The fee increases also come as Gulf states declare their intentions to become ‘knowledge economies’, emphasising science, research, arts, etcetera as the new pulses of the economy.

A World Economic Forum report last year titled “Re-Dynamizing the Job Machine: Technology-Driven Transformation of Labor Markets in MENA”, found that technology would be a “game changer” in tackling youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa- but only if the government, the private sector and academia collaborated effectively.

Why intellectual property fee hikes need to be redesigned