Geneva: The State of Qatar participated in the 66th session of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), held in Geneva.
The Qatari delegation to the session was headed by
H E Dr. Hind bint Abdulrahman Al Muftah, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva.
In the State of Qatar’s statement during the session, she emphasized the country’s commitment to developing intellectual property (IP) systems in collaboration with WIPO, particularly with the IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector. She praised the significant role played by WIPO in building an effective and balanced international IP system that promotes innovation and creativity in a way that supports sustainable development and benefits all member states.
She announced that the next conference will be held in Doha on Sept 1 and 2, in cooperation with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, the IP for Business Division, and the WIPO Judicial Institute, under the sponsorship of Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Hamad Bin Khalifa University. The event is organised based on a memorandum of understanding signed between Qatar and WIPO and will be attended by high-level dignitaries from the organization and the region.
She also highlighted the State of Qatar’s efforts to collaborate on alternative dispute resolution, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, education, and capacity building. She stressed that these initiatives are directly aligned with the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030, supporting the country’s ambitions to invest in human capital and transition towards a knowledge and innovation-based economy.
She emphasised the importance of the support WIPO provides to Qatar in formulating its national strategy, developing its institutional IP framework, and working toward the establishment of a national intellectual property centre.
She also noted the State of Qatar’s keenness to keep pace with legislative and legal developments in the field of intellectual property, particularly with regard to treaties and agreements administered by WIPO, most notably the Madrid Protocol, which governs the Madrid System for the international registration of trademarks. Qatar acceded to the protocol on May 3, 2024, becoming the 115th member of the system. The protocol entered into force on Aug. 3, 2024, and Decree No. (59) of 2024 was issued approving Qatar’s accession to the protocol, thereby giving it the force of law in the country.
