For innovation to thrive, inventors need professionals who can draft patent applications that protect the value of their creations. However, without access to training in patent drafting, professionals can hardly grow the skills that they need to support their local innovators.
To boost the quality of patent applications in the Arab region a two-part Regional Patent Drafting Course in Arabic was organized by WIPO with the support of the Japan IP Global Fund in Trust. More than 100 individuals in 15 different countries from universities, research institutions, technology transfer offices, innovation agencies, companies, law firms and IP offices were selected among more than 500 applicants to take part in the Course.
The Course consisted of:
- Virtual Workshop (27-30 January, 2025) – 4 days of tutor-led webinars on the fundamentals of drafting claims and specification where expert-facilitated discussions and exercises.
- Practical Exercise – (15 February – March 31, 2025) during which participants worked individually on two practical exercises sent by e-mail and had the opportunity to receive individual feedback.
Three patent drafting experts in the region delivered the course curriculum: Mr. Mohammad Diab, IP Expert, iPark, Amman, Jordan; Ms. Sara Graiz, Patent Expert, Bara’a, Amman, Jordan; and Dr. Rasha Tawfiq, IP Expert and Lecturer, The British University; together with an international patent attorney, Mr. Lou Troilo, Partner, Finnegan, Washington, USA.
Topics from techniques in drafting claims, claims in different technical areas, drafting patents in specific jurisdictions as well as real cases and exercises were discussed during the course.
The positive feedback for all the different elements in the Course with a 100% of the participants acknowledging that it helped them to significantly improve their drafting skills, is very motivating and encourages us to continue our work in supporting innovators worldwide through patent drafting training.