WIPO’s new City of Innovation award turned the end of June into a real policy deadline for cities, not just a communications moment. For the 2026 edition, applications closed on June 30, each member state could forward no more than three cities, and submissions had to move through diplomatic channels rather than go straight from city hall to WIPO. That design forces cities to present innovation, creativity and IP as an integrated public strategy instead of a loose collection of projects.For the Middle East, especially the Gulf, the timing is unusually good. Cities in the United Arab...
Saudi Arabia has now moved from hosting the Riyadh Design Law Treaty to formally backing it at Cabinet level. That matters. The Treaty is designed to simplify and harmonize the formal requirements that govern industrial design registration, which means the real target is not diplomatic symbolism but filing friction: the formal steps that still make design protection slower, costlier and less predictable than many applicants expect.For businesses, this is not just a treaty story. Design portfolios are often delayed less by the design itself than by the mechanics around it: what...
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) is preparing systems for the implementation of the Geographical Indications Protection Law and its executive framework, which are expected to take effect in mid-November 2026. The work is being linked to a broader cultural and handicraft protection strategy, encouraging makers in fields such as weaving, woodworking and leathercraft to review collective marks and industrial design protection before the GI registration system is fully operational.The practical message is to build a layered rights strategy rather than wait for a single new...
On 16 July, regional IP firm Al-Ajaleen published an update revisiting Qatar’s implementation of the GCC Trademark Law. The development should not be read as a new law taking effect this week: Qatar’s Ministerial Decision No. 56 and its implementing regulations were published in the Official Gazette on 9 July 2023 and entered into force on 10 August 2023. The framework shortened several examination, response and opposition periods, while revising official fees for registration, renewal and related procedures.For international brand owners, closer alignment across GCC jurisdictions can...
