Establishment
The idea of establishing a specialized Arab professional body concerned with organizing those working in the Intellectual Property field at the Arab level and presenting technical assistance to the Arab countries in the various fields related to Intellectual Property, was devised by leading practitioners of the profession in the Arab world led by Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, who made intensive contacts and held several meetings since February 1984 with WIPO’s Director-General Dr. Arpad Bogsch, the Secretary-General of the International Federation for the Protection of Industrial Property Dr. Alfred Brenner and the Chairman of the European Patent Office Dr. Eric Hauser in order to put this idea into practice.
Foundation
The Society was established on February 23, 1987 in Munich, Germany under the name “Arab Society for the Protection of Industrial Property”. About 142 founders from the Arab world attended the Society’s constituent meeting. The meeting was also attended by WIPO’s Director-General, the Chairman of the European Patent Office and the Secretary-General of the International Federation for the Protection of Industrial Property. Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh chaired the meeting during which the first Board of Directors was elected. This Board consisted of 10 members representing Kuwait, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iraq.
Selection of the Headquarters
The city of Munich, Germany was selected as the Society’s headquarters as it was considered a center for the protection of industrial property and related research in Europe, and also because the German Patent Office was established in Munich after the Second World War as a continuation of the Patent Office with its old traditions, which was located in Berlin until 1945, and whose achievements were recognized in Europe and all over the world, and also for the close relations that the German Patent Office had with other European countries in the field of Intellectual Property protection.
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