The Political Economy of the Middle East

Series Editor
Ashraf Mishrif
Humanities Research Centre
Sultan Qaboos University
Al Khaud, Oman
This series explores the nature of Middle Eastern political regimes and
their approaches to economic development. In light of the region’s dis-
tinctive political, social and economic structures and the dramatic changes
that took place in the wake of the Arab spring, this series puts forward a
critical body of high-quality, research-based scholarship that reflects cur-
rent political and economic transitions across the Middle East. It offers
original research and new insights on the causes and consequences of the
Arab uprisings; economic reforms and liberalization; political institutions
and governance; regional and sub-regional integration arrangements; for-
eign trade and investment; political economy of energy, water and food
security; finance and Islamic finance; and the politics of welfare, labor mar-
ket and human development. Other themes of interest include the role of
the private sector in economic development, economic diversification,
entrepreneurship and innovation; state-business relationships; and the
capacity of regimes and public institutions to lead the development
process.
The book series is Scopus Indexed.
 Nadia Naim • Alhanoof AlDebasi
David Price
Editors

Intellectual Property
and Innovation
Contemporary Developments in the GCC
Member States
Editors
Nadia Naim Alhanoof AlDebasi
Associate Dean Executive Director of Copyrights
International, Law and Social Sciences and Designs
Aston University Saudi Authority for Intellectual
Birmingham, UK Property
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
David Price
Emeritus Professor
School of Law
Charles Darwin University
Casuarina, NT, Australia

ISSN 2522-8854     ISSN 2522-8862 (electronic)

The Political Economy of the Middle East
ISBN 978-981-96-4019-5    ISBN 978-981-96-4020-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4020-1

© Gulf Research Centre Cambridge 2025

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 Foreword

On a cloudy November day in 2024, I got an email from Nadia Naim, one
of the editing trio of this book, in which she inquired whether I could
write a foreword for the volume that the respected reader currently holds
in hand. Based on my academic history in the field of intellectual property
law, she rightly expected that I will have interest in accepting her invita-
tion. What I doubt is—as that is less visible on an international level—that
she was aware of the fact that I also teach comparative law for my students
in Hungary. As such, she might have been unable to foresee how deep
interest I will have commending this publication.
I was not present at the “Innovation and Development of Knowledge
Societies – Transformational Impact of IP on Knowledge based Economic
Growth with Focus on Frontier Technologies, Artificial Intelligence and
IP Financing” workshop, held in the scenic Cambridge in July 2023, that
formed the basis of the present edited book. But based on the words of
David Price in his introduction (Chap. 1), I could immediately feel the
vibe of this event and imagine the fruitful conversations of participants
from the written versions of the presentations.
Let me list three further personal reasons for happily volunteering to
write this short foreword.
First, as a professor of a Central-Eastern European university, I regu-
larly feel the reality that the intellectual property (IP) system of smaller or
marginal countries is of secondary importance compared to those of the
leading Global North nations. This, coupled with the constant pressure to

v
vi FOREWORD

publish on globally relevant questions, oftentimes leads to the decrease in

interest to publish on “local” issues. This feeling might be relevant for
some authors from GCC countries, too. Overall, putting the IP regime of
Gulf countries in the spotlight via this book is highly appreciated.
Second, as a comparative law professor, I constantly assign Marieke
Oderkirk’s seminal paper1 on the ups and downs of selecting target coun-
tries for a comparative research. Oderkirk listed various reasons that can
ruin the success of any comparisons, from which at least two arguments
seem to be directly relevant for the purposes of this foreword. Sources on
the GCC countries’ IP regime are at most scarce, and there is plausibly a
gap among the GCC countries’ official languages and the language capa-
bilities of the vast majority of IP researchers. As English has clearly become
the lingua franca of science these days, we are in a dire need for high-­
quality publications on local experiences in certain topics on this language.
The present volume fills that void.
Third, and that might be the most unique reason of mine, the opera-
tion of Shariah as well as any other religious laws in the modern world is a
gold mine for comparative lawyers. One of the recurring subjects of any
such analysis is related to the modern Islamic finance law. The present
book serves the interests of the geek comparative IP lawyers, as its second
part includes three chapters on the interplay of Shariah, financing
and IP law.
Let me return for a second to Nadia’s marvellous foresight. She could
have perfectly known that one of my major fields of interest within (com-
parative) copyright law is related to frontier technologies—topics that are
in the focus of this volume. These are especially decentralization through
blockchain technology; artificial intelligence and its effects on IP law; the
metaverse, innovative and decentralized financing. Topics like these are of
vital importance to any researcher around the world, especially since these
frontier technologies never stop at the frontiers—they are inherently cross-­
border due to their born-digital nature. Presenting the experiences from
the GCC countries is therefore timely and relevant.

1
Marieke Oderkirk: The Importance of Context: Selecting Legal Systems in Comparative
Legal Research, 48(3) Netherlands International Law Review, December 2001, p. 293–318.
 FOREWORD vii

Overall, I am convinced that the importance of this volume will become

clear to any and all researchers and practitioners of comparative IP
and IT law.

Professor of Law, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences Péter Mezei

University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
December 6, 2024
 Contents

1 Intellectual
 Property and Innovation: Opportunities and
Challenges in the GCC Member States: A Preliminary
Introduction  1
David Price

2 Intellectual
 Property, Artificial Intelligence and Economic
Development: Sport and the Saudi Arabia Exemplar 21
Alhanoof AlDebasi and David Price

3 Intellectual
 Property in the Metaverse and Artificial
Intelligence: ChatGPT in the GCC Member States 47
Dina Widyaputri Kariodimedjo

4 Development
 of New Technologies and Intellectual
Property Regulations in the Sultanate of Oman 79
Muhanna Hamed Al Zuheimi

5 A
 Framework Proposal for Islamic Finance-­Based
Intellectual Property Rights Audit Valuation109
Nadia Naim

ix
x Contents

6 Intellectual
 Property Financing for Innovation:
Structuring Intellectual Property Securitization for
Issuance of Islamic Financial Instrument “Sukuk”125
Mas Rahmah

7 Tapping
 Malaysian Intellectual Property Islamic
Financing141
Noor Suhaida Kasri

8 AI
 Innovation, Intellectual Property Commercialization,
and the Rise of the Intellectual Capital Economy:
Challenges and Prospects for GCC Economies167
Zaid Hamzah

9 Distributed
 Ledger Technology as an Innovative
Collective Management Tool for the GCC Music
Industry189
Zi Yang and Anthony O’Dwyer

10 Synergising
 IP and Cryptocurrency: A Roadmap for
Knowledge-Based Economic Growth213
Shaista Peerzada and Sangeeta Verma

11 Liability
 Gap, Personhood Theories and Effective AI
Legal Framework in the GCC Countries: Shariah as
the Thread That Binds241
Ida Madieha Abdul Ghani Azmi and Mahyuddin Daud

Index261
 Notes on Contributors

Alhanoof AlDebasi is the Executive Director of Copyrights and Designs

at the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), Saudi Arabia. She
plays a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of intellectual property (IP) in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Her multifaceted responsibilities span the
domains of copyrights, related rights, industrial designs, and layout cir-
cuits. As a distinguished representative of Saudi Arabia, she actively par-
ticipates in both national and international forums, and conferences. Also,
she has served as a special member of committees and boards. AlDebasi
focuses on the significance of intangible IP assets within the creative indus-
tries—ranging from music and film to the arts. Additionally, she explores
the complex interplay between IP and emerging technologies, and the
role of collective management organizations (CMOs) in nurturing cre-
ative economies.
AlDebasi has an extensive professional legal background. She has held
positions as director of the Innovation Department, legal IP policy advi-
sor, and legal consultant. Furthermore, she often serves as a senior advisor
to various Saudi governmental entities, offering valuable insights on cru-
cial IP matters. Her academic journey began as one of the pioneering
women to graduate with a Bachelor in Law in Saudi Arabia. Her educa-
tional background also includes an LLM from the University of Pittsburgh
and an SJD (PhD) in IP from the American University Washington
College of Law in the United States, as well as a number of executive edu-
cation programs from International Institute for Management
Development (IMD) and Harvard Business School. Her unwavering

xi
xii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

commitment to advancing IP rights underscores her invaluable contribu-

tions to the field.
Muhanna Hamed Al Zuheimi is an Intellectual Property expert in
Oman. His academic qualifications include a Master of Laws in Intellectual
Property and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Security.
With over ten years of experience, he has significantly contributed to orga-
nizations like Infoshield LLC, The Research Council, and the Ministry of
Higher Education, Research, and Innovation. He is instrumental in solv-
ing intellectual property issues and creating compliance frameworks to
support Oman’s innovation goals. He organizes workshops and develops
educational materials to equip individuals with the skills necessary for
future technological development. His strategic insights and collaborative
teamwork are pivotal in shaping policies, encouraging innovation, and
supporting new creators in Oman. His deep knowledge and influence
make him an important figure in the intellectual property field, instilling
confidence in the future of Intellectual Property in Oman’s growing inno-
vation landscape and inspiring others to contribute to this exciting field.
Ida Madieha Abdul Ghani Azmi obtained her LLB from International
Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), LLM from University of Cambridge,
and PhD in 1995 from University of London. Ida has authored and pre-
sented extensively on various issues on intellectual property and cyber law.
She is currently a professor at the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws and
the former dean of Center for Postgraduate Studies, IIUM, Malaysia.
She was the lead consultant for the Drafting of National Guidelines on
Intellectual Property and Competition (2017–2018). She served as the
consultant to WIPO for the drafting of IP modules for MyIPO (2017),
the IP policy for Kathmandu University (2016), and IP curriculum and
syllabus in Bangladesh (2014). She has assisted WIPO to design a database
of copyright law and policy for ASEAN countries (2022), a model curricu-
lum on copyright for arts and culture schools in developing countries (UG
and PG) (2022), and serve as a resource person for WIPO training pro-
grams. She led the consultancy project to draft the Malaysian Cybersecurity
Act 2024 and the Data Sharing Bill which is awaiting to be tabled to the
Parliament in December 2024.
Mahyuddin Daud obtained his PhD in Cyber Law (Internet Content
Regulation) from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM),
Malaysia. He actively writes for academic journals and teaches information
technology, contracts, and tort laws in the Department of Civil Law at
 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xiii

Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, IIUM. He holds professional mem-

berships for Inns of Court Malaysia (ICM), Malaysian Consumer and
Family Economics Association (MACFEA), and Global Internet
Governance Academic Network (GigaNet), and other various academic
positions such as editor for IIUM Law Journal. Mahyuddin has presented
academic papers in local and international conferences around the region.
He was a former deputy dean (Student Affairs) and is currently the direc-
tor of the Sports Development Centre. He is a member of the IIUM
UNESCO Chair of Future Studies—Sound Future Legal System.
Zaid Hamzah is an artificial intelligence (AI) and data practitioner and
intellectual property strategist who specializes in AI in law and finance, AI
and data governance, and AI in information security. He is currently an
Executive Education Fellow at the National University of Singapore
(NUS) School of Computing’s Advanced Computing for Executives cen-
ter, where he runs programs on AI innovation management, intellectual
property rights in AI innovation, and commercialization of AI innovation.
Zaid has over 35 years of professional experience. He has previously served
as (1) Microsoft’s director for intellectual property and commercial soft-
ware; (2) senior legal advisor to Singtel’s joint venture with Warner Bros.
and Sony Pictures; (3) Chief Regulatory Legal & Compliance Officer at
listed Telekom Malaysia; (4) associate at KhattarWong & Partners
(Singapore law firm); and (5) Singapore Government service. Zaid is the
author of nine books spanning law, technology, and intellectual property
including the book entitled Islamic Private Equity and Venture Capital:
Principles and Practices published by IBFIM, Malaysia. Zaid is a board
member of NIE1 International, which is wholly owned by Nanyang
Technological University. He has a law degree from (NUS) and completed
his Masters in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law
and Diplomacy, Tufts University, on a Fulbright scholarship.
Dina Widyaputri Kariodimedjo is an expert in business law and com-
mercial law, technology, international commercial law, drafting, agree-
ments in the WTO, intellectual property rights and drafting commercial
contracts. Her research publications include “Intellectual Property Rights
Issues on Foreign Investment—Southeast Asian Investment into Africa.”
She is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia.
Noor Suhaida Kasri is a senior research fellow and deputy director of
Research Development and Innovation Department at ISRA Research
Management Centre, INCEIF (International Center for Education in
xiv NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Islamic Finance) University, Malaysia. Prior to this, she was an experienced

Malaysian advocate and solicitors as well as a Syarie lawyer. During her
legal practice, she was appointed as one of the members of Malaysia’s
Investigating Tribunal Panel, Advocates & Solicitors Disciplinary Board
and headed the Shariah Legal Clinic of Kuala Lumpur Bar Legal Aid
Centre. Noor received her PhD in Islamic Banking Finance and
Management from the University of Gloucestershire (in collaboration
with Markfield Institute of Higher Education), UK, under the sponsor-
ship of ISRA (International Shariʽah Research Academy for Islamic
Finance). She completed her LLM from King’s College of London and
was awarded the British Chevening Scholarship. Her Bachelor of Laws
and Diploma in Shariah Legal Practice were from the International Islamic
University Malaysia. She has written a number of research papers, text-
book chapters, and articles and presented in conferences locally and
globally.
Nadia Naim is the Associate Dean International for Law and Social
Sciences at Aston University, Birmingham, UK. She is a qualified barrister
and fellow of the HEA. She has written many scholarly articles in the areas
of international intellectual property law, Islamic finance, intangible asset
financing, artificial intelligence and development, comparative law, and
international law. She completed her Ph.D. in Intellectual Property Rights
and Islamic Finance on the GCC titled, “The Intellectual Property
Regimes in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC): Recommendations to
Develop an Integrated Approach to Intellectual Property Rights.” She has
authored books in the intellectual property field and specializes in emerg-
ing areas of international development. Her most recent publications are
Islamic Legal Principles and Intellectual Property Rights in the Gulf with
Gerlach Press and Developments in Intellectual Property Strategy with
Palgrave Macmillan. Nadia advises policymakers on intellectual property
and Islamic finance principles.
Anthony O’Dwyer lectures in law & technology, AI, music law, and
copyright at South East Technological University, UK. Anthony’s current
research with the Turing Institute on AI and music focuses on how cul-
tural products—art and music—evidence a social transition that precedes
the “next horizon,” the next great change in humanities’ social and cul-
tural existence.
 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xv

Shaista Peerzada is currently studying her MBA at the University Canada

West, BC, Canada. She also works as an Associate Professor at Ajeenkya
D.Y. Patil University, Pune, India, to supervise PhD students and special-
izes in teaching intellectual property laws, science, innovation and tech-
nology laws, cyber laws, commercial laws, etc. She holds a PhD in
Intellectual Property and Information Technology from Shri Venkateshwara
University, India, and a Master’s degree focusing on innovation, technol-
ogy, and intellectual property laws from Symbiosis International University.
She has been in the WIPO Summer School at the Franklin Pierce Center
for Intellectual Property, University of New Hampshire, USA. She has
researched and delivered presentations at the WIPO-WTO Colloquium
for IP teachers and researchers in Asia and at many other conferences on
innovation in business and IPRs, information technology laws, and com-
mercial laws.
David Price is Emeritus Professor of Public International Law and
Intellectual Property Law in the School of Law at Charles Darwin
University, Australia. His primary research area is the intersection of public
international law, international trade agreements, and intellectual property
law. This work has extended to the settlement of disputes encompassing
the application of investor–state dispute settlement causes and outcomes.
He has written and published extensively in these areas, focusing upon the
GCC, ASEAN, Indonesia, and Australia as exemplars. David has worked,
consulted, and researched in institutions in Australia, Indonesia, the UK,
Europe, and the Middle East, and held visiting professorships in Indonesia
and China.
Mas Rahmah is the director of the Intellectual Property Study Center at
the Faculty of Law, Airlangga University, Indonesia. A Surabaya-Indonesia
expert on IP, she is a Professor of Intellectual Property since March 2022.
She is also the director of Innovation Business Development and
Cooperation at BPBRIN (the Board of Innovation Business Development
and Incubation), Airlangga University. She has more than two and a half
decades of experience on government policies, trainings, seminars,
researches, and publications on IP.
Sangeeta Verma is an experienced legal educator with a strong focus on
contract law, corporate law, corporate governance, and other key areas of
law. Her interest is in the field of academics and research. She has com-
pleted her Master’s in Business Law from The Maharaja Sayajirao
xvi Notes on Contributors

University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India, and completed her law

degree from Mumbai University and is currently pursuing her PhD at
Ajeenkya D.Y. Patil University, Pune, India. She has completed the UN
Certification course on “RIO+25: UN Water Action Decade International
Short-Term Course” organized by the United Nations with A Grad. She
is a member of the Eudoxia Research Centre in the USA. She has written
many research papers and attended various national and international
conferences.
Zi Yang is a Lecturer in Law & Technology at Queen’s University Belfast,
UK. Using transparency as the keyword, Zi’s work explores the intricate
dynamics between law, economics, and societal impacts. She studies finan-
cial regulation and financial technology innovations through a socio-legal
and historical lens. Currently, her research focuses on online trading and
smart contract.
 List of Tables

Table 7.1 Malaysia’s strengths and weaknesses in innovation 144

Table 7.2 Malaysia’s scoring and ranking for credit and investment 145
Table 7.3 IPGS participating financial institutions 150
Table 7.4 Participating Islamic banks in the IPGS 151
Table 7.5 Available funding sources for businesses by stage of
development155
Table 7.6 Malaysia’s alternative financing market vis-à-vis other
countries as of 2018 156
Table 7.7 UAE’s strengths and weaknesses in innovation 159
Table 7.8 UAE’s scoring and ranking for credit and investment 160

xvii