Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property Bulletin, April 1997

UAE to Revise Copyright Act

The United Arab Emirates, UAE, will have to revise its copyright act issued in 1992 to comply with international agreements on the protetion of copyrights and thus honour its commitments to the World Trade Organistion (WTO), a top visiting international copyright expert says.

In an interview with UAE's Gulf News, Larry Allman, Head of the Copyright (International Treaties) Section at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a UN body, said that the UAE would have to revise its existing copyright act to comply with the Agreement On Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) which is part of the WTO.

Mr. Allman pointed out that the TRIPs agreement incorporates the main provisions of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works signed in 1886; it also includes some additional articles or Berne Plus Elements'.
continued on page 2

NOTICE OF HOLIDAY

Our offices throughout the Arab world are closed from April 17th until April 20th, 1997.

HAPPY EID

QATAR OFFICE

New Phone Number:

(974) 416-455

AGIP Managing Partner Continues Conference Tour

AGIP Managing Partner, Mr. Luay T. Abu-Ghazaleh, will attend the AIPPI 100th Anniversary Conference in Vienna/Budapest scheduled for April 22-26, 1997. He will then fly to Cancun, Mexico, where he will participate in the LES Conference to be held on April 25-30, 1997.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh will then attend the IACC (International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition) Conference to be held in Texas, USA, on April 30-May 2, 1997. He will stay in Texas for the INTA (International Trademark Association) Conference scheduled for May 3-7, 1997.u

in this issue

l UAE to Revise Copyright Act -page 1
l Eid Al-Adha -page 1
l AGIP Managing Partner Continues Conference Tour -page 1
l QATAR Office: New Telephone Number -page 1
l CALENDAR -page 2
l European-Arab Intellectual Property Conference in LEBANON -page 3
l AGIP Silver Anniversary -page 3

Legal Angle

l TRIPs and Arab World Legislation -page 4
l ALTTS Inaugural Meeting This Month -page 5


UAE to Revise Copyright Act

Mr. Allman said that the TRIPs agreement provides numerous protection aspects to copyright owners and gives them, for example, the sole right to control the reproduction of their work.

"Reproduction is the essence of copyright and any reproduction has to have the owner's consent. The owner of a copyright can also file a civil suit to protect his rights and demand compensation against any damages he sustains. The state can then file a criminal prosecution action which is mainly for deterrence of future infringements," Allman pointed out.

He added that another example of copyright protection in the TRIPs Agreement is in the field of broadcasting and communication with the public.

"When a musical composition or a literary work is, for example, broadcast over television, radio or cable system, it would require the consent of the author or the owner of the copyright," he said.

He pointed out that the UAE is preparing a draft law that would enable it to comply with the requirements stipulated by the Berne Convention and the TRIPS agreement. "WIPO has made comments on the draft law and the UAE has received these comments very well and is presently reviewing these comments," he said.

Mr. Allman added that WIPO, which has an excellent working relationship with the UAE, is hoping to see the Emirates join the Berne Convention in the near future after its recent adhesion to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property Rights signed in 1883. He stressed that membership to the Berne Convention is not compulsory, but that most of the provisions on copyrights in the TRIPs Agreement is derived from the Berne Convention.

"If a country only joins the WTO without joining the Berne Convention, they will still have to implement the copyright laws stipulated in the TRIPs Agreement, which incorporates the Berne Convention but would not enjoy the many benefits derived from membership of that same convention," Allman pointed out.

He said that these advantages include participating in the various WIPO expert committees, having access to studies, reports, and surveys on specific copyright from the world copyright community as to problems and issues specifically pertaining to the UAE.u Article published in the Gulf News, UAE

WIPO, which has an excellent working relationship with the UAE, is hoping to see the Emirates join the Berne Convention in the near future after its recent adhesion to the Paris Convention...

Calendar

EID AL-ADHA Apr 17-20, 97

IP Conference, BAHRAIN Apr 21-24, 97

ALTTS Inaugural Meeting, BAHRAIN April 23, 97

AIPPI 100th Ann., VIENNA/BUDAPEST Apr 22-26, 97

LES Conference, CANCUN Apr 25-30, 97

IACC Conference, TEXAS Apr 30-May 2, 97

INTA Annual Meeting, TEXAS May 3-7, 97

AGIP 25th Anniversary, LONDON Jul 14, 97

Registration alone does not ensure that trademarks conflicting with yours have not been and will not be registered. To further help protect your trademarks across the Arab World, AGIP (TMP AGENTS) offers a Trademark Watch Service. Should we, following a thorough screening of Official Gazettes of the Arab countries, find a trademark similar or identical to yours, we will provide you with a full report in time for you to lodge an opposition.

Our offices undertake regular and comprehensive searches for interested clients. Please contact any of our 21 offices or our Regional Office in Amman, Jordan, for any enquiries about the service and relevant charges.u

European-Arab IP Conference in LEBANON

The Group of Economy and Business and the Arab Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Trade of Lebanon organized a European - Arab Conference on intellectual property protection.

The conference was held on March 25-26, 1997 in Beirut under the sponsorship of His Excellency the Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr. Raffiq Al-Hariry. The importance of the conference lay in the necessity that the Arab countries join the World Trade Organization and the conventions it sponsors, in shedding light on intellectual property issues, and in inviting specialized lecturers from the Arab World and foreign countries. Among them was Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, in his capacity as Chairman of the Arab Society for the Protection of Industrial Property (ASPIP) and the Chairman of Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP).u

SILVER JUBILEE

Invitations to our 25th anniversary celebration have been mailed. Held in London, England, on July 14th, 1997, the event will feature a comprehensive intellectual property seminar, roundtables, and a live classical music concert. For more information or enquiries, or if you have not received an invitation and wish to attend, please contact our Regional Office in Amman, Jordan, before April 15th, 1997 at the address, fax or e-mail printed on the back page of this bulletin.u

SYRIA: Book on Copyright Protection Published

Dar Al-Fikr of Damascus has recently published a book on Intellectual Property Rights in the Arab Countries Non-Members of International Conventions, by Dr. George Jabbour .

The author reviewed the academic studies in the field, the Arab agreement for protecting copyright, and the provisions governing copyright protection in Syria. The book runs 310 pages.u

Our Regional and Jordan Offices can be reached by E-mail at agip@tag.com.jo

AGIP's WEB SITE
http://www.agip.com

l TRIPs and Arab World Legislation
l ALTTS Inaugural Meeting This Month TRIPs and Arab World Legislation
l ALTTS Inaugural Meeting This Month

TRIPS and Arab World Legislation

Various Arab countries have established minimum universal standards in copyrights, patents, trademarks, designs, lay-out designs (topographies) of integrated circuits, geographical indications, protection of undisclosed information, and control of anti-competitive practices in contractual licenses. The following is the status and what has to be done in complying with the minimum standards.

Upon close examination of the present status of the protection of intellectual property in the Arab world, one detects great progress in the areas of registration and implementation of these laws throughout the last decade.

TRADEMARK LAWS

The trademark laws which are currently applicable in the Arab countries conform to the following stipulations:

(a) Use should not be a prerequisite for filing applications.
(b) Provisions for publication.
(c) Cancellation of rights conferred to a trademark registration.
(d) Recognition of prior rights / prior use.
(e) Protection period.
(f) Use by a licensee is considered to be as use by the owner itself.

However, in order for the trademark laws of the Arab countries to comply fully with the requirements provided for under the TRIPs Agreement, the following steps have to be taken:

1. The trademark laws of Jordan and Iraq are to be amended to include service marks as well.

2. Cancellation on the basis of non-use within 1 year is provided for in Algeria. A 2-year term is provided for in Jordan, Yemen, West Bank and Iraq. The period should be amended to become 3 years.

3. Assignment with the business enterprise is compulsory in Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and Qatar. This provision has to be amended to allow assignment of intellectual property rights with or without the business enterprise.

4. Registration of well-known trademarks by a third party, other than its genuine owner, is prohibited by law in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia only. Trademark laws of the rest of the Arab countries should be amended to include provisions for protecting well-known trademarks.

5. Provision for opposition must be included in the trademark laws of Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon and Somalia. The trademark laws which are currently applicable in the Arab countries conform to the following stipulations:

(a) Use should not be a prerequisite for filing applications.
(b) Provisions for publication.
(c) Cancellation of rights conferred to a trademark registration.
(d) Recognition of prior rights / prior use.
(e) Protection period.
(f) Use by a licensee is considered to be as use by the owner itself.

However, in order for the trademark laws of the Arab countries to comply fully with the requirements provided for under the TRIPs Agreement, the following steps have to be taken:

Patent laws

There are three Arab countries where no patent laws are in force. A patent law has to be implemented in each of Qatar and Yemen. Oman has adopted the patent law proposed to be applied in the countries members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). However, the law has not been implemented yet because the Implementing Regulations of the said law has not been issued. The GCC Patent law provides protection for product patents. The validity period for patent protection should also be amended to 20 years as required by TRIPs. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Mauritania and the Sudan are the only Arab countries which grant protection to product patents. Therefore, the existing patent laws are to be amended to include the grant of patents for foods, drugs and pharmaceuticals per se and possibly for micro-

ABLE's News Update

l TRIPS and Arab World Legislation
l ALTTS Inaugural Meeting This Month

ALTTS Inaugural Meeting This Month

Arab Licensing And Technology Transfer Society

The inaugural meeting of the Arab Licensing And Technology Transfer Society (ALTTS) will take place in Bahrain on April 23, 1997, under the patronage of H.H. Shiekh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the State of Bahrain.

In order to streamline the licensing and technology transfer laws in the Arab world, and to offer a proper forum to discuss and develop this important field in the Arab countries in line with the objectives of the GATT, TRIPs, other international agreements, and the new world economic order, it has become necessary for the Arab world to undertake new approach or direction under the umbrella of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The inaugural meeting of the society which will come a day following the Second Arab International conference on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in the Arab Countries, will be attended by international experts in the field of licensing and technology transfer as well as members of the business community of the Arab region at large.

The objectives of the Society are as follows:

1. Operating as a non-profit, professional and educational society to encourage high professional standards among those working in the field of licensing, technology transfer and intellectual property.

2. Assisting its members to improve and develop their skills and techniques in licensing through self-education, special studies, and research, and organizing and supervising training, in addition to publishing technical material and reports on licensing and technology transfer and intellectual property.

3. Educating its members and informing the public, business community, governments, and regional bodies through suitable instruments to enhance awareness of commercial societies and governmental agencies about the economic importance of licensing and technology transfer and intellectual property rights.

4. Concentrating on research related to licensing and technology transfer and intellectual property rights.

5. Developing an arbitration system to settle disputes raised by members of the Society or others.

6. Assisting its members to undertake and implement activities of the Society, and coordinating such efforts with similar societies internationally through the most accurate information instruments.u

TRIPS And Arab World Legislation

organisms and micro-biological processes as well. Sudan and Mauritania are the only PCT members. The validity of a patent is 20 years in the following Arab countries: Algeria, Morocco, the Sudan, Tangier, and Tunisia. Patents in all the remaining Arab countries have a validity less than 20 years are to be implemented. Other expected major amendments are: Reconciliation of the provisions relating to compulsory licence with those of the Paris Convention; provisions to include protection for plant varieties; extension of exclusive rights of the patentee to importation; treating importation as working of a patent; reversal of the burden of proof by shifting it to the defendant.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN LAWS

There is hardly an Arab country whose laws provide protection for textile designs either by an industrial design law or by a copyright law, as required by TRIPs. This new area is to be taken into consideration when enacting new laws and/or amending existing laws of the Arab countries. A law on industrial designs has to be passed in each of the following Arab countries: Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Djibouti, and the Sudan. The validity period of an industrial design in most of the Arab countries is less than ten years; therefore, the validity period has to be extended.u

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.