Qatar, WIPO – Extended Partnership, Close Cooperation /report/ -1-

The State of Qatar's delegation also supported reaching a draft international legal instrument on intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge, considering that the draft constitutes an effective and balanced basis for negotiation, because it takes into account the different interests of the negotiations and allows for greater convergence of views, with the aim of narrowing the gaps and making the diplomatic conference a success. Qatar will participate in the Diplomatic Conference for the adoption of the Design Law Treaty (DLT) in November, and it has supported KSA's bid to host the conference in Riyadh. The treaty aims to simplify the global system for the protection of industrial designs, making it easier for designers to protect their work in local and foreign markets. The conference represents the final stage of negotiations for this treaty, which will be followed by its final adoption. The State of Qatar continues to work with WIPO members to reach an agreement on the fundamental issues related to concluding a multilateral agreement that guarantees international legal protection for the rights of broadcasting organizations. Qatar also reiterated its preparedness to host the next diplomatic conference to sign this agreement, based on the country's hope that member states will continue to show flexibility in regard to this issue. In this context, the State of Qatar supports the use of the Arabic language in all WIPO publications, as well as in its international intellectual property systems. Qatar's distinguished role was highlighted when the country won the presidency of several committees within WIPO in recent years, such as the unanimous election of the State of Qatar to chair the Executive Committee of the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Union). The State of Qatar hosted various WIPO events and held several exchanged meetings between officials from both sides. These visits included the work visit of HE Assistant Director-General of WIP O Marco Alaman to Doha, on the sidelines of his participation in the International Mediation and Arbitration Conference during the period of June 3-4, 2024. On March 5, 2023, HE Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al-Thani met with HE Director-General of WIPO Daren Tang, on the sidelines of his participation in the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha. The meeting addressed cooperation and joint projects between the State of Qatar and WIPO. Over the past five years (2020-2024), the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Strategy 2030, implemented by Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council, has contributed to achieving several tangible successes that pushed the State of Qatar to advance more than 20 places in the Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking in four years. Source: Qatar News Agency