| 24 Jul 2010 |
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US ready to help Lebanese officials protect IP rights
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24 July 2010
BEIRUT: Infringement of Intellectual Property (IP) rights hurts not only US companies, but also the Lebanese economy, a US government delegation told Lebanese officials during a seminar on IP rights issues on Friday.
The audience included a number of Lebanese ministry representatives, lawyers and NGOs specializing in IP issues while US agency representatives and attorneys made up most of the American delegation.
The conference was opened by US Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison and the president of the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce Salim Zeenni. Both said that progress had recently made by Lebanon toward better protection of IP rights, but added that work must still be done regarding both legislation and enforcement.
Sison praised the Cabinet’s recent passage of new legislation on IP, noting that the penal measures were still awaiting Parliament approval.
She added that Lebanon had made progress in enforcement and had increased intellectual property rights awareness in recent years.
“Many of the ministers whose portfolios deal with intellectual property rights issues have expressed their commitment to work more on improving the rights of intellectual property owners in Lebanon, and we hope this momentum is maintained,” she added.
However, the ambassador added that the issue of IP rights remains one of the biggest obstacles to Lebanon’s accession to the World Trade Organization.
“Although Lebanon was upgraded to Watch List from Priority Watch List on the US Trade Representative’s Special 301 Report on the state of intellectual property rights worldwide in 2008, unfortunately Lebanon remains on the Watch List,” she said.
US attorney-advisers lectured the audience on the content and advantages of various US and international laws regarding IP protection. These include the WTO’s 1994 Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and directives given by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
“Better IP protection will strengthen Lebanon’s economic situation,” US attorney-adviser Paula Pinha told The Daily Star, before adding that transposing foreign IP law into national legislation should take Lebanese specificities into account.
CISCO general manager Fadi Moubarak viewed IP protections as no less than “fundamental to the development of democratic societies and economic systems.”
He also voiced regret that countries like Iraq were a safe haven for IP violators.
For his part, Lebanon’s Economy Minister Mohammad Safadi announced to the visiting US delegation that five new IP controllers would soon join the ministry, along with 10 more before the end of the year.
© Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
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