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“Trademarks – From Filing to Granting” Concludes at TAGSB

28-Mar-2012 | Source : | Visits : 12267
By Ibtisam Awadat

AMMAN - “Trademarks: From Filing to Granting” course held by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in cooperation with the Arab Society for Intellectual Property (ASIP) and Jordan Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) concluded at the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Graduate School of Business.

The two-day event tackled significant issues related to trademarks, the definition, types and well-known trademarks, registrable and unregistrable marks, cancelation and revocation procedures, the role of the trademark office among others.

Judge of Amman First Instance Court Hazem Smadi discussed the latest developments in the protection of trademarks.

“Legislation is one of the main pillars in protecting Intellectual Property and we in Jordan are coping with all the international developments in this field,” Judge Smadi told ag-IP-news Agency.

Countries should not tolerate in protecting intellectual property rights, according to Smadi, as there are morale, scientific, economic and investment dimensions for protecting tangible and intangible rights.

“Protecting IPRs means the country is encouraging creativity and research, and if the rights of creators and innovators are well-protected this will attract investors to bring their investments into the country,” Smadi added.

He stated that infringements on IPRs are not on the rise yet the range is almost convergent with previous years.

“I believe that there is a state of awareness on the need to protect IPRs in the country at all levels, and there is currently an amending copyright law which was endorsed by the Ministers’ Council and will be referred to the legislative channels to be issued.”

“The judicial authority in the country participates in all efforts and training activities inside and outside the country in a mechanism to promote awareness,” he concluded.


Meanwhile, Samer Al-Tarawneh, counselor at the regional bureau for Arab countries, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) told ag-IP-news Agency that the IPRs protection status in the Arab countries varies from one state to another and depends on the conventions and treaties they are member in.

“Each country has its own particularity which it seeks to protect, therefore, some countries are very advanced in the legislation for the protection of pharmaceuticals, the Information Technology or traditional folklore.

He believes that there is an integrated circuit that needs to be completed to advance creativity, starting with supporting the innovators and IPRs holders, protecting rights, marketing, research and development along with the country’s decision and vision to defend its innovators.

“The public should be aware that protecting IPRs is protecting their own rights. Violations on IPRs mean at first lesser quality, this badly affects the economy which in turn could lead to higher taxes that ultimately would affect consumers. It’s an integrated chain,” Al-Tarawneh said.

Speakers also highlighted the correlation between trademarks and industrial designs, an introduction to the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purpose of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification), in addition selected court case in the field of trademarks were underlined.

ASIP Executive Director Mutasem Al-Dmour stressed the significance of such an event in promoting the value of trademarks.

“The participants represent all parts of the formula who are involved in the protection of trademarks from infringements. Officials from the WIPO, Customs Department, Public Security Department’s IPR Protection Division, MIT, ASIP, Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) and private sector were all present,” Al-Dmour pointed out.

At the closing of the course, the participants in detailed addressed the protection of trademarks in Jordan.
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