Sub-Regional Workshop on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property for Law Enforcement Officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council
November 17, 2023
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) jointly organized a Sub-Regional Workshop on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property (IP) for Law Enforcement Officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on October 2 and 3, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event was financially supported from the Japan Patent Office (JPO)
The objectives of the event were to exchange experiences on national and regional strategies for effective cooperation to address trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy in the physical and digital markets; to shed light on certain voluntary measures adopted by e-commerce platforms; to encourage the public and private sectors to cooperate on combatting IP infringement; and to improve the skills and to raise the level of knowledge relating to IP right enforcement among law enforcement officials in the GCC countries.
The event welcomed 70 participants in total in person, with 14 participants from the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the State of Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, and the United Arab Emirates and another 56 participants from various government and private entities in the host country, Saudi Arabia.
WIPO Director General Daren Tang, Dr. Abdulaziz Alswailem, CEO of SAIP, and Mr. HAMANO Koichi, Commissioner of the JPO opened the workshop with welcoming remarks
Throughout the event, a range of critical IP enforcement topics was addressed and expert presentations offered actionable strategies and real success stories. The engagement of the participants was notable, particularly during the session in which GCC countries shared their national experiences in combating counterfeiting and piracy.
What did the event cover?
The following topics tailored to meet the needs of government and law enforcement officials in GCC countries were covered during the event:
- A global approach to IP enforcement – building respect for IP;
- Trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy;
- The nature of online IP infringement;
- Investigating and prosecuting IP crimes including online IP crimes;
- Strategies and tools of online platforms in combating counterfeiting and piracy;
- Country reports – IP enforcement challenges and experiences in the GCC;
- Border enforcement;
- Disposal of IP infringing goods;
- The role of the right holders in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy;
- Strategic initiatives and cooperation – public/public and public/private; and
- WIPO ALERT and other Initiatives