Mustafa Abdel Azim (Dubai)
The Ministry of Economy revealed during a media briefing at its headquarters in Dubai today, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises, the advantages of the new industrial property law and its role in supporting the fifty goals and developing the climate of innovation and invention in the country.
Federal Law No. 11 of 2021 regarding the regulation and protection of industrial property, which replaces the previous law of 2006, included substantial amendments to previous legislation that increase the confidence of inventors and stimulate innovation, with a focus on education, health, technology, renewable energy, transport, space and water.
The law aims to facilitate innovation, invention and access to knowledge for entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises, start-ups, companies with research and development centers and academic institutions. The law supports the state’s strategies in attracting qualitative investment, attracting talent, developing industrial and technological sectors, and raising the state’s position on competitiveness indicators.
The amendments focused on raising the efficiency of industrial property systems and services, including patents, utility certificates and integrated circuits… and enhancing the flexibility and speed of procedures for managing, examining, registering and receiving applications.
The “economy” aims, through the procedures introduced by the law, to shorten the period for issuing the results of the patent examination to 6 months, compared to 42 months in the past.
The most prominent amendments included adding legal protection to integrated circuit designs and undisclosed information.. in a way that stimulates innovations in electronics and technology and encourages research and development in the industry, and the development of an urgent application form to complete the patent examination quickly.. and the possibility of converting a patent application into a utility certificate and vice versa.. And the possibility of patent division and restoration before and after grant.
Updating the procedures for disputes regarding industrial property applications to become more flexible and speedy, by allowing re-examination after grants, and creating a mechanism that allows grievances to the Ministry before resorting to the judiciary.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the number of patent applications submitted to the Ministry of Economy has steadily increased over the past years, rising from 157 applications in 2000 to 1288 in 2010 to 1917 in 2020, while the number of patent applications submitted in 2021 increased to 2428 applications, with a growth rate of 26.7 % compared to 2020.
His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises, stressed that the UAE has achieved – thanks to the vision and support of its wise leadership – regional leadership in various fields related to innovation and intellectual property, noting that the UAE has ranked first in the Arab world for the sixth year in a row. In the Global Innovation Index for the year 2021, it has developed an integrated system for intellectual property applications and services, and today it has supportive and stimulating policies to enhance the role of intellectual property in general and industrial property and patents in particular, as one of the drivers of economic recovery and progress in various sectors, and a fundamental pillar in economic and social development efforts sustainable based on knowledge, innovation and pioneering thought in the country.
His Excellency Al Falasi said: “The new industrial property law represents one of the most important initiatives that the Ministry of Economy and its partners have worked on to develop in order to drive growth based on knowledge, innovation and support entrepreneurship, in line with the vision, principles and projects launched by the UAE government to establish a new phase of internal and external growth. The state, with the aim of accelerating the transformation towards a new, more flexible and sustainable knowledge-based economic model, that keeps pace with the latest trends in economic development, in which innovation, technology, research and development, national competencies, inventors, talents and entrepreneurs are a locomotive for progress and growth.” His Excellency indicated that the law supports this strategic direction through Developing systems and procedures for legal protection of inventions, in a way that stimulates the progress of new ideas, innovations and inventions by individuals and companies in various sectors, especially the seven sectors identified by the National Innovation Strategy, including education, health care, technology, transportation, renewable energy, space, and water.
His Excellency expected that the number of patent applications submitted to the Ministry of Economy by the end of this year 2022 will achieve a growth of more than 20% compared to last year.
How does the law support the economic vision and strategic goals of the state?
The new law comes among the largest legislative changes in the history of the country, which included the formulation and updating of 50 federal laws, which aim to contribute to a fundamental development in the legislative organization of the economy to be more competitive, flexible, open and able to attract global investments and successful companies in various sectors, especially new sectors. and futuristic.
The law is in line with the vision of the rational leadership and the principles and fifty projects launched by the state government to establish a new phase of internal and external growth for the state to accelerate the transition towards a new, more flexible and sustainable economic model, and to build a knowledge economy that keeps pace with the latest trends of economic development, in which innovation, technology, research and development, national competencies, inventors and talents are represented. Entrepreneurs are the engine of progress and growth. Among the most important development paths supported by the law:
• Granting additional facilities and flexibility in the field of patents and industrial property for the entrepreneurship sector, small and medium companies, start-ups, and establishments that contain special sections for research, development and innovation, to benefit from the industrial property services provided by the Ministry of Economy with a higher efficiency and in a manner that contributes to the development of innovation and knowledge in a comprehensive manner in the national economy.
Creating a competitive and stimulating environment for qualitative investment, whether national or foreign, in areas related to innovation and invention, and increasing the attraction of investors in the technology, research and development sectors, in a way that encourages inventions and innovations capable of industrial development and turning them into successful commercial projects.
• Supporting the industrial development efforts in the country, especially the modern and advanced industry, by facilitating and stimulating industrial companies’ access to patents and industrial property applications.
• Enhancing the country’s attractiveness for talents and competencies, and raising its position as a preferred destination in the sectors of the new economy.
• Increasing access to knowledge and benefiting from research and development in the private sector, academic institutions, small and medium enterprises and start-ups.
• Improving the country’s position on relevant global competitiveness indicators, such as the Global Innovation Index, the Global Entrepreneurship Index, and the Global Competitiveness Index.
.