The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) recently invited Al Tamimi & Company to Tokyo to speak on anti-counterfeiting in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Omar Obeidat, Partner and Head of Intellectual Property and Information Technology practice, travelled to Japan to speak at the seminar, which was attended by more than 100 anti-counterfeiting specialists from legal and IP departments of Japanese companies representing a wide range of industries.
Omar Obeidat was joined by Omar Shteiwi of the Brand Owners Protection Group (BPG), who also spoke at the event. Nick O'Connell, a Japanese-speaking senior associate in Al Tamimi & Company's IP/IT team, travelled with the pair.
The seminar, organised in cooperation with the Japanese Patent Office, focussed on outlining the background to enforcement of IP rights in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Omar Obeidat's presentation included actual examples to illustrate the types of approaches that can be taken to enforce rights as well as the types of problems that rights owners might encounter. The feedback Omar received indicated that the practical examples were particularly useful. Despite having a good understanding of the law, many Japanese companies appear to struggle with the gap between law and practice.
On the following day, JETRO arranged a round table discussion with representatives of the International Intellectual Property Protection Forum (IIPPF), which is a Japanese group comprising key intellectual property owners, much like the BPG. The round table discussion was particularly useful, as it enabled key corporate IP owners to clarify actual issues that they have encountered with regard to IP enforcement in UAE and Saudi Arabia. Both panelists commented on the high standard of the questions being posed by the representatives of IIPPF. The standard of the questions illustrated the extent to which Japanese companies have familiarised themselves with the IP laws and practices in the Middle East region, and thus the extent to which IP infringement in this region is a concern to these companies.
Omar Obeidat relished the opportunity for candid discussions with these company representatives. One of the main points he made was that key corporate IP owners have a duty to help drive the development of IP law in the Middle East region by seeking to enforce their rights and, in doing so, by pushing for their own view of the scope of their rights to be accepted.
Al Tamimi & Company will continue to support the efforts of JETRO and the IIPPF so that that their members will be better placed to defend themselves against counterfeiters in the region.
© Al Tamimi & Company 2010
