IP/C/W/609/Add.1  
 
24 September 2015  
(15-4945)  Page: 1/3  
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: INFORMATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 
GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) 
Addendum 
At its meeting of 9-10 June 2015, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council to update the information on their technical and financial cooperation programmes relating to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 
The present document reproduces the information which has been received from the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by means of a communication dated 
14 September 2015. 
 
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 1.  GCC is an intergovernmental organization with  membership of the following states: United Arab 
Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar, and 
State of Kuwait. All of its members are developing countries. 
2.   In its meetings of June 2015, the Chair of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Council for 
TRIPS invited intergovernmental organizations observers to the Council to provide updated 
information on their technical cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS 
Agreement for the meeting of the Council for TRIPS scheduled for 15-16 October 2015. Accordingly, the present note has been prepared by the GCC Secretariat General, pursuant to the 
said request of the Chair of the Council for TRIPS. 
3.  In pursuant to Article (20) of the GCC Economic Agreement which states that "member States 
shall develop programmes encouraging talented  individuals and supporting innovation and 
invention; cooperate in the field of intellectual property and develop regulations and procedures 
ensuring protection of intellectual property rights; and coordinate their relevant policies towards 
other countries, regional blocs and international and regional organizations", the GCC Secretariat General directs most of its technical cooperation activities to its member states. These activities 
include: 
 Working on amending the "GCC Patent Law" to comply with national patents laws of its 
member states as well as with the international treaties. 
 
 Establishing the "GCC IP Training Center" in Kuwait which organises training programmes in 
different IP fields for the be nefit of the member states. 
 
 Working on adopting a framework of coordination activities between the GCC Patent Office 
and the Member States patent offices. The framework includes patent policy, patent filing, 
patent examination, awareness and invention promotion, organizing joint activities, training IP/C/W/609/Add.1 
 
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  and human resources, patent information, information technology, and international treaties 
and organizations.  
 
4.  Since October 2014, the GCC Secretariat General has held the following activities:  
 Providing consultation and financial support for the "Gulf Inventors Campaign" which is 
organized by the "Federation of GCC Chambers". The campaign aims to support GCC 
inventors as well as to enhance innovation in the members states. GCC Patent Office (GCCPO) examiners were participated in evaluating the inventions by being judges in the 
invention’s evaluation committee. 
 
 Sponsoring the participations of inventors from its member states in some of national and 
International Exhibitions of Inventions. 
 
 Participation in Sixth Technical Meeting, organized by Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, 
Oman, November 2014   
 
 Participating in IENA "International Trade Fair Ideas - Inventions - New Products", 
Nuremberg, Germany, November 2014. 
 
 Participating in World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development 
and Intellectual Property (CDIP), Fourteenth  Session, November 2014 and Fifteenth Session 
April 2015, Geneva. 
 
 Participation in the "7th International Exhibition of Inventions in the Middle East", Kuwait, 
December 2014. 
 
 Participation in the sixth student’s conference by evaluating the students' invention. Jeddah, 
KSA, February 2015. 
 
 Participation in "Management of challenges in the field of research and innovation forum", 
Organized by the Gulf Petrochemicals Union, Dubai, March 2015. 
 
 Participation in "Challenges in the implementation of Intellectual Property laws in Arabic 
Countries Conference", Cairo, Egypt, April 2015. 
 
 East Meet West " Forum on Asian patent information", organized by European Patent Office 
(EPO), Vienna, Austria, April 2015. 
 
 Participation in Regional workshop in "Benefits from patent examination reports results in 
other patent offices", organized by WIPO and Egypt Patent Office, Cairo, Egypt, June 2015. 
 
 Participation in Standing Committee on the Law of Patents: Twenty-Second Session, 
Geneva, July 2015. 
 
 Participation in workshop in the field of information technology for Arab Countries Offices for 
Industrial Property, organized by WIPO and Egypt Patent Office, Cairo, Egypt, August 2015. 
 
 Providing technical support for Kuwait Patent Office by sending expert personnel from 
GCCPO to Kuwait Patent Office, September 2015 
 IP/C/W/609/Add.1 
 
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  5.  In addition, the GCC Secretariat General (GCC IP Training Center) in Kuwait Organized number 
of training courses as follows: 
 TRIPS Convention on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property, organized in 
cooperation with Arab Society of Intellectual Property, Kuwait, November 2014 
 
 Illustration about Copy Right Law in the Current  Legislations, organized in cooperation with 
Singapore Intellectual Property  Academy, May 2015. 
 
 Protection of Undisclosed Information and Trade Secrets,   organized in cooperation with 
Singapore Intellectual Property  Academy, May 2015.   
 
 Training Course about PCT, June 2016. 
 
 Intellectual Property Basics, June 2016. 
 
 Legislation Procedure in Intellectual Property for GCC states, June 2015.  
 
 
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