The Move Forward

Dated 04-09-04

In view of the current trend towards liberalizing businesses in the UAE, there is a dire need to create the right environment for profitable business methodology in addition to the prosperous business opportunities that will present themselves at Dubai’s doorstep in the near future.

The Dubai Technology & Media Freezone’s role in this process is integral as well as imperative as there will be a vortex in its current operations should the move to open the market for foreign investment be sooner rather than later.

Therefore, the focus would be to look further a field at what other prospective opportunities and investments have as yet not been tapped into.

TECOM as such may act as a mechanism and tool for a move towards intensive implementation of Intellectual property Laws and all related dynamics. With the vast resources available and its huge capability of reaching nearly more than 4000 Knowledge workers, TECOM may facilitate the move towards Dubai’s 2010 vision of a knowledge economy.

As the UAE is moving at a fast pace towards expanding its international portfolio so the need to encourage foreign direct investment does arise. The issue of TIFA (Although TIFAs are non-binding, they can yield direct benefits by addressing specific trade problems and by helping trading partners develop the experience, institutions and rules that advance integration into the global economy, creating momentum for liberalization that in some cases can lead to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA))1 is at the forefront of the country’s path towards expanding its strength and increasing its trading power.

As the challenges increase in such a prospective environment, so will the need to have regulatory bodies and authorities. As such they do exist but will need the strong arm of other entities to streamline this huge wave of diversity that will engulf the nation. Of the entities that will need to be in place, the Intellectual Property Office is one of such.

The IP Office will be the bridge towards safeguarding all innovative and creative endeavors that will eventually flow into the UAE. Why? As the UAE is young and at its business prime, we may not have the R&D muscle that leading nations already do though we do have the capability of attracting many inventions and industrial processes to life.

Through its financial strength the UAE will be a great opportunity for any young creative mind to bring over their brainchild to see its birth.

By encouraging this creativity, we will eventually need a higher regulatory power that will oversee these creative brainchildren and ensure their credibility through a National Authority of Science & Technology.

1. WIPO