Fans of Mel Brooks (may he live to be 120), and his movie Blazing Saddles in particular, will well recall the scene in which the new sheriff in town, Bart says good morning to an old woman, who greets him uncheerfully. Later, after Bart succeeds in subduing the outlaw Mongo, the same old lady apologizes to Bart and brings him a pie…with a caveat:
For many years, “up yours” pretty much encapsulated the way Arab countries related to Israel. When they weren’t attacking Israel, that is, which made "up yours" seem downright friendly.
In more recent times, however, that view has changed, at least in private. This is particularly so since President Trump’s immediate predecessor got the idea that arming the Shiite clerics in Teheran with nukes was a good idea. What could possibly go wrong? The gulf states have been a lot friendlier to Israel since then.
This was reflected last year in a panel discussion organized by Fred Rein at the AIPLA spring meeting, in which several of the USPTO’s “IP Attaches” participated. When asked about the how the Arab states viewed Israel, the attache for the middle east noted that many of them were quite interested in Israel’s innovation economy, including IP aspects. At least, they were interested in private. As Gene Wilder (The Waco Kid) said, “In another 25 years, you’ll be able to shake their hands in broad daylight.”
As was announced yesterday, looks like we won’t have to wait quite that long, at least with the UAE. Any bets on how long until the first patent application originating in Dubai or Abu Dhabi is filed in Israel?