Deal signed to protect SME patents in Dubai

Maria Farooq Irfan Khan and Saeed Al Marri signed a memorandum of understanding to support innovation among members of the Hamdan Innovation Incubator.

The Hamdan Innovation Incubator (Hi2) in Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Trademark & Patent Services (UTPS) to support innovation among Hi2 members.

The MoU will protect the prototypes and patents of local SMEs and enable them to upgrade their innovations to international level. The partnership will evolve solutions and programmes for SMEs with the support of the UTPS team of lawyers and administrators specialised in all aspects relating to intellectual property, including patents, industrial designs, trademarks and copyright.

"The Hamdan Innovation Incubator seeks to encourage young people to come up with innovations and local inventions through varied services aimed at implementing such innovations. We are pleased to cooperate with UTPS in achieving Dubai's vision and strategy of supporting SMEs and enabling start-ups to implement prototypes of their inventions, and together we will assist them with patent registration processes," said Saeed Al Marri, deputy CEO of Dubai SME.

"Dubai SME supports talented entrepreneurs and their innovations through the Hamdan Innovation Incubator, by extending opportunities to mould their skills and ideas into strong foundations for projects. The partnership with UTPS will add to the support we provide to SMEs as we would be able to provide consultancy and technical expertise on entrepreneurial innovations."

Maria Farooq Irfan Khan, senior partner at UTPS, said: "This partnership will be a foundation and gateway for protecting next generation innovation. At UTPS, we keep abreast of the latest technologies and laws necessary to protect knowledge, vision, ideas and strategies and we strive to be one of the best intellectual property firms in the region."

Hi2 was launched in September 2014 under the patronage of Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, to support and promote innovations and excellence among entrepreneurial initiatives across all categories. Located in the Business Village in Dubai, Hi2 also represents the largest concentration of SMEs in Dubai.

- business@khaleejtimes.com