The Development of Intellectual Property Protection in the Arab World

Citation

Alramahi, M. (2010), "The Development of Intellectual Property Protection in the Arab World", Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 311-312. https://doi.org/10.1108/14770021011075545

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution and development of intellectual property protection in the Arab world and the elements that shaped and accompanied this process under the international arena. The bulk of the book is devoted to consideration of areas and challenges facing countries in the region in the area of intellectual property protection – such as access to medicine, education, research and development – and argues that stronger levels of intellectual property protection arising mainly from the signing of several free trade and association agreements between countries from the region with the USA and the European Union is likely hamper these countries' development efforts and limit the policy space and implementation options available to them under the international regime as embedded under the TRIPS Agreement.

The work is divided into seven chapters, to a greater or lesser extent, relate to distinct aspects of the overall subject matter. The first two chapters introduce and explore the notion of intellectual property protection, its characteristics and developments over time. Chapter 2 sheds light on a number of developments which fundamentally changed the regulation of intellectual property and led to its development into the current form.

In Chapter 3, the author discusses the evolution of intellectual property protection into the international arena with special attention to the role played by the developed countries and particularly the USA and the European Union in strengthening the levels of intellectual property protection globally.

The author provides a preview in Chapter 4 of the general principles governing the TRIPS Agreement and its main provisions dealing with intellectual property protection. The chapter focuses on the position of developing countries, which are being pressures to adhere to bilateral and regional trade and investment initiatives and arrangements with little preparation and with no sufficient technical and legal expertise.

Chapter 5 examines specifically the intellectual property protection in the Arab world and the transformation of several Arab protection regimes from TRIPS‐minus to TRIPS‐plus. The chapter examines the views and attitudes surrounding the protection of intellectual property in the Arab world and how these views affect the development and enforcement of this type of law.

The sixth of the seven chapters is entitled “The Jordan TRIPS‐plus evolution and development”. This part examines the historical development of intellectual property in Jordan as a case study before presenting the work with the conclusion in Chapter 7.

Overall, The Development of Intellectual Property Protection in the Arab World is a worthy book. It is clearly written and divided into clear sections which aid reading. Any student, practitioner or academic wanting to get detailed knowledge of the evolution and developments of intellectual property protection, especially in the Arab world, will almost certainly find it in this work.