A three-day training workshop on patent markets and trade titled “Trade in ideas: Principles of Patent Markets, Patent System and Knowledge Economy”, organized by the WTO Chair at SQU, the Department of Natural Resource Economics (NRE) and the Innovation & Technology Transfer Centre (ITTC), commenced at the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences at SQU on 7 April 2019. The opening ceremony of the event was held under the patronage of Dr. Rahma Ibrahim Al Mahrooqi, SQU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies & Research. As many as 30 participants including researchers, PhD students, technology transfer agents at colleges, technology managers and other innovation stakeholders are attending the workshop.

The overall objective of this training workshop is to better understand the functioning of the patent market and trading patents to identify policies that can give current and future researchers, investors and policy makers the right incentives to develop patented inventions into innovations that are rewarded by the market. The workshop is animated by Dr Eskil Ullberg from George Mason University, Virginia, USA.  Dr. Ullberg hosted the trade in Ideas program at WTO, and conducting a comprehensive pilot study in countries hosting WTO chairs on  trade potential of technological ideas based on patent systems.  He is working on patent markets and teaching finance and economic development classes, and is active in the patent market discussions with UN, EC, WTO, others. Dr. Ullberg  conducts applied research on policy issues to leverage the human capital formation of developing nations through markets in patents.

Dr. Houcine Boughanmi, Associate Professor in NRE & WTO Chair welcomed the audience. He said that the workshop sessions would shed light on the functioning of the patent market and trading patents; and identify policies that can give current and future researcher, investors and policy makers the right incentives to develop patented inventions into innovations that are rewarded by the market.