Oman's efforts to protect intellectual property are in line with the 50th Blessed Renaissance Day. The authorities made great efforts in the latter half of the 1990s to protect artistic works and comply with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) laws and regulations.
During this period, Oman was and continues to be, devoted to this extraordinary global trend, finally joining the World Trade Organization.
As part of its efforts to foster economic and technical growth, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) strives to preserve and consolidate intellectual property. The ministry is also a key instrument for encouraging innovation and creativity, as well as fair market competition. The government has developed various legislation and laws to protect intellectual property rights, including patent, industrial property, copyright, and trademark protection.
The government also passed rules and regulations governing intellectual property rights, including trademarks, publication rights, and copyrights. In addition to protecting the rights of inventors and creators and fostering creativity and investment in research and development, the government authorised many frameworks pertaining to patents, industrial designs, and information protection.
The ministry has implemented a number of processes and initiatives to improve IPR, while also promoting innovation and investment in new innovative ideas.
It is worth noting that Intellectual Property Rights Protection Law 2008 and its amendments encompass the protection of trademarks, patents, copyrights, industrial designs, and trade secrets. Additionally, the Sultanate of Oman is one of the active countries in this regard.
In terms of international treaties and compliance, the government always strives to join international treaties to boost intellectual property protection.
For instance, Oman has signed a number of international intellectual property treaties and agreements, including the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) International Trade Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Regarding the executive side, the National Intellectual Property Office has been founded with the goal of implementing intellectual property policies and laws in the Sultanate, registering patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and providing intellectual property protection services to inventors and innovators.
The relevant authorities organised awareness and education campaigns on the need of protecting intellectual property rights and the risks of infringing on the intellectual property rights of others. Media campaigns, seminars, and workshops have been organised to raise awareness among innovators and business owners.
In this respect, the MoCIIP organised a workshop named ‘High-level dialogue workshop between Sultanate of Oman & WIPO’ in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Omani Association for Intellectual Property.
As part of the Oman Vision 2040 objectives, the training intended to increase knowledge of the value of the intellectual property and to elevate it as a civilised idea for government institutions. The workshop produced numerous proposals targeted at connecting higher education institutions in order to benefit from WIPO’s programmes and projects in the sphere of intellectual property training and capacity building.
The government is also following up on the suggestion to create an Omani version of the intellectual property workshop and has formed a working committee to do so.
In addition, in partnership with the Ministries of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion, and Labor, a national centre for intellectual property training was established.
To begin work on the project, a point of contact with WIPO was created. In addition, the existing master's degree cooperation project between WIPO and Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) on a combined master's degree in intellectual property was approved.
In collaboration with WIPO, a national programme has been developed to relate intellectual property to education in the Sultanate of Oman. It entails including intellectual property themes in school, university, and academic institution curricula.
WIPO is also collaborating with Oman to develop a training programme for incubators and entrepreneurship, as well as the National Intellectual Property Office's work structure, in order to deliver better services to stakeholders.
The government is also interested in developing an effective administrative infrastructure for the creative industries, establishing mechanisms for managing rights, and benefiting from WIPO assistance to member states in strengthening and improving national institutions’ capacity in assessing the economic importance of the creative sector and managing intellectual property in the creative industries. The government is also working to take advantage of WIPO's assistance in training law enforcement and judicial officials, establishing special councils and committees to settle intellectual property disputes, establishing a special department concerned with intellectual property in the courts, and preparing a specialised cadre of trainers at the Judicial Institute.
The Ministry is also organising a workshop to develop the intellectual property system in the Sultanate of Oman and to approve the national strategy to come out with initiatives to develop the intellectual property system and to adopt the national strategy for intellectual property over a two-week period.
All of these actions and procedures contribute to raising the value of intellectual property and developing several mechanisms that must be followed in order to improve the country’s economic diversification strategies.
We hope that these efforts will be fruitful, and that strict respect for intellectual property regulations and consequences will allow for greater invention, creativity, and progress, therefore creating an acceptable atmosphere for investment in a legally protected environment.
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