Patent registration in the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates, or simply the Emirates, is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). The UAE is considered a middle power. It is a member of the United Nations, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OPEC, Non-Aligned Movement, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in the United Arab Emirates.
Patent in the United Arab Emirates
According to UAE law, a patent in this country is a grant of a property right given by the Government to an inventor. With a patent, the inventor, or the patentee will have the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling the invention in a country, or importing the invention into a country, along with other rights to protect their best interests.
To be patentable in the United Arab Emirates, an invention must satisfy the requirement of new, inventive, and industrially applicable.
In addition, an invention that is patentable can also be an improvement on existing items or methods.
On the other hand, the subjects that are unpatentable in the United Arab Emirates are:
- Discoveries, laws of nature, and mathematical methods;
- Aesthetic designs;
- Systems, rules, and methods for the performance of mental labor, games or management, computer programs;
- Presentation of data and abstract ideas.
Necessary documents for patent registration in the United Arab Emirates
The necessary documents for patent registration in the United Arab Emirates include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s names, addresses, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure for patent registration in the United Arab Emirates
To obtain a patent in the United Arab Emirates, the applicant needs to file a patent application to the IP Office of the United Arab Emirates – International Centre for Patent Registration (ICPR) under the Ministry of Economy.
First, the examiners at the MoE will examine the patent application to check if there are any missing documents or errors in formality. If there are any, the IP Office will contact the applicant and provide the chance for them to make amendments or supplements to the application within 90 days from the filing date.
Under the agreement between the UAE Patent Office and the Korean Patent Offices, the KIPO is responsible for conducting the substantive examination of the applications filed with the UAE IP Office.
After the examinations, the decision to grant the patent should be issued. A patent in the UAE has 20 years of protection counting from the filing date. This period can’t be extended.
Maintenance fees are to be paid yearly to maintain such validity.
You can find the list of UAE IP firms here.