A recent report by Ernst & Young says that the number of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in the MENA region has increased by 13% in 2022 with the UAE recording the largest number of transactions in the region. However, not focusing on trademark rights may derail any ambitious M&A deals, leading to expensive trademark litigations in the UAE.
Business owners need to ensure that their IP rights are safeguarded while drafting the M&A agreements in the UAE. You can hire trademark litigation consultants in Dubai to draft the M&A contracts with a focus on your IP rights. This blog will provide you with useful insights into the significance of protecting your trademark rights while executing M&A agreements in the UAE. Read ahead to get enlightened:
How do IP rights influence mergers and acquisitions?
The UAE Trademark Law may be challenging to business owners and entrepreneurs when it comes to M&A deals. The value of IP assets, including patents, trademarks & copyrights, is a key deciding factor in the UAE M&A activity. You may need to avail yourself of trademark litigation services in Dubai to effectively handle the issues coming up in M&A transactions. Trademark litigation companies in Dubai can provide you with adequate knowledge and effective planning to tackle IP challenges.
What are the key IP strategies in Mergers & Acquisitions?
You can adopt the following strategies for securing IP rights during an M&A deal:
Sharing IP documents
Before engaging in an important M&A deal, business owners need to deal with the sharing of all documents related to IP rights. This includes trademarks, copyrights, patents, domain names, valid licenses between the seller and third parties, documents corresponding to any IP litigation claims and other agreements related to IP rights. Sharing IP documents will make your transaction more transparent, adding more trust and value to the deal.
However, it is disheartening that most companies fail to keep an up-to-date record of their IP rights documents. In this scenario, the buyer or seller needs to make sure that the IP records of the company are well maintained during the early phase of the M&A transaction. This will give them adequate time to procure any missing documents.
Securing IP ownership
Business owners need to meticulously verify ownership claims during an M&A transaction so that both sellers and buyers can safeguard them from misrepresentation of claims at later stages. Buyers need to ensure that the seller holds ownership of the IP assets and not any third party. In case the seller has licensed any IP asset to a third party, the license must be shared at the time of the transaction.
Moreover, sellers are advised to make sure that all the ownership claims must be transferred to the buyer. This will ensure that no claims or complaints will be made against the seller in case any dispute arises after the deal. It will also help you avoid expensive trademark disputes. Consult with trademark litigation consultants in Dubai for more advice.
Settling Trademark disputes
If sellers have some potential disputes, pending cases or unresolved issues related to trademarks or other IP assets, they should clearly state them during the transaction. If not disclosed, such disputes may pose a severe risk to the buyer along with reputation damage. However, the seller and buyer can draft a post-closing agreement to reduce the financial burden on the part of the buyer after the transaction.
The buyers need to have extensive knowledge to understand the potential impact of the IP claims, and also to take necessary actions to mitigate future risks involved in the transaction. Both buyers and sellers must clearly assess these IP claims and issues and settle them before signing the acquisition agreement. Trademark litigation firms in Dubai can help you with these.
Hire the Best Trademark Litigation Companies in Dubai, UAE
Taking care of IP rights will help business owners secure a profitable M&A deal in the UAE. However, many business owners or investors fail to realise the significance of IP Rights in mergers & Acquisitions in the UAE. IP laws in the UAE can be complicated for an ordinary business person to understand. Therefore, it is always advisable to seek advice from a qualified trademark litigation consultant in Dubai during a merger or acquisition, so that you can effectively handle all queries and conflicts that may arise during the transaction.
At Jitendra Intellectual Property (JIP), we have a team of lawyers experienced in all matters related to IP rights who will help you easily navigate any issues, conflicts or queries that may occur during a merger or acquisition. As the best trademark litigation consultants in UAE, we have earned a decade of trust in taking our clients to a safe shore. Contact JIP at any time for consultation and assistance in IP rights in UAE.