The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property Authority announced that the first of January will be the date for its official launch to play its role in the protection of intellectual property in all its details, which include patents, copyright, trademarks and so on.
This was mentioned by the Intellectual Property Expert at SAIP, Ahmed Al-Morshedi, at an induction workshop hosted by Asharqia Chamber on Tuesday (November 27, 2018) under the title "The importance of intellectual property and the role of the Authority in achieving this."
He pointed out that the Authority is one of the initiatives of the Kingdom Vision 2030 as it seeks to regulate, support, protect and upgrade the intellectual property fields in the Kingdom.
He pointed out that the system of intellectual protection supports the basis for the development of commercial activities and the competitiveness of the national economy. The Authority is in the process of establishing consulting clinics concerned with the generation of intellectual property.
He stressed that these clinics are aimed primarily at entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises.
He said that the Authority seeks to have a presence and integration with the entire intellectual property system at the local and global levels.
Therefore, the Authority signed memorandums of understanding with the number of developed countries in this area, including a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Intellectual Property Office and the US Patent and Trademark Office.
In addition, the Authority is considering the possibility of signing memorandums of understanding of the world's leading intellectual property offices to find out the experiences and other practices in this regard, such as the Singapore experience.
The Authority also recently acceded to the WIPO-administered Marrakesh Treaty, which allows for the reproduction of copyright works for formats that are easier for people who are blind or visually impaired to benefit from.
The Authority was also considering a draft licensing of collective management organizations, as in some countries, on copyright.
The Kingdom pays great importance to intellectual property as part of global trade. If intellectual property was distributed to a number of actors, the launch of the Authority in January will unite all in one place.
He explained that intellectual property includes patents, copyright, trademark, industrial design, industrial designs and so on.
The industrial design is different from the technical design, as the technical design is protected without the need to register it, while the industrial design has its owner intellectual property for ten years on condition of registration.
Al-Morshedi explained that the Authority's strategy aims to be an integrated entity with a global perspective and a major focus in the MENA region.
He said that each property right has a certain period, the patent is protected for twenty years, and that each country protects only registered inventions.
He explained that the Authority seeks to increase the number of patent examiners to more than 100 specialized examiners, which is one of the most important indicators targeted by the Authority to achieve its aspirations.
