ICT Fund, an initiative by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), participated recently in awareness seminar on “intellectual property protection and Takamul program” organized in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC). The seminar was held at the TRA headquarters in Abu Dhabi with participation of a work group from the ICT Fund and a team representing TDC along with a group of the ICT Fund’s stakeholders, the owners of 15 R&D projects.
The purpose of the seminar is to illustrate the key concepts of intellectual property and the mechanics of IP protection through copyrights and patents. It also aims to generate awareness and provide full knowledge on the legal processes associated with IP protection and its application. And since the intellectual property is the most important outcome of innovation, this seminar focuses on highlighting the importance of protecting the economic value resulting from creative ideas through selling or licensing intellectual property.
The new partnership between the ICT Fund and the TDC comes in line with their continuous efforts to support and evolve innovation, raise awareness on different concepts related to intellectual property, and provide UAE nationals with legal and financial support for their international patent filing process in order to protect their innovations and creative ideas through the Takamul Program which is an initiative developed and operated by the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC).
The ICT Fund aims to encourage and support technology, science and innovation in the ICT sector by providing the necessary funding for every talented UAE national in order to achieve a sustainable and diversified knowledge -based economy in the UAE. Since the beginning of this year, the Fund has developed a comprehensive strategy to increase investment in education and R&D activities, and support innovative entrepreneurial opportunities and projects in order to pursue its mission in providing a nurturing environment to attain sustainable national development and build a knowledge society community.
Omar Mohammed Al Mahmoud, Acting Chief Executive Officer of ICT Fund, said: “The ICT sector relies heavily on knowledge and innovation as they represent the backbone for its development and advancement. And our participation in this valuable seminar with Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee aims to review the objectives of promoting a culture of intellectual property protection in the field of technology which witnesses a big number of local innovative projects coming from UAE talents today. In line with our commitment to continue our mission in funding and raising awareness in different domains to meet the social activity witnessed by UAE this year, and educating all segments of society on the importance of intellectual property protection and the threats of piracy and violations on society, it is very important to focus on intellectual property in the field of technology given the interdependence of both areas, especially in UAE market which is witnessing a strong presence and contribution of large technology companies with an increased competition between intellectual property locally and globally.”
“Not only does the ICT Fund see generating awareness on intellectual property in technology as a duty and priority, but also it considers it the regulatory base for the all the ICT industry activities since this sector relies heavily on creativity and innovation which require protection legislations that ensure the sustainability of creative technical output and enable the UAE citizen to compete with his creative and innovative ideas with different talents from around the world,” he added.
