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The Seventh Regular Session today approved GCC trademark and draft law on Aflaj

The State Council today approved the draft law (system) "trademark of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC), assigned by the Council of Ministers, with the reports of the Economic Committee and of Majlis Ash’shura.
Today, the State Council approved the draft law (system) "trademark of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC), assigned by the Council of Ministers, with the reports of the Economic Committee and of Majlis Ash’shura, Hon.Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Harthy, Head of the Economic Committee. Also, it approved the draft law on "regulation and protection of Aflaj sites listed on the World Heritage list" referred by the Council of Ministers and the reports of the Committee of Culture, Information and Tourism and the Majlis Ash’shura. Some observations were made on amending the Animal Welfare Law and the Veterinary Medical Practice Law. The State Council Chairman, HE. Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Manthri, chaired the seventh Regular Session of the State Council in the presence of the honourable members and the Secretary General of the Council. Following the welcome speech, the Chairman referred to the agenda, which listed the topics meant for discussion. He added that the Council would discuss tomorrow the proposal of the Economic Committee on the study of "the development of the capital market and the banking sector," in addition to discussing the proposal to form a special committee to study the topic of "the development of a national program of performance and creativity of the government." The State Council Chairman applauded the fruitful participation of some honorable members in the Arab and international forums for playing an effective role. The Chairman lauded Hon.Adulqadir Salim Abdullah Al Dhahab, State Council member for receiving the Gold Award for Excellence at 24th Arab Parliament Conference that concluded in Rabat on 21 March 2017. He also extended congratulations to Hon.Dr Raya bint Salim al Manthriya for winning the membership of the Executive Committee of the parliamentary forum of Youth of the Inter-Parliamentary Union represented within the Arab group participating in the 136 the session of the IPU conference, which was held from 1st April-5th April in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. At the end of his speech, he hope that the topics on the agenda will be discussed extensively by the honored members, and prayed for progress of Oman under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. The Head of the Economic Committee, Hon.Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Horthy, presented the committee's report on the draft law. He stressed on the importance of the trademark as a means of guaranteeing the product and the consumer at the same time. It plays an important role within the marketing policy of companies whether to promote itself or its services and products, which is one of the main and important means to maintain the identity of the product or service provided. The economic importance of trademarks lies in the fact that they contribute to the reduction of fraud and counterfeiting and are a tool that preserves the competitive advantage of the product or service it symbolizes. Al-Harithi said that the Paris Treaty for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 was the main document on which international trademark law was based and paved the way for the conclusion of international conventions and treaties in the area of trademarks. Al-Harthy explained that, in relation to the Sultanate, trademarks were among the most important topics dealt with by several legislations that were issued and amended. This includes Royal Decree No. 68/87 on the issuance of the Trademarks and Trademarks Law on 05/10/1987, (2000) dated 21/05/2000 on the repeal of the previous law No. 68/87 and the issuance of the Trademarks, Data and Trade Secrets Act and protection against unfair competition. Subsequently, a royal decree was issued on 23/04/2007 regarding the Sultanate's accession to the Protocol of the Madrid Agreement the International Registration of Trademarks of 1989 and the Trademark Law Treaty In 1994. He pointed out that on 12/05/2008, a royal decree was issued concerning the repeal of the previous law No. 38/2000 and the issuance of the Industrial Property Rights Law, including a special section titled "Trademarks", which is the law in force so far. The session also discussed the draft law on "regulation and protection of Aflaj sites listed on the World Heritage list" referred by the Council of Ministers and the reports of the Committee of Culture, Information and Tourism and the Majlis Ash’shura on it, in addition to the adoption of the minutes of the meetings of the fifth regular Session. The Chairman of the Committee on Culture, Information and Tourism, Honourable Dr. Ahmed bin Ali Al Mashaykhi said that a subcommittee was formed to study the draft law, which follows the Sultanate's procedures to register a group of Omani falajs within the World Heritage in accordance with the International Convention for the Safeguarding of Cultural and Natural Heritage. The inclusion of five aflaj in the list of world heritage is Aflaj. He pointed out that the Committee had introduced some amendments to the draft law, which consists of 18 articles. The session approved the minutes of the sixth Regular Session The Council will hold its eighth session on Thursday, to discuss the proposal of the Economic Committee of the Council on the study of "Development of Capital Market and Banking Sector", in addition to a proposal to form a special committee to study the topic of "Developing a National Program for Government Performance and Creativity".