances and Phonograms	Intellectual Property Center Ministry of Justice P.O. Box 917 Doha Qata +974 448 42 292
Saudi Arabia	Berne, Paris, TRIPS	General Directorate of Industrial Property, King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) P.O. Box 6086 Riyadh 11442 +9661 481 4342
United Arab Emirates	Berne, Paris, Patent Co-operation, Rome, TRIPS, WIPO Copyright, WIPO Performances and Phonograms	Directorate of Industrial Property, Ministry of Economy and Commerce P.O. Box 901 Abu Dhabi +971 2 613 1336

Intellectual Property Law in Kuwait

Kuwait has an estimated population of just under 3.6 million in a land area of 17,820 square kilometres. It is one of the member states of the Gulf Co-operation Council ("GCC") (see "Gulf Co-operation Council Constitutional Framework" 10 June 2011 and "Patents: Gulf Co-operation Council" 20 Jan 2011).

International Obligations

This small but significant country is one of the founding members of the World Trade Organization ("WTO"). As such it is party to TRIPS (The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) which requires WTO members to give effect to the provisions of that agreement. That includes

• complying with arts 1 to 12 and art 19 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property ("Paris Convention") pursuant to art 2 (1) of TRIPS;
• complying with arts 1 to 21 of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works ("Berne Convention") pursuant to art 9 (1) of TRIPS;
• protect the work of performers, sound recording studios and broadcasters in accordance with art 14 of TRIPS;
• provide for the registration of trade marks pursuant to arts 15 to 21 of TRIPS;
• protect geographical indications pursuant to arts 22 to 24;
• protect industrial designs pursuant to arts 25 and 26;
• provide patents for inventions in all fields of technology provided they are new, involve and inventive step and are capable of industrial application pursuant to arts in accordance with arts 27 to 34;
• protect semiconductor topographies in accordance with certain provisions of the Treaty on IP in Respect of Integrated Circuits ("the Washington Treaty") pursuant to arts 35 to 38 of TRIPS;
• protect undisclosed information pursuant to art 39; and
• provide civil remedies, criminal sanctions and other provisions for the enforcement of intellectual property rights under Part III of the Agreement.

Kuwait has been a member of the WIPO since 14 July 1998 but it does not appear to be party to the Paris or Berne Conventions or the Washington Treaty. Indeed, the only convention listed on the WIPO website to which Kuwait is party is the WIPO Convention.

The Kuwaiti government has entered a number of bilateral investment treaties with a number of countries (though not with HM government) which usually require the protection of intellectual property. Citizens of either party can sometimes claim compensation in ICSID (International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes) against the government of the other party for non-compliance with such a treaty (see Metalclad Corp. v Mexico (30 Aug 2000)).

Legislation

A summary of Kuwait intellectual property laws and related legislation appears in WIPO lex. The main statutes appear to be:

• Law number 4 of 1962 relating to patents, designs and industrial models as amended by law number 3 of 2001 (Arabic and English);
• Law number 64 of 1999 concerning intellectual property rights (Arabic and English); and
• Decree number 68 of 1980 on trade marks as amended by decree no 10 of 1987 (Arabic only).

As Kuwait is party to the GCC, the Patent Regulation and the Implementing Bye-laws of the GCC will also apply.

Dispute Resolution

Industrial property disputes can be resolved through arbitration pursuant to Law No. 11 of 1995 regarding judicial arbitration with respect to civil and commercial matters (Arabic and English). The Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry appears to provide arbitration services.

Intellectual Property Offices

According to WIPO the competent authority for patents and trade marks is the Trade Marks and Patent Department of the Ministry for Commerce and Industry at PO Box 2944, Safat 13030, Kuwait City, Tel +956 22 42 44 26. That Ministry is also responsible for copyright policy.

The GCC Patent Office is at the GCC Offices, PO Box 340227, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 11333 (see Patents: Gulf Co-operation Council 20 Jan 2011).

Further Information

Anyone requiring further information about this article should call me on 0800 962 0055 or use my contact form. I have two contacts in Kuwait to whom I shall be glad to refer any enquiries on any substantial issue of Kuwaiti law.