BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, DEC 17
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) has emphasized that the protection of industrial designs contributes to strengthening economic development, raising rates of investment returns, and the gross domestic product, providing protection against exploitation and enhancing the commercial image of the product, in addition to encouraging innovations and the presenting of distinctive designs.
In view of the importance of this vital sector, which is considered one of the important areas of intellectual property, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP), represented by the National Intellectual Property Office, take into account the issue of raising the awareness about the culture of intellectual property in general, as it attaches great importance to the protection of industrial designs for all, so that every individual is in society to be aware of its importance, ways of its protection, and the rights & duties of all parties, either an individual, an institution or a government entity.
Nidaa bint Yaqoub al-Tamimiah, a patent testing specialist at the Ministry of Commerce and Investment Promotion, stated: “The National Intellectual Property Office is the authority concerned with registering and protecting industrial designs, while it provides various services in this sector, including registering the application, amending, transferring ownership, and adding document of power of attorney or assignment of ownership.”
She added: “As a result, there is an increase in the number of applications that registered as industrial designs in recent years, as the number of applications registered in the office during the past three years reached a total of 112 applications.”
She stressed the need to expedite the protection of industrial designs because they are considered an integral part of any business strategy for any company or business owner and creative designs that are created for marketing purposes.
Nidaa clarified that the importance of registering industrial designs lies in enhancing investments, as this protection contributes to increasing the return on investments, developing and marketing new attractive and innovative products, in line with the requirements of local and international markets, and strengthening investment rights where it provides protection for the investment rights during the protection period, by combating commercial exploitation of the industrial design or copying it by other parties.
She stressed that this protection is enough to encourage individuals, owners of companies and designers to register and protect industrial designs that preserve rights and raise the gross domestic product, and it also enhances the commercial image of the design, as the industrial designs can be an important element of the company's commercial image, while it gives strength and advantage to any product that raises and preserves the company's position in the local and foreign markets through the introduction of registered and protected products.
She also clarified that the protection of the industrial designs provides an opportunity for licensing or selling, while it is considered as a safe way to involve in contracts through which the protected design could be sold or licensed to another establishment, where it becomes a source of income for the owner of the rights.
The protection of designs also gives a positive image to the company in the local and foreign markets, where the industrial designs are considered as assets and a business belonging to the concern company and may increase the market value of the company and the marketing of its products.
Nidaa al Tamimiah also emphasized that industrial design rights are regional rights, which it is limited to the country or (region) in which protection was granted, while it is possible to file its application internationally wise in accordance with the Hague Convention, which the Sultanate of Oman has joined on 4th December 2008, and it is allowed to protect industrial designs in several countries or territories with minimal formalities.
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