Regulating laws for intellectual property rights to help Oman attract investments

Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion has said that the regulatory laws for intellectual property (IP) rights will help in attracting commercial and industrial investments for innovation-based projects.
The Ministry is looking to create a competitive business environment for the private sector to help the development of the national economy effectively.
All indications are that the transfer of inventions to the stage of industrialisation, production and then marketing will help achieve good financial returns for inventors and companies.
These factors will contribute in achieving growth, even as the Ministry makes vigorous efforts for the development of the intellectual property rights sector that supports the capabilities of inventors.
In the last 10 months, more than 8,400 trademark and patent applications have been received by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion.
Number of applications
The number of applications for ‘national’ and ‘international’ trademarks and patents submitted to the Intellectual Property Department from the beginning of January to the end of October 2020 was 8,433. Of these applications 6,188 were for national trademarks, 1,814 for international trademarks, and 431 for national and international patents.
The ministry confirmed that the Ministerial Decision No. 206/2018 regarding reducing fees for students and researchers of small and medium enterprises by 90 per cent and 50 per cent respectively was a catalyst for more national patent applications, as the inventor could benefit from this reduction by spending and developing innovations.
In addition to this, the patent examiners at the Intellectual Property Department are also assisting inventors in drafting their applications, initial searches and providing advice regarding the importance of registration and protection.