Intellectual Property Registration
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Intellectual Property Registration in Dubai,UAE
Intellectual Property Registration in UAE is a legal right to protect a property created by one human’s intellect that has commercial value; proprietary assets include invention, artistic work, design, piece of music, slogan, etc which appears in the forms of books, technological know-how, computer software etc.
Business establishments should be aware of the relevance of Intellectual Property in the era of globalization and digitalization. Knowledge is wealth and it’s the application of the same knowledge in various fields that serves as the driving force of many business enterprises. Therefore, this knowledge needs to be protected. The factor that plays a key role in the success of a business establishment can be an invention, a design, a process, or a particular product. Competitors should not take advantage of a valuable invention and use it for their vested interests. Therefore, a mechanism of some sort is necessary to prevent these illicit practices. Similarly, artistic and literary works require protection of some kind from unauthorized duplication or copying of the original content. And this specific “need to protect” points to the importance of Intellectual property registration. In order to accomplish the same, an individual or a business entity needs to have a clear understanding of the Intellectual Property Registration laws in Dubai,UAE.
Confident Business LLC one of leading business consultants in UAE offers services for seamless intellectual property registration in Dubai and UAE to protect the property owner’s right from third-party encroachment.
WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) is the United Nations International Agency for Intellectual Property services that comprise of 192 member nations. The definition of Intellectual Property according to WIPO is “Creations of the mind, such as inventions and artistic works; designs and symbols, names and images used in Commerce”. Intellectual property can be sorted into 2 groups: Copyrights and Industrial Property. The authors of original works in UAE are allowed to protect their Intellectual Property through copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
- Copyrights- comprises of all the artistic and literary works that belong to a writer, performer or an artist. Novels, booklets, anthologies, journals are examples of literary works. The work of an artist that requires artistic creativity or craftsmanship like a painting, sculpture, drawing, architectural work or design belongs to artistic category. All performance-oriented works that revolve around a creative performance like plays, dramas, dance belong to performance category.
- Industrial Property-Trademarks, patents, designs for industrial application, Geographical Indications (GI) come under Industrial Property.
Intellectual property rights contribute heavily toward the growth and advancement of the society. Here are the reasons why intellectual property rights are really important.
Intellectual property rights create a competitive environment for inventors, intellectuals and artists to come up with new inventions and solutions that cater to meet the growing challenges of the world. Innovations connected with alternate energy sources, agriculture and farming, research and development in the field of medicine and drugs are some of the prime concerns of the 21st century.
- IPRs safeguard the rights and interests of the inventors and creative individuals. And this serves as a motivation for investing time, effort and money on new inventions. IPs provide monitory gains or incentives to the creators and inventors.
- Intellectual property rights prevent the circulation of fake or counterfeit products in the market thereby safeguarding the interests of both the business and the customer.
- Intellectual Property rights work in favour of economic development irrespective of the sector and have global economic implications.
- In a business perspective, IP helps a lot in the promotion of the product or service.
- An IP can be used as a fund raining mechanism by licensing or selling the rights.
- With an IP in the form of patent or trademark, a business establishment can improve the market value of the company.
In the UAE, Intellectual Property Rights of the inventors and authors can be protected in 3 ways. And they are by registering
Literary and artistic creations are protected by means of Copyright registration. The Copyright and the associated legalities are specified under Federal Law No.7 of 2002. The following works of art, scientific and literary works come under the category of Copyrights.
- Written materials like books, articles etc
- Software and database related to computer programming.
- Work of music that may or may not include the lyrics.
- Audio-visual creativity
- Speeches, orations, or the works that belong to similar category.
- Theatre-oriented performances.
- Works related to photography
- Designs and layouts related to architecture and engineering, geographical sketches and maps
- Works of fine arts and applied arts
A copyright is valid throughout the life of the author or creator and for another 50 years subsequent to the death of the creator. If any individual copies, replicates or uses the copyrighted work without the consent of the original author is liable for sanctions. The sanctions include imprisonment and/or financial penalties. The act of violating copyright law is called copyright infringement.
- Duly filed copyright registration form
- sample of the original creation
- passport copy of the creator
- Details of the applicant/creator
Trademark is an intellectual property used for the purpose of differentiating a particular brand or product from similar group of products or goods or services. Trademark serves as the symbol of identity for a particular product or brand. The Federal Law NO. 37 of 1992 specifies the legality connected with trademark registration in the UAE. Some of the commonly used trademarks are words, numbers, logos, letters, seals and marks. The Ministry of Economy –Trademarks Office is the government authority that undertakes the trademark registration procedures in Dubai,UAE.
According to Federal Trademarks Law No.8 of 2002, once the trademark is registered under UAE, its validity expires after the period of 10 years from the filing date. After expiration, the trademark renewal must be undertaken to enjoy protection for another 10 years. Trademark infringement is a serious offence in the UAE. The person who conducts the infringement is liable for imprisonment and/or financial penalties. Legal procedures like injunctions, seizure of goods or commodities, the prohibition of business operations may take place as the consequences of trademark infringement.
- The applicant may initiate the trademark registration process through the Ministry of Economy website:
- Submit the online form
Provide a sample of the trademark
Trade license (copy)Passport (copy)Priority document
Power of Attorney
After submitting the online application accompanied by the relevant documents, the application undergoes the Trademark Registry’s scrutiny. - If the application clears the scrutiny, the same would be published on the Trademark Journal and 2 Arabic newspapers.
- After publishing in the newspaper, a 30 days time-period is allotted for objections.
- If no objections are raised within the specified time period, the trademark certificate will be issued.
The Federal Law No. 17 of 2002 (amended by Federal Law No. 31 of 2006) governs the legalities associated with patent registration in Dubai,UAE. A Patent is an intellectual property that applies to inventions and innovations. There are certain prerequisites to patent a product or invention in the UAE. The particular invention must be the end-product of an out-of-the-box idea irrespective of the domain or field. The invention should possess scientific elucidation and must be non-obvious in nature. Another prerequisite is that the invention should have the potential for industrial application.
The Ministry of Economy, Intellectual Property Protection Department is the governing body in charge of patent registration in the UAE. Submit the following applications to the Ministry of Economy.
- The Patent application (in both English and Arabic)
- Inventor’s deed of assignment attested at the UAE embassy.
- Information regarding the invention (in both English and Arabic) like title, drawings, specifications etc.
- Articles of Association (copy) or Commercial register extract for corporates.
- Priority document (if necessary)
A registered patent is legal in the UAE for a period of 20 years from the filing date. An annual fee must be paid every year to ensure the validity of the patent registration.
Intellectual property (IP) is an integral aspect of business establishments that determines their profit and brand value. Invest your money, time and effort on research and development aspects and come up with the most updated technology and solutions to stay ahead of the competitors. Protect your invention from individual and commercial exploitation. If you are looking for intellectual property registration in Dubai or more information on the IP rights, get in touch with Confident Business LLC team. Our IP rights professionals will assist you in registering your intellectual property enforcing your IP rights.