Tamara El-Shibib
Tamara leads the patent practice in Gowling WLG's Dubai office and, together with our specialised patent attorneys in Canada, advises clients on the patentability of a range of innovations, including emerging tech areas such as Artificial intelligence (AI) and manages global patent prosecution. She is committed to raising awareness of intellectual property (IP) and its role in driving innovation in the region and hosts a webinar series which aims to address the gaps and challenges in the innovation ecosystem in the GCC region. Tamara also works closely with R&D institutes and tech companies to carry out IP audits and implement strategies to support the identification, protection and commercialisation of their innovations.
Tamara is a part-qualified UK attorney with a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) from the University of Law, a Master's in Management of Intellectual Property Law and a Bachelor's of Science in Pharmacology. She has been based in the Middle East since 2009 and has a background in patent law, technology transfer and IP commercialisation. She worked previously for the Qatar Foundation (QF), a non-profit organisation focused on education, research and community development in Qatar managing research from six US universities and the national research fund. In the seven years she spent at QF, Tamara was involved in establishing an IP policy for the foundation and setting up the first Technology Transfer office.
Prior to joining Gowling WLG, Tamara worked with a Dubai-based IP legal consulting firm for over four years. During her time there, she assisted local and international clients with patent prosecution in the MENA region, global portfolio management and worked with a local innovation support program to advise local companies, universities, and tech start-ups on IP management and commercialisation.
Tamara has been ranked among the recommended individuals in the IAM Patent 1000 for the UAE for 2020, 2021, and 2022 and is regularly published in leading industry publications.