Undersecretary of Justice Ministry represents Sudan in regional conference on intellectual property’s protection

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice Huwaida Ali Awad Al-Karim participated in the first regional conference on the protection of intellectual property in the traditional and digital environments, held in the Arab Republic of Egypt on March 5-7.

The conference, which was attended by ambassadors of Arab countries, representatives of judicial authorities and bodies, ministries related to intellectual property rights, civil society organizations and some interested parties, discussed a number of important working papers pertinent the intellectual property rights.

On the sidelines of the conference, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice discussed with the Egyptian Minister of Justice Omer Marwan the importance of judicial cooperation between the two countries and the exchange of experiences.

She also discussed with the Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Sylvie Forbin the National Strategy for Intellectual Property in Sudan, who promised to overcome all obstacles and provide technical support for approving the national plan for intellectual property in Sudan, referring to the amendments and international requirements that Sudan must achieve during the coming period.

The conference concluded with a number of recommendations, the most important of which is the preparation of a protocol to support cooperation and coordination between Arab countries at the bilateral and collective levels to confront technical infringements on intellectual property rights and to avoid falling into artificial intelligence from a legislative and practical point of view, in addition to activation of mechanisms for requesting mutual legal assistance among Arab countries and implementing judgments and decisions issued in the field of intellectual property rights at the regional level, as well as developing a guiding model for intellectual property legislation and preparing training and capacity-building programs with the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The conference also recommended issuance of an introductory guide based on national legislations, in addition to encouraging countries to benefit from digital applications in registering, protecting and spreading a culture of respect for intellectual property rights, as well as encouragement of activities for financing initiatives that aiming at supporting creative industries and national innovations.

Huwaida Awad Al-Karim also reviewed with the Chargé d’Affaires of the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo Ambassador Al-Sadig Omer the issues of the Sudanese citizens in Egypt and the necessity of attaching a legal advisor to the embassy, referring to the need to sign a bilateral agreement for judicial cooperation between Sudan and Egypt to ensure response to the requests for judicial assistance.

The meeting underscored establishment of a mechanism to provide legal advice to consulates.