Developing IP Economies: Jordan
Posted on Mon, Jan 30, 2012
With patent data available for no less than 184 WIPO member states, trends in IP can be found all over the world. The largest patent offices often receive the most attention, but many smaller patent zones are experiencing exciting growth and innovation. This week, we will examine IP in the Middle Eastern economy of Jordan.
While Jordan’s GDP is still one of the lowest in its region, the country has experienced major economic reform in the past decade. King Abdullah II, in power since 1999, has implemented new policies that opened and privatized the economy, resulting in Jordan’s accession to the WTO in 2001.
The new Jordanian economy has more open trade policies and fewer government subsidies. The result is the growth of the capital Amman as a financial center. How does intellectual property fare in this Middle Eastern economy?
Protection Quality
The quality of IP rights protection (IPR) in Jordan is progressing. USAID worked closely with the Jordan Intellectual Property Association, following Jordan’s WTO accession, helping to overhaul the country’s IP laws and raise awareness about the importance of IP. The International Property Rights Index points to Jordan improving its IPR score in each of the last five years, increasing from 5.3 to 5.8 on the Index’s 10 point scale. Last year’s score of 5.8 was enough for a global rank of 45. This places Jordan well within the second quintile of all countries, despite having a GDP that has yet to break into the world’s top 100.
IP Activity
As a possible result of the 2008 global recession, resident IP activity, as tracked by the WIPO, has fluctuated. Non-resident patents, however, have maintained a fairly strong 
showing since a sudden spike in 2006.
The most interesting story in Jordan’s IP activity is the prevalence of Pharmaceutical patents. Most countries with measurable IP activity have a more evenly distributed set of patent categories, often with “Other” holding the largest slice of the pie. However, a commanding 39% of patents fall into the Pharmaceutical category in Jordan, followed by the rare “analysis of biological materials” category at 14%. This is due to the presence of 16 pharmaceutical companies, including Hikma and Hayat.
Conclusion
Jordan’s intellectual property protection is improving, and should continue to do so with the efforts of the Jordan Intellectual Property Association. Levels of indigenous innovation dropped during the recession but an economic rebound could quickly rectify that trend; strong numbers for non-resident patents show that foreign investment in Jordan is strong and has not been affected in the long-run by the recession. Continuing success with pharmaceutical exports, and a more diversified set of patents, would put Jordan among the regional leaders in patents.
More on developing IP economies:
Poland, Brazil, Malaysia, Chile, Turkey, Morocco, Lithuania, Cyprus, Trinidad and Tobago, Czech Republic