Trademark Registration Process in UAE

Trademark Registration

Trademark registration in the UAE is an important and necessary step to take to secure your business brand.

Any business which has built a strong client base and name in the market needs a trademark registration to prevent others from claiming their brand image.

It is not mandatory to get your trademark registered. But remember that you do not have the rightful ownership of your existing trade name or logo until it is registered.

A trademark is a set of distinctive features of your brand that make it unique. It usually includes:

• Brand name
• Symbol
• Fonts
• Pictures
• Symbols and graphics
• Packaging
• Slogans
• Titles
• Music jingles

The registered trademark contains information like:

• Your name
• Trade name
• Trade number
• List of product and services involved in the trade
• And the trademark itself

Importance of trademark registration

Below are some of the reasons why trademark registration in the UAE is highly beneficial for businesses:

• It protects your brand name from any form of claim and imitation of your trademark
• It gives both existing and potential clients confidence that your business is legit and reliable
• It distinguishes your trade image from others thereby giving it an official recognition
• It gives businesses the legal right to sue anyone claiming or using their business name without the owner's consent

It’s important to remember that if your trademark is used in different countries, you need to register it in each country separately. The trademark law of each country works only within the borders of that state.

UAE trademark requirements

Then below are the factors that should be considered while choosing a trademark for UAE market:

• Your trademark should be exclusively differentiated
• It shouldn’t showcase any public sign or flag
• Names of third parties shouldn’t be added
• It shouldn't sound offensive
• It shouldn’t display any religious signs
• The statement must be true

Procedures for the registration of a trademark in UAE

To get your trademark registered in the UAE, follow these steps:

1. Do trademark search

It will ensure there is no existing trademark like yours.

Avoid using any free online search tools, because UAE does not disclose its full database in open sources. You can do a trademark search in the UAE Ministry of Economy.

Go to the Ministry of Economy website and click “eServices”. Then it takes you to a page where you should click on “TradeMarks” as one of the options.

There, you will see an E-services dropdown menu where you have to choose “Trademarks Inquiry”:

Create a request, pay 350 AED and wait for the feedback from the government. When the clearance is received, you can apply for trademark registration.

2.  Apply for trademark registration

Next to “Trademark Registration” click on the plus button for a new application.

It takes you to a page where you will have to login, after that fill out a form and upload the required documents:

• Commercial license
• Passport copy of the applicant
• Applicant’s contact details
• Design sample
• List of goods and services to be included into trademark

3. Make filing payment

This payment is 1,800 AED and in case of rejection of your application, it is not refundable.

4. Wait for the acceptance of the trademark

When you have submitted all the required documents, you wait for a maximum of 30 days to get feedback. During the 30 days, the authority in charge of issuing the trademark certificate will review your application and confirm the validity of all the information you included.

If the trademark is accepted, you will be required to pay an amount of 1,500 AED to proceed for the newspaper announcements.

5. Newspaper announcement

The announcement about your trade mark registration will be made in 2 local Arabic newspapers and in 1 official gazette. After a period of 30 days if there is no objection to the chosen trademark, you make the trademark registration payment.

6. Make registration payment

This is the final amount of 5,000 AED which is paid before the trademark registration certificate is issued.

7. Receive Certificate of trademark registration.

How to make payment for trademark registration

Payment for trademark registration can be done on the website of the Ministry of Economy. In order to pay, you need to have an E-dirham card. It is a government approved prepaid card, which is accepted by all state bodies in the UAE for official payments.

You can get E-dirham in one of the UAE banks. Alternatively, you can download a digital version of the card from the App Store or Google Play. Check here for more details here.

Once you got it, follow these steps for your trademark registration payment:

1. Proceed to the Ministry of Economy official website.
2. Click on “eServices”.
3. It takes you to a page where you choose “TradeMarks” among the list of options.
4. Click on “Pay Registration Fees For Trademark”, but if you are making payment for the publishing of a journal and newspapers click on “Pay Publishing Fees For Trademark Registration”:

5. Fill in the required spaces and make payment.

UAE trademark registration costs

Validity of trademark in UAE

UAE trademark registration is valid for 10 years. Upon expiry, you need to renew it for another 10 years. The renewal cost is 8,000 AED.

Documents needed to for a trademark registration

In order to register a trademark in UAE, you need the following:

• Passport copy
• A copy of your trade license
• List of products and services to be registered
• Your trademark logo, symbol or name
• Power of attorney for the registrator (if you appoint one)

How to renew trademark registration in UAE

UAE trademarks are valid for 10 years from the moment of registration. Once expired, the trademark needs to be renewed.

The steps above should also be taken while renewing the UAE trademark registration. Under “TradeMarks”, look out for “Modification & Maintenance Service”.

Open a drop down menu and you will see the “Trademark Renewal” option.

Note that if you don’t renew your trademark, the UAE government gives you a grace period of 3 months after the expiry. Each month you will be liable for a penalty of 750 AED.

In case you fail to renew your trademark after 3 months from the date your registration expired, it will be cancelled by the government.

UAE trademark renewal costs

Trademark renewal in the UAE is faster than the registration. It takes about 2-3 weeks.

Who can apply to register a trademark?

Basically, anyone in the UAE with valid residency can get a trademark registration. Below are the categories of people who can register a trade mark:

• UAE citizens
• UAE residents

It is worth hiring an agent who can carry out the registration of a trademark for you.

How can we help you with UAE trademark registration:

• Make sure your trademark does not get rejected
• Carry out communication with the Ministry of Economy
• Speed up the trademark registration process
• You will not waste money because you will pay only government fees