UAE, South Korea Reinforce Cooperation Related To Patents, Industrial Property Systems

The UAE Ministry of Economy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the South Korean Intellectual Property Office, which stipulates that the latter will serve as the "International Research Administration" and the "International Preliminary Examining Service for International Patent Applications in the UAE," under the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Both sides also signed another MoU related to the establishment of an advanced automation system for industrial property in the UAE.

The ministry and the Korean Centre for Patent Information then signed a contract related to technical support services and industrial property automation at the ministry’s International Patent Registration Centre, as well as to enhance their cooperation and exchange expertise in the areas of artificial intelligence, AI, and innovation, to develop the country's capacities by benefitting from Korea’s relevant expertise.

Both MoUs and the contract were signed by Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Shehhi, Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs, and Park Won Jo, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, in the presence of Khalfan Al Suwaidi, Director of the International Patent Registration Centre at the ministry, during an event that was held in Seoul and attended by many experts and officials from both sides.

The MoU aims to develop flexible mechanisms to reinforce the IT cooperation in industrial property between both sides, which include the exchange of information on managing the industrial property automation system of the ministry’s International Patent Registration Centre.

The MoU also stipulates the strengthening of the cooperation between the two sides in developing the UAE’s industrial property automation system in a sustainable way, through technical guidance provided by Korean experts, as well as in exchanging expertise and knowledge to promote intellectual property information among the public and encourage the private sector to benefit from its application.

Technical teams from both sides held a meeting to discuss ways of developing the inspection mechanisms used by the ministry’s International Patent Registration Centre.