Introduction

This chapter discusses intellectual property (IP) enforcement issues in the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with a specific focus on trademarks. It provides an outline of the evolution of IP protection within the GCC members, focusing in particular on the pre-TRIPS, TRIPS and TRIPS-plus eras, coupled with an overview of the trademark legislation of the different GCC members. It also comments on the perceived reasons why enforcement remains a problematic aspect within the region, notwithstanding the overwhelming of legislation with the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The chapter also develops a cultural perspective on the GCC region, which creates awareness both of pre-Islamic precedents for intellectual property rights (IPRs) and of the particular conceptualization of rights, property and social responsibility for the greater good under the Shariah system; and by doing so, advances the discourse on IPRs in the Arab world. Drawing from this cultural perspective, it is argued that a proper harmonization of TRIPS with Sharia law is required if they are to operate successfully within the GCC and gain the widespread public acceptance which will solve the problem of effective enforcement and contribute to the protection of intellectual property throughout the future of the GCC.

In recent decades the GCC members — Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia— have undergone a massive transformation of their IPR regimes. This rapid modernization of their respective legal frameworks has come as a result of the states’ accession to the WTO and the need to develop IP legislation compliant with standards set down in TRIPS. However, the establishment of TRIPS-compliant legislation does not in and of itself guarantee effective enforcement. Aside from self-evident barriers to effective enforcement, such as the limited expertise of the judiciary and of relevant administrative bodies, there are a number of less straightforward factors that can inhibit effective enforcement. Especially with respect to the GCC members, two particular elements must be taken into account. At one level, the GCC members are developing countries which lack traditions in IP protection. IP legislation has, therefore, to a great extent, been informed by Western principles, if not imposed by Western hegemonic powers directly. As a result, the countries’ legislative regimes are sometimes in tension with their respective cultural, social, and historic practices governing both property and intellect.