The 5th edition of the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association’s (GPCA) Intellectual Property (IP) Awareness workshop was hosted by Oman Oil and Orpic Group from 18-19 September 2019 in Muscat, Oman.
Held under the theme, ‘Protecting your Innovation through Technological Growth’, the workshop provided delegates with a comprehensive understanding of intellectual property (IP) rights and strategies in an environment of increased focus on creating growth through successful innovation.
It also shed light on the technological evolution of a chemical company from a licensee to a licensor and how that impacts companies’ IP strategies at every stage.
The opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Moayyed Al-Qurtas, Chairman – R&I Committee, GPCA, while Zayd Alathari, Senior Manager and Intellectual Property Counsel, Legal Affairs, SABIC, delivered an ‘Introduction to the IP journey’.
Other distinguished speakers included Peter C. Mehravari, U.S. Intellectual Property Attaché, Middle East and North Africa at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, U.S. Department of Commerce; Ahmed Almarshadi, Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships, Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property; Hesham Alarifi, Executive Director of Intellectual Property Policies, Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property; and Eng. Rasha Hamdy Abdel Hamid, IP Trainer, Senior Patent Examiner and IP Expert, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Oman.
Industry leaders, international experts, government officials and members of academia converged for two days of knowledge sharing, networking and meaningful discussions about the importance of IP protection and opportunities to increase collaboration between the private and public sector.
The workshop concluded with a presentation by Sheikha Al Akhzami, Acting Director, Innovation and Technology Transfer Center, Sultan Qaboos University, who discussed ‘Technology transfer at universities and research institutions.’ Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, delivered the closing remarks on the last day of the event providing an overview of the highlights and discussions.