Registering a Trademark in the UAE to Protect your Business

06 Nov Registering a Trademark in the UAE to Protect your Business

A registered trademark protects your brand. It provides tools to prevent someone from using similar branding & riding off the back of your business.

With your brand registered in the UAE, you are within your rights to take action against parties who are operating with conflicting brands and damaging your reputation.

Trademark Registration

Before you proceed on the path to trademark registration, it’s important to know that the UAE is a signatory of the Berne Convention.

This means that businesses in the UAE cannot copy trademarks or any other protected intellectual property created by companies in jurisdictions that are also signatories to the convention. In layman’s terms, just because a business brand from overseas has not established itself in the UAE does not grant you the ability to register a similar brand in the UAE.

It pays to register at the outset of launching your business, as opposed to trying to sort out costly problems down the line through legal action.

The complete process of registering a trademark takes between 18 and 24 months on average. The UAE Ministry of Economy oversees trademark applications. The process can be facilitated through their e-services website.

For the trademark application, you will need the following items:

• Valid business trading license
• Sample of trademark design
• Comprehensive list of goods and services that require protection
• Power of attorney on behalf of the firm
• Passport of the person signing the application
• Contact details of the person registering for the trademark

Trademark Registration Fee

• The fees for registering a trademark are between AED 15,000 and AED 20,000.
• Keep in mind that the trademark is valid for a period of 10 years and is subject to renewal.
• Once the Ministry of Economy has received your application, you will receive an initial provisional approval within 30 days.
• You must subsequently pay the ministry to publish the announcement of your application in two Arabic newspapers in the UAE.
• If a reader of one of the Arabic newspapers has an objection, they must lodge it with the ministry within a specified period which could then lead to a rejection of your application.
• If there are no obstacles in your application, the Ministry will issue a certificate of trademark registration.
• The certificate contains your official registration number, application and registration date, trade name, your trademark, and a description of the goods and services that are covered.

Infringing Trademark

Should there be any businesses in the UAE that are infringing on your trademark in the future, you can contact the Ministry of Economy which will take necessary action. The penalties include confiscation of goods, fines, and imprisonment.