KUWAIT: Kuwait
Science Club (KSC) will be hosting the 11th International Invention Fair in the
Middle East from Jan 27 to 30, 2019. The fair is being held under the patronage
of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This was
announced during a press conference held at the KSC premises on Monday.

Secretary General
of KSC Ali Juma appreciated the generous sponsorship of HH the Amir for this
fair since the first edition in 2007. "This generous support has made this
fair rank as the second biggest and most popular fair for inventors in the
world. KSC organizes this fair as part of its strategy that aims to support and
develop the creativity of inventors," he noted during the conference.

This fair has
many benefits. "The main purpose of this fair is to bring the inventors
and investors together. Through organizing this fair, we give an opportunity to
Kuwaiti inventors to meet other inventors from all over the world and exchange
their experiences. KSC is morally and financially supporting the inventors to
turn their creative ideas into inventions. It also helps them meet investors
who may transfer their inventions into commercial projects," added Juma.

The winning
inventions will receive valuable prizes. "The total value of the prizes is
around $50,000. The main prize is $15,000, KSC's prize is $10,000, the
International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva presents a $5,000 prize and
the GCC Patent Office presents 50,000 Saudi riyals, in addition to a prize
presented by the World Intellectual Property Organization and another prize by
the International Federation of Inventors' Associations," concluded Juma.

Investment and
marketing opportunity

Treasurer of KSC
Aws Al-Nisef said that the main reason for holding the International Invention
Fair in the Middle East is to offer an investment and marketing opportunity for
Kuwaiti inventions to be realized. In the past, the Kuwaiti inventors did not
find support or adoption for their inventions to develop into commercial
projects, but today they do. From here we inspired the title of the fair -
'Investors meeting the Inventors'," he explained.

"I invite
businessmen, producers, universities and institutions that are willing to adopt
inventions to come and visit this fair, as they will find top inventions
presented by creative Kuwaiti and international inventors. Also, this fair
spreads the culture of inventing among the community, in addition to strengthening
the relations between inventors and different companies and authorities,"
Nisef added.

Head of
Development and Competitive Programs Sector at KSC Dr Mohammed Al-Saffar noted
that participation in the fair is still open. "Currently we don't have the
exact number of participants, as we are still accepting registrations, but we
expect the number to be higher than last year. The huge attendance in this fair
in the past years reflects its success. We started preparing for this huge
event from the end of the previous fair," he pointed out.

The participating
inventions must follow certain criteria. "The judging committee consists
of specialists from the field with long experience from different institutions
and nationalities. Different criteria will be considered for the inventions,
including the time since the invention was made, its creativity and ability to
be marketed. Also, judges will consider the importance of the invention and
which category it serves. The winners will be awarded on the last day of the
fair," Saffar said.

By Nawara
Fattahova