In today’s fierce competition every business is at risk of their brand/ trademark being infringed making the whole investment in development or marketing of the trademark worthless. Middle East in general UAE in particular, is a hub to the business and more importantly UAE imports almost everything from outside of UAE. Hence, it is essential that the investors protect themselves from malpractices and fraud like the infringement of the company’s trademark. This can be avoided by trademark registration in UAE. Following is a brief round-up on the procedure of filing for the Trademark Registration in Dubai, UAE. But before that, let’s have a look at the criteria.
What are the criteria for Trademark Registration in Dubai, UAE?
Following are the various criteria that must be fulfilled:-
- Application for a trademark can be filed in the form of text, logo, design and device – separately or combined.
- UAE Trademark Office follows the 11th Edition of Nice Classification of Goods and Services.
- Class 33, which is related to wine and alcohol, is banned for registration in UAE.
- Trademark Office follows the Single Class System. The trademark application for each class should be filed separately.
- A Trademark application can be filed under Individual Name and or Company Name.
- Companies under free zones and Offshore are also eligible for trademark registration.
- Foreign Companies/individuals can also apply for registration of Trademark in UAE. The trademark application must be filed through an Approved Trademark Agent in UAE.
- Registration Certificate is valid for Ten Years and can be renewed before the expiry date.
- Trade License is a mandatory requirement for Individual Applicant of UAE Resident.
The procedure of Filing Application for Trademark Registration in Dubai
The applicants are required to file a trademark registration application at the Ministry of Economy. This application must be full-fledged with all the necessary documents. Following is a comprehensive list of the documents required for filing a trademark registration in Dubai:-
Required documents for Trademark Registration in UAE under Individual Applicant
- Trademark is required in PDF format.
- Scanned copy of the passport of the applicant.
- Complete home address.
- Power of Attorney; duly Notarized by the Notary Public Office.
Required documents for trademark registration in UAE under Company
- Trademark is required in PDF format.
- Scanned copy of trade license.
- Scanned copy of the passport of the authorized signatory.
- Power of Attorney; duly Notarized by the Notary Public Office.
Required documents for trademark registration in UAE under Foreign Company
- Trademark is required in PDF format.
- Scanned copy of Certificate of Incorporation.
- Scanned copy of the passport of the authorized signatory.
- Power of Attorney; duly Notarized by the Notary Public Office and also legalized by the UAE Consulate.
- Once the application is filed, the Ministry of Economy gives its decision within 30 days of submission of the application.
Final Thoughts
The process of trademark registration in Dubai, UAE is quite straightforward. The company/business is required to file a trademark registration application. The application consists of a number of necessary documents as mentioned above. Once the application is approved by the Ministry of Economy, it is announced in the bulletin as well as two Arabic newspapers.
Once the announcement is made, any interested person is free to file an opposition against that particular trademark. If no opposition is raised, the Trademark application is mature for final registration. The certificate consists of the registration number of the trademark, the date of application and registration, trade name or the owner’s name as well as the nationality and the residence and a copy of the approved trademark. This is accompanied by the products/goods/services that come under that particular trademark.
The validity of registered trademarks is ten years after which it has to be renewed. Each renewal spans a duration of ten years that is, the trademark must be renewed for a ten-year duration after every ten years.