WIPO to Support IP Projects in the UAE
February 18, 2023
At the end of an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 18, 2023, WIPO Director General Daren Tang announced that WIPO will support the UAE in developing a national intellectual property (IP) strategy as well as a project on IP finance so that local businesses and entrepreneurs can use their IP to secure financing.
In a meeting with Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai’s Culture and Arts Authority, Mr. Tang pledged WIPO’s support in developing a national IP strategy that will support the UAE’s growth ambitions. He said the strategy should be cross-cutting among relevant ministries.
IP valuation and using IP as collateral were key themes in a meeting with Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri. WIPO will support the Ministry in implementing a project on IP finance.
“The value businesses create is mostly in the form of intangibles. As the importance of this asset class grows, businesses need to rely on them to secure finance and deliver on commercial objectives like securing market share and creating revenue streams,” Mr. Tang said while noting the remarkable economic shift in the UAE recent decades to become a thriving center of trade, tourism and services.
He said that “innovative entrepreneurs and businesses need to unlock new avenues of financing for growth using their most valuable assets, intangibles, noting that “WIPO’s focus is moving intangible asset finance from the margins to the mainstream.”
Mr. Tang, in a meeting with Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology Sarah Al Amiri, who is also Chairwoman of UAE Space Agency, said WIPO will support projects on issues relating to IP in Space and IP in green and sustainable technologies. The Director General informed the Minister about WIPO Green and encouraged the UAE to include its green innovations in the platform. In addition, WIPO can also support initiatives to increase the participation of women and youth in STEM.
Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Omar bin Sultan Al Olama raised the issue of IP training for entrepreneurs in the field AI. The Minister welcomed WIPO’s initiative to bring stakeholders together for a conversation on IP and frontier technologies.
Innovation and Creative Hubs
Mr. Tang visited the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, and its in-house entrepreneurship center, the Sheraa Hub. He met with seven young startup entrepreneurs to discuss how IP can help take their ideas to market.
The Director General also met with the President of the Park and CEO of the Kalimat Foundation, Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi. They discussed closing the gender gap in the STEM professions, as well as how Kalimat is supporting the implementation of WIPO’s Marrakesh Treaty, which benefits people who are blind or visually impaired.
During a visit to the House of Wisdom, Mr. Tang also met the Emirates Reprographic Rights Association, the first copyright management association in the country.
The Director General visited the Abu Dhabi startup incubator, Hub 71, where he spoke with founders of home-grown startups, as well as those drawn to set up business in the country. He spoke to Hub71 leadership as well as their financial partners.
Mr. Tang also took part in the World Government Summit under the theme of “Shaping Future Governments,” which drew participation of over 1000 people, including 20 heads of State and Government and 250 ministers.
Speaking on the theme “How IP can level the playing field,” Mr. Tang highlighted how that IP is no longer just a technical field of interest to a small group of specialists, but has become a powerful catalyst for jobs, investments, business growth and economic development in all parts of the world, and especially for developing countries and LDCs.