Arab Strategy Forum to highlight role of intellectual property rights in Arab world

To be held in Dubai, the session titled 'Transfer or indigenisation of knowledge? will define the second day of the event that will be held on 28th and 29th of October.

The discussions will additionally throw light on the legislative, organizational, cultural, and material requirements for intellectual property rights. It will specifically examine the extent of Arab contributions to the development of the international conventions on property rights.

To be moderated by Dr. Ziad Bin Abdullah Aldrees, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Saudi Arabia to UNESCO, the panel will include a number of distinguished speakers; including Dr. Abdallah Al Najar, President, Arab Science and Technology Foundation, UAE, Dr. Antoine Zahlan, author and International Consultant in Science Policy in London, UK, Dr. Nagla Rizq, Associate Professor of Economics, American University in Cairo, Egypt, and Her Excellency Dr. Maitha Salem Al Shamsi, UAE Minister of State.

Dr. Sulaiman Al Hattlan, CEO, Arab Strategy Forum, said:

"The forum will provide an opportunity for Arab intellectuals to debate the need to join the mainstream and participate in the negotiations."

"In addition, the discussions will focus on the polarization of the stance on intellectual property rights between the advanced and developing countries. This will make the debate at the forum even more significant, adding fresh impetus to the diversity of opinions that will be expressed," he added.

The elite panel of speakers will also provide definitive points of action for the Arab World and focus on why Arab countries have not made full use of the exceptions and provisions, for flexibility, in the World Trade Organisation's Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement of 1994, which governs all countries in their dealings on intellectual property issues.

The 1994 agreement sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulations, negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectual property law into the international trading system for the first time and remains the most comprehensive international agreement on intellectual property to date.

Launched in 2001 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Arab Strategy Forum is a knowledge platform that offers a unique combination of unparalleled network, debate-driven sessions and custom-made knowledge products. It aims to provide participants with the tools needed to shape viable action plans for the region.