Intellectual property applications increase by 12.59 per cent

Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) stated that the number of applications for national and international trademarks, national and international patents, and copyright and designs in 2023 reached to 14,234 registering a growth of 12.59 per cent compared to 12,642 applications registered in 2022.

Statistics issued by the National Intellectual Property Office at MoCIIP showed that the applications submitted in 2023 represented the registration of 13,196,000 applications for national and international trademarks, compared to 11,744,000 applications in 2022.

There are also registration of 874 applications for national patents and international, compared to 737 applications registered in 2022 , and 143 applications registered for copyright, compared to 144 applications in 2022 , and 21 applications registered for industrial designs, compared to 17 applications registered in 2022.

Nidaa Bint Yaqoub al Tamimiya, Head of the Patents and Industrial Designs Department at the National Intellectual Property Office, explained the importance of intellectual property comes in many areas, especially in the economy and investment sector, noting it encourages fair competition and that many of these investments contain one or more forms of intellectual property rights as an effective business enabler.

She said that intellectual property enables business owners, whether large companies, small and medium-sized companies, or individuals, to ensure guaranteed competitive advantages, generate sources of income, and an opportunity for the company to grow. It also helps them maintain their market position, reduce tax liability, form a source of competitive intelligence, and facilitate access to financing.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion, represented by the National Intellectual Property Office, invites innovators to submit their applications for registration with the Ministry’s Intellectual Property Department and to participate in national and international exhibitions, which is considered a mini market in which the inventor can market his innovation and get to know the companies that will support those innovations. — ONA