Over the years UAE has established itself as a business hub in the Middle East and attracts a large number of expatriate investors ranging from HNIs to small entrepreneurs and big corporate MNCs each year. With so many businesses intending to invest their capital in the UAE, the security of an investor’s brand or trademark becomes essential.
Although, the UAE Government provides world-class infrastructure and education and health facilities and a safe and secure environment to investors and their families; at the same time, it is mandatory for the businessmen to secure everything related to their business more particularly their trademark so as to avoid any kind of infringement. One such protection measure is Trademark Registration in UAE.
What is Trademark Registration and Why to get it done?
A trademark is essentially a unique identifier of a business. It may be a name, a logo, a design or a phrase. All businessmen, companies, and organizations want their trademark to be famous all around the world to give a boost to their reputation as well as the business scale. As a matter of fact, almost all organizations and companies expend more than 50% of their budget for the publicity and marketing of their brands.
Now it is entirely plausible for a company’s trademark, if not already registered, to be stolen by some other company/business to publicize their products and services. If some other company gets the trademark registered, then the business that formerly held the trademark (unregistered), is legally forced to discontinue its use for good and close any kind of business under the same particular name or logo.
What are the Reasons to Register Trademarks in the UAE?
Following are the reasons that make trademark registration in the UAE absolutely essential:-
1. First Filing Protection System
The UAE Trademark Office follows the first filing system under which it protects the very first application. Consequently, it is of the utmost importance to file the trademark application as early as possible in the UAE. If someone else files a registration application for the same trademark before a given company/business that originally held the trademark (though unregistered), it is indeed a herculean task to get back the registration from them.
In accordance with the UAE Law; the Trademark Office examines the application and right away issues the rejection order in the case of an identical prior pending/registered application without any official order. In such an event, the only available option is to either leave the trademark or cancel the first trademark registration application.
2. Save Time and avoid High Government Fee for Appeal and Opposition
As mentioned above, the UAE Trademark Office follows the first filing protection system. If it issues a rejection order (when similarity in trademarks is detected), the applicant is left with no other choice than to file an appeal against the Trademark Office’s decision. In addition to this, he is also required to file a cancellation request against the cited registration.
The filing of such appeals or request applications is costly. Moreover, a really long time is consumed in order to get the registration back. Owing to unlawful business ethics and expensive cost, many businessmen undergo financial sufferings due to unlawful adopters. In order to avoid such events, it is essential to register the trademark as early as possible.
Final Thoughts
Thus, trademark registration in the UAE has many technicalities and implications, the most important being – the earlier, the better! The reasons discussed above cast enough light on the need for Trademark Registration in UAE. The businessmen or companies must refrain from unnecessary delays and file trademark registration application with the UAE Trademark Office as early as possible to safeguard and protect their business.