This continues to signal the Office’s intention to clear backlogs and speed up prosecution. Of the 27,602 applications that have been filed with the GCC Patent Office, 9,201 have now been granted. Although that could be seen as very low grant rate, this is a significant advance in building a body of patent literature and assets in the region as it continues it push to become less reliant on traditional sectors of oil and gas and push forward with new industries and economic growth based on innovation. Although, GCC patent applications have been accepted for filing since 1998, it was really only in 2008 when significant volumes of filings commenced.