Domesticating Foreign Intellectual Property Laws in the Digital Age

Abstract

This chapter examines some of the challenges faced by GCC nations as they attempt to modernize their economies in the digital era and in the face of substantial technological transformations. In order to fit within repositioned international markets geared towards knowledge economies, GCC states need to abide by the many rules and regulations in the area of intellectual property protection that have been developed and dictated by the World Trade Organization and the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Interestingly, even as Gulf governments introduce externally imposed legal systems, they attempt to “domesticate” foreign intellectual property laws to gain a competitive advantage by investing in the production of locally-produced content and promoting niche areas of intellectual property, including the protection of traditional knowledge rights. This is an area generally neglected by industrialized nations that tend to promote the concept of “innovation” rather than promoting and protecting collective knowledge. GCC states are attempting to use intellectual property laws to their own advantage with an emphasis on digital archiving and protection of traditional knowledge, heritage, and folklore. By promoting and protecting locally-produced content, GCC states can aspire to the globalized international economic framework as envisioned by the WTO.