Avoid These Common Mistakes While Filing a Trademark Application in The UAE
Brand protection is one of the crucial aspects for ensuring business success in a competitive market like the UAE. Though performing trademark registration in the UAE helps you achieve IP protection, committing errors will lead to the rejection of the application. A rejection or delay in registration will lead to a waste of money and resources apart from giving a chance for your competitors to have the edge over you. Consulting with trademark agents in Dubai before registration becomes critical in such situations. Also, try to avoid the following mistakes to ensure you are doing it right:
Filing a Trademark that Conflicts with other Marks
Failing to conduct a trademark search is one of the most common mistakes committed by trademark applicants. There is a greater possibility that your proposed trademark may cause the likelihood of confusion with an already registered or applied trademark. Your proposed trademark and the conflicting trademark may be identical or confusingly similar in appearance, sound, meaning, and used with related goods or services.
In this case, registering a trademark with the UAE trademark office won’t be easy for you. The owner of the conflicting trademark can file an opposition against your trademark application. Your application will be delayed or even rejected depending on the validity of the opposition filed by the other party. To avoid such risks, conduct a trademark search for pending or registered trademarks to see if there is a similar one that could oppose your application. Consult with the best trademark agents in Dubai to avail efficient trademark search services.
Wrong Identification of Goods or Services
While filing for trademark registration in the UAE, you should specify the goods or services you use or intend to use with your trademark. The objective of this requirement is to help consumers identify the goods or service you provide under the trademark and not how you are using them. Incorrectly identifying the goods or services may lead to rejection of the trademark application by the UAE Trademark Office.
Wrong Goods or Services
Wrongly stated goods or services creates confusion among the consumers and hence the rejection. Talk to trademark agents in Dubai and they will guide you about the NICE Classification of goods and services. There are 45 Classes of goods and services under the NICE list and you only need to follow it to avoid wrong identification.
Applying for a Generic Trademark
A generic trademark is not eligible for successful trademark registration in the UAE. Mostly it happens when you are trying to register brand names. A term or name becomes generic when it enters common usage and consumers associate it with a particular rather than a source. For example, Mobile App Store, Pure Cotton Tee Shirts can’t be registered as trademarks for stores selling mobile phones, computers or tee shirt brands. These are some common terms that are popular due to everyday use and has become generic. You can instead use some unique names for your brands that are not used by people in everyday business. Coined words such as XEROX and Dubizzle are considered strong trademarks.
Trendy Slogans or Popular Phrases
Trendy slogans or phrases that we use every day are popular and easy to catch the attention of potential customers. These slogans are used to express an ordinary concept or sentiment and easily connect with the people. For example, ‘I Love Dubai’, ‘Drive Safely’, ‘Think Green’ etc. However, such slogans fail to serve as trademarks as they can’t indicate the source of goods or services. Such phrases only show that you agree with a message or sentiment. The trademark office will outrightly reject such applications. Slogans can be registered as trademarks if they are unique and identify your company as the source of the product or service.
Registering a Descriptive Trademark
Trademarks that merely describe any aspect, feature or quality of a product are not eligible for IP protection in the UAE. Such trademarks are called descriptive trademarks and are not unique. For example: ‘cold’ for ice cream and ‘creamy’ for yoghurt. These are descriptive trademarks because ice cream is cold, yoghurt is creamy, and it merely describes the products’ aspects. Since such trademarks lack distinctiveness, the trademark office may reject the application. Be creative in selecting a distinctive trademark such as ‘Google’ to avoid rejection.
Using a Person’s Name Without Authorisation
A trademark registration application will be rejected if the trademark includes the name or photograph of a person without their consent. If you are applying for such a trademark, the UAE Trademark Office may ask you to provide written consent of the person whose name is included in the mark. For example, if you include an image of former US President Donald Trump in your trademark, it will be rejected for lack of consent from Trump. It is better to avoid using the names of other individuals as trademarks. In case, such a trademark is inevitable consult with trademark agents in Dubai to find out a viable solution to navigate the challenge.
Hire Trademark Agents in Dubai to Eliminate Errors
Registering a trademark is critical for business owners to ensure brand protection in the UAE. However, you need to be vigilant to avoid some common errors that may delay the process of trademark registration in the UAE. Delay in registration is risky for you as your competitors may take advantage of you in the market. A better solution is seeking advice from the best trademark agents in Dubai on how to avoid rejection by following the best practices.
Trademark agents in the UAE such as Jitendra Intellectual Property (JIP) will advise you how to file a trademark application accurately. We offer excellent search services including trademark search, trademark registration, and consultation on filing the trademark under the right classes. Consult with JIP today for a speedy trademark registration process in the UAE.