November 10, 2023
KIPO Strengthened Cooperation with Middle Eastern Partners
From October 20 to 22, 2023, Commissioner of Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) Lee Insil visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia to meet her counterparts reinforcing the cooperative relationships.
Korea has built and maintained close cooperative relations with Middle Eastern countries, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, in the field of intellectual property. In the case of the UAE, a total of 14 examiners have been dispatched to the Ministry of Economy (MoE) of the country on the foundation of two Memorandums of Understanding since 2014. They have delivered high-quality patent examination services to local applicants and also provided advisory support to the government as the nation sought to improve its own IP system.
At the high-level meeting held on October 20, Commissioner Lee and Undersecretary of the MoE, UAE Abdulla Al Saleh agreed to run a training course designed by KIPO for the UAE examiners and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on this in the near future. Besides, the two sides decided to strengthen cooperation in other fields such as supporting small companies and venture start-ups with innovative ideas or technologies in terms of IP, streamlining administration using artificial intelligence and other new technologies, and youth invention education.
KIPO's cooperative relationship with another leading country in the region, Saudi Arabia, is just as strong and close since its establishment in 2018. To the present, a total of 22 Korean public and private experts have been dispatched to SAIP and various cooperative projects are underway between the two sides.
In December 2022, the two sides celebrated the achievement of a tangible outcome of KIPO-SAIP cooperation as Saudi Arabia announced a comprehensive national IP strategy for which they have worked together for years. The friendly vibe between the two countries even led to the recent recruitment by SAIP of KIPO's senior official as advisor to its CEO.
Against this backdrop, Commissioner Lee and CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) Abdulaziz Alswailem met with each other on October 22 on the occasion of the Korea-Saudi Arabia Summit, signing a MoU to enhance and expand cooperation in the areas of IP financing, PCT examination, IP training, and patent information utilization.
"We expect the recent meetings with our valuable partner offices to give impetus to our endeavours to export our excellent IP administration services and promote the Korean Wave in terms of IP," said Commissioner Lee. "KIPO wishes to have chances to work with other Middle Eastern countries such as Oman and Bahrain and will work hard to do so and to promote a Korea-friendly IP landscape in the local markets."