The UAE Trademarks Law offers a very detailed description of a ‘trademark.’ ‘A trademark is anything that takes a distinctive shape of names, words, signatures, letters, Symbols, numbers, addresses, seals, Drawings, Pictures, Engravings, packaging, graphic elements, forms, color or colors or a combination thereof, a sign or a group of signs, including three-dimensional marks, Hologram Marks, or any other mark used or intended to be used to distinguish the goods or services of a facility from the goods or services of other facilities, or A distinguishing sound or odor may be considered a trademark” (Article 2).
The Law of Trademarks in UAE
The UAE has published a new trademarks legislation, known as the ‘Federal Decree-Law No. 36/2021 on Trademark’ (‘trademarks law’). The new trademarks legislation, which goes into effect on September 20, 2021, repeals the previous Federal law number 37 of 1992 on trademarks and its revisions. The federal ministry of economy maintains a ‘trademarks register,’ which records all trademarks, names, addresses, and types of activities of their owners, descriptions of their goods or services, and any transfer, assignment, transfer of ownership, mortgage, or license for use concerning such Trademarks, as well as any other changes therein. According to trademark law, “whoever registers a trademark shall be regarded its sole owner.” Further, once the trademark is registered, its own may not be disputed when its registration and use have been continuous for at least five (5) years from the date of registration without an action being lodged against it unless it is proven that the person who registered such action has had a mala fide intent..’.
When contemplating trademark protection or protection against potential trademark infringement, the first step is to register the trademark. The only guaranteed method to protect your trademark is to get a genuine trademark registration certificate, which acts as valid documentation to avoid any potential trademark infringement lawsuit. Trademark registration is awarded via a lengthy process that includes processes for potential objections, ads, and final publication. Only after the lengthy processes are finished is a trademark registration certificate produced, which acts as legitimate ownership proof for the legal use and monetization of the specified property.
The United Arab Emirates adopts the Nice Classification (NCL) for international trademark registration and has forty-five classification categories under which one may register their brand. The Nice Classification was formed as a result of the 1957 Nice Agreement. It is a continuously updated worldwide categorization of products and services used for trademark registration. Classes 1–34 are the ‘goods’ classes, while classes 35–45 are the services classes.
Sanctions have been strengthened in UAE
The new trademarks legislation imposes harsh penalties for infringement, and the financial penalties imposed have been enhanced under the new law compared to the old one. Articles 49 to 52 of the new trademarks legislation outline the penalties that can be imposed, which include, among other things, a severe penalty of up to One Million Dirhams for anybody who infringes on a registered trademark by any of the following acts:
- Forging of a trademark that has been registered in the UAE or counterfeiting a registered trademark in a manner attempting to confuse the public in terms of the goods or the services of the original trademark. Knowingly using a forged or counterfeit trademark for commercial purposes.
- Using in bad faith the trademark registered and owned by others on any goods or services.
- Possessing of any tools or materials with the intention to use them to forge or counterfeit a registered or well-known trademark.
- Importing or exporting of goods bearing a forged or counterfeit trademark with full knowledge that the goods are forged or counterfeit products.
For a variety of reasons, trademark registration gives several benefits to the owner of a mark. In the first place, it offers legal protection by ensuring that the owner of a trademark can file infringement actions with the court and customs authorities to safeguard the branded items and/or services. Furthermore, it aids in the creation of client recognition of the product’s quality. Customers frequently associate a product’s quality with its brand value. Trademarks are fundamentally a dependable tool via which proprietors may acquire and retain their client base. Once you have received a valid trademark registration in the UAE, you can rely on the various protections established by the trademarks legislation to guarantee that the trademark is protected against infringement and in case of suspected infringement, proper legal measures can be undertaken.
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