A Guide to Intellectual Property in Dubai

Every country in the world has properly framed intellectual property laws, including Dubai. Dubai is one of the most popular business destinations in the world has gained popularity in recent years. The IPR department in Dubai strictly governs intellectual property rights in Dubai. These laws are protected in Dubai through a series of major international treaties as well as conventions.

Intellectual Property in the UAE

Intellectual property implies the legal rights that an individual as well the business organization holds. Intellectual property is the product of the human intellect, which includes all creative idea, industrial models, literature, songs, symbols, brands names etc. IP is protected by laws through trademarks copyrights as well as patent legislation, thus providing the companies and individuals to ear benefit and get recognition for what they have created by their mind.

During the times of 1971 Federal law regime. During the era of urbanization of the UAE Emirates, there occurred major instances wherein IPR law was introduced. Soon Dubai, as well as the UAE, started attracting major business investors as well as an entrepreneur from all over the world, which ultimately led to the oi increase in the Intellectual Property in the nation.

Need for Protection of IPR

It is very important to protect the creation of people as well as organizations so that they cannot be misused by another for namesake. Hence, if protected IPR are not in place, the IP can be stolen, or it can be copied by the rivals or the competitors. That way, the original creator won't get any credit or financial compensation for their work. IP laws also enable the companies to let the world aware of their creation and work and to receive the credit for the same. The purpose of IP laws is to handle the balance between the innovator's interest as well as the wider public. IP laws enable fair competition if applied properly.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

WIPO is a government body that is responsible for the governing of the trademark and IPR laws and matters related to the Intellectual Property and protecting the same. The organization includes members from the states who ensure that there is no violation of the fundamental rights.

According to the WIPO, there are majorly four categories of intellectual properties. These are:

1. Trademark
2. Copyright
3. Patents
4. Trade secret

Trademark in Dubai

• A trademark is a type of recognizable sign, phrase, word or symbol that denotes a specific product or service which is legally identifiable or which differentiates it from all the other similar products or services in the market.
• Trademark exclusively helps in the identification of a product which belongs to a specific category or company and recognizes the company's ownership on the same.
• Dubai IP rights are governed by the UAE Intellectual Property Law; the trademark law is registered in this UAE under the respective UAE Federal Law No. 37, 1992.
• The general trademark in the UAE costs around 6000-10000 USD.
• Official authority for the trademark includes Competition Regulation Committee, Trade Mark Department, Industrial Property Department, Copyright Department.
• Penalties for the infringement of trademark included Dh 5000.

Copyright in Dubai

• A copyright is a type of IPR which protects the creation of the Statute of ANNE. It came for the first time in England in 1790.
• The copyright is governed under the UAE Copyright and Authorship Protection Law No. 7 of 2002. The permission is to be obtained from the Ministry of Information and Cultural. 
• In the UAE, the copyright objects are protected for the lifetime of the author, and in case the author dies, then it will be protected for the rest 50 years.
• Copyright infringement leads to the violation of the law that protects the original creation of the author. The holder of the copyright creation has the right to reproduce, edit or distribute the said material. Breaching the said rights could lead to a severe fine.

Patent in Dubai

• A patent is a type of exclusive right which is granted to the inventor or assignee to prevent people from using or copying the same and getting benefited from the invention of the original assignee. 
• In the UAE, Federal Law No. 44, deals with the industrial regulation and protection of the patents.
• The patent holder can hold a patent for a [period of 20 years, and it is not extendible.
• Patent bodies in the UAE include, WIPO convention, Paris Convention, Member of WTO and signatory to TRIPS Agreement as well as the UAE is also a member of Gulf Co-operation Council.

Trade Secret in Dubai

• A trade secret is a division of intellectual property. It is a type of information on the commercial value which concerns to production or sales operations, which is not known.
• The trade secret is unique and is valuable to the company, also known as the driver of innovation.
• A trade secret focuses on aspects such as measuring the economic value of the secret, reliability of the trade secret and measures the efforts to maintain such trade secret.
• The UAE governs the trade secret under the Federal Law No. 31 of 2006.
• Being one of the popular countries for business setup, UAE provides for the protection of trade secrets such as computer programs, client identities, product ingredients, strategic plans, formulas, technical information and many other.
• Violation of the trade secrets is called misappropriation in the UAE and involves severe fine and penalties.

Intellectual property laws are always on the verge of development in Dubai as well as the UAE, with the establishment of major businesses in Dubai and increasing opportunities for the same the need for IPR has also emerged. We at Commitbiz helps individuals to set up a company and helps them in relation to such other business services as well. We provide end to end solutions for all your IPR needs. For any queries, contact us.