December 03, 2025
Korea-UAE IP Diplomacy Opens a New Chapter through Expanded Cooperation!
-Ministry of Intellectual Property signs amended MOU with the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism during the Presidential State Visit -
-Cooperation expands beyond patent examination to include AI, commercialization, and IP protection -
-MOIP Minister agrees to institutionalize high-level meetings through ministerial IP talks -
The Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), led by Minister Yong-seon Kim, announced that on November 18 (Tue), it signed and exchanged the Agreement on the Amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding on Deepened Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property with the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism during the Korea–United Arab Emirates Summit held at Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi.
The amended agreement builds on and expands the Korea–UAE MOU on Deepened Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property signed in January 2023. The revised MOU significantly broadens the scope of cooperation to include ▲AI utilization (application of AI technologies in IP administration), ▲commercialization (IP trading and market adoption), and ▲IP protection (enforcement, anti-counterfeiting, and legal/institutional frameworks).
Minister Kim then traveled to Dubai to hold a bilateral meeting with H.E. Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism of the UAE. The two sides shared updates on their respective IP policy priorities and discussed key areas for future collaboration. Both parties agreed to establish a regular high-level dialogue mechanism to discuss topics of mutual interest—including AI, IP finance, and IP protection—and committed to advancing cooperation on AI-driven technologies for anti-counterfeiting enforcement.
Since launching the Korea–UAE Comprehensive IP Cooperation MOU in May 2010, the two countries have maintained long-standing collaboration in the field of intellectual property. Key milestones include the Korea–UAE Patent Examination Cooperation MOU signed in February 2014 and the UAE Patent Information System Development Project (Feb. 2016–Feb. 2019). In particular, Korea has dispatched a total of 19 patent examiners to the UAE over the past decade (2014–present), strengthening cooperation in patent examination.
Minister Yong-seon Kim stated, “This amended agreement is expected to further expand the export of Korea’s IP capabilities to the Middle East. We will continue to strengthen IP cooperation with Middle Eastern countries—including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar—to better protect the core technologies of Korean companies and establish a business environment that facilitates active technology transactions in the region.”