Muscat: Despite the slowdown in economic activity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the innovation coming out of Oman’s entrepreneurs and best minds have not ceased as the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) has registered upwards of 30 applications that file for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection. 

Most of these applications are geared towards presenting solutions designed to combat the pandemic in terms of Covid19 prevention, sterilisation, disease surveillance/monitoring devices, treatment methods, personal protective clothing, etc.

The applications come from an array of sources, large corporations within Oman as well as SMEs and Oman’s brightest young entrepreneurs. Over a five-year period from 2015 – 2020, The National Intellectual Property Rights Office has received a total of 110 applications, and several of these patents have been put to successful commercial applications by the Sultanate.