Harnessing value: Through the protection of Intellectual Property, small businesses and entrepreneurs can flourish and fuel economic growth
BUSINESS REPORTER
muscat, april 24
Under the slogan of ‘IP & SMEs: Taking your ideas to market’, the Sultanate will take part in the global celebrations of World Intellectual Property Day (IP), which annually falls on April 25, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP).
To mark the occasion, MoCIIP, in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation; Sultan Qaboos University, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Riyada), the Omani Association for Intellectual Property and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), will organise a webinar on Tuesday, April 27.
The webinar will highlight the ways to support the innovative projects, and how to take them to the market, to the technology transferring offices in universities and research institutions, in addition to shine a light on the intellectual property role in supporting the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as the role World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in marketing the innovative ideas.
Commenting on the occasion, Dr Saleh bin Said bin Salim Masan, Under-Secretary for Commerce and Industry, said: “The slogan for this year reflects the intellectual property contribution to the growth of small and medium enterprises, and how intellectual property rights can be used to protect innovations, trademarks, patents, industrial designs, copyright and geographical indications, in order to create value by converting ideas into products and services and enriching them with competitive advantages, which leads to raising the existing products and services quality, as well as improving their performance and financial results in a way that guarantees creating of job opportunities, enhancing prosperity and the growth for the enterprises, society and the country.”
The annual celebration by the World Intellectual Property Day is an opportunity to highlight the importance of intellectual property rights to the communities, enhancing public awareness about IP rights and encouraging adherence of intellectual property rights, include patents, industrial designs, copyright, trademarks and geographical indications.
He emphasised that the inventions, experiences, knowledge, trademarks and goodwill owned by companies are considered as economic resources and intangible assets that contribute to raising their market value and enhance the bargaining power of SMEs, as well as attracting investors to apply for utilising these assets, which will contribute to assure an additional revenues for these enterprises.
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