In Cooperation between the European Patent Office and Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property, the first workshop of the Arab Intellectual Property Offices is to be held in Beirut.

The Lebanese capital of  Beirut will host on Monday 28 October 2002, a specialized workshop under the title the Founding Capacities in the Middle East Intellectual Property Offices ?The Perspective and the Current Status?

The workshop held under the patronage of the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade, Mr. Basel Flehan is organized by the European Patent Office in cooperation with Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property and the Arab Society of Intellectual Property. It will be attended by the Managers of Intellectual Property Offices in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Patent Office, in addition to representatives of the French Embassy in Beirut, the European delegation, France Telecom, ?Bohmert and Bohmert? Office, and the Arab Society of Intellectual Property?s delegation. It will also be attended by the delegation representing Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property offices and branches in the Arab countries led by Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh.

The opening session, will include speeches by  the following will deliver speeches: the representative of the Ministry of Trade and Economy, Dr. Fadi Makki, the representative of the European Patent Office, and Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property and the Arab Society of Intellectual Property.

The workshop, which is the first of its kind, aims at exchanging expertise, activating the potential of the Arab trademarks and patents offices in the Arab countries, and providing assistance to develop its work The bases  the cooperation with the European Patent Office will be discussed, as well as the extent of benefit from office expertise.

This professional gathering represents an important opportunity to build and develop the Arab intellectual property capacities and to get familiar with world experience. The European Patent Office representative will present in this gathering the activities and capacities of the European Office as a main member in the field of intellectual property.

Abu Ghazaleh Legal Services (ABLE) shall provide the regional vision to develop intellectual property laws and implement them.

Mr. Heinz Goddar ex-Chairman of the Licensing Executive Society International shall deliver a lecture in the workshop about the strategic importance of patents of invention in the local industry in the leading economies.

Seminars shall also be held to discuss the intellectual property activities in the Arab countries to be presented by the Gulf Cooperation Center and the intellectual property offices in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

Examples of the cooperation conducted in the Arab world will be presented in addition to the intellectual property guides in Jordan and Bahrain.

An open discussion session will be held to discuss the next steps, the observations of the European Patent Office and Abu Ghazaleh Intellectual Property, the vision of the Arab Society of Intellectual Property and any opinions or conclusions reached by the participants in the workshop.