The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights has become one of the most contentious issues in global commerce. Much of the traditional growth and development of countries in the Middle East over the past 30 years or so has come from oil and gas revenues. The main areas that have been covered in this article are: synopsis of patenting system in each country, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf patent filing system, patentability subject matter, prosecution of patent application, opposition and/or invalidation action(s) and issues that need to be resolved for an effective patent regime.
Keywords: Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf; Paris Convention; Patent Corporation Treaty; filing costs; filing formalities; infringement action; invalidation action; non-patentable subject matter; opposition; patent search; patenting system.