Business & Money | Thursday 30 November, 2017 8:04 am |

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) held two events to discuss the development of appropriate collaborative measures for tackling IP infringement and counterfeiting in the region.  

 

 

IP Judicial Workshop – 26 November 2017

 

The first event aim to promote mutual understanding of judicial system protocol and operations between the UAE and Japan. The workshop emphasised the importance of IP, and was attended by a broad selection of court judges, prosecutors, government officials and lawyers from the two countries, including Dr. Mohamed Alkamali, General Manager of the Institute of Training and Judicial Studies (ITJS), Mr. Jawad Al Redha, a board member of the EIPA, Mr. Kunihiko Shimano, Deputy Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and Mr. Toru Takano, a METI affiliate and Japan-based attorney at law.

 

In his keynote speech, Dr. Alkamali explained details of judicial system, laws and regulations regarding Intellectual Properties in UAE. Mr. Al Redha introduced EIPA’s activities towards IP protection, including IP awareness campaign. Mr. Shimano made keynote speech on details of the trial and appeal system employed by JPO which specifically concerns patents, industrial design and trademarks. The purpose of which is to increase the credibility of IP rights and to provide timely resolutions of any related disputes. Mr. Takano explained the overview of IP court and IP judicial procedures in Japan.

 

 

Anti-counterfeiting Seminar – 27 November 2017

 

The second event focused on Japanese brands presenting to a range of government authorities on how to distinguish counterfeit items from genuine ones. The seminar was attended by the Dubai Police, Department of Economic Development (DED), the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD), Dubai Customs, Sharjah Customs, Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), and the EIPA, as well as Japan's METI, Customs Authority, JETRO, and a host of Japanese companies.

 

With one of the largest economies and markets in MENA region, the UAE deals with a vast quantity of cargo, making IP a particularly vital asset in need of protection. In 2016, the DED seized 67 million fake products in Dubai alone worth AED 1.6 billion.

 

The seminar was created in order to strengthen cooperation on anti-counterfeiting in the UAE, including endeavours across the market, border and free trade zone, by providing relevant information to the related authorities, as well as sharing experiences and pitfalls of the past.

 

This important series of events continues ongoing efforts to build upon the promotion of mutual understanding on judicial system and operation related to anti-counterfeit between UAE and Japan, as well as the growing importance of IP.