This came during the opening of a symposium to introduce intellectual property (IP) rights and their importance in protecting the national industry and their role in developing and increasing its exports.

During the meeting, Mr Qumsieh welcomed the Board members of the Chamber and the attendees, then introduced JAPIP and its goals and then provided a detailed explanation about the different elements of IP and how it can affect the economy and businesses.

He pointed out that the national industrial sector suffers from the presence of some low-quality counterfeit products in the local markets, which are marketed as the original. This negatively affects the domestic industry, posing serious risks to the health and safety of consumers, as most of these counterfeit goods are concentrated in the pharmaceutical, food, and chemical industries.

Additionally, Mr Qumsieh said, “The wealth of peoples is measured by the value of their inventions, innovations, and scientific production, and not by the country’s wealth buried in the ground”.

At the end of the meeting, an extensive discussion took place with the attendees, during which Mr Qumsieh answered questions from the audience about IP and the mechanisms for protecting their trademarks.

For more information, please contact jordan@qumsieh.com.

The WIPO Conference on Innovation and Climate Change, which brings together major stakeholders – international organizations, government, industry, and civil society – will focus on innovation partnerships between the public and private sector to develop and diffuse relevant technologies. WIPO Director General Francis Gurry and Mr. Luis Alfonso de Alba, Ambassador, Special Representative for Climate Change, Mexico, will open the Conference.

Research and development (R&D) partnerships, coupled with an enabling policy environment, are critical to the process of innovation. The Conference will address how the principal factors stimulating innovation can be integrated into coherent strategies that span across R&D, national production capabilities, access to markets, effective regulations, and sound intellectual property management.

The intellectual property system is one of the principal policy tools providing incentives for innovation, for investment in research and development, and in structuring collaborations, joint ventures, and licenses aimed at transferring technological solutions. The Conference will explore options that accelerate technology transfer and diffusion, and the contribution intellectual property makes in stimulating innovation supporting innovation and the transfer, adaptation, dissemination and adoption of environmentally sound technologies. A panel discussion will explore WIPO’s work in that regard.

The Conference will cover a range of issues relating to innovation and partnership models, provide concrete examples of technology transfer relating to climate change, and address questions relating to the financing of technology diffusion. The conference is divided into four plenary sessions and three simultaneous break-out sessions.

The Conference will open 11 July 2011, at 9:30 am at the International Conference Center Geneva (CICG) Room 1. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. Registration is required for this event which is open to general public.