Resolve Challenges & Conflicts: Trademarks

The UAE Federal Decree Law on Trademarks provides protection for names, words, signatures, letters, symbols, numbers, addresses, seals, drawings, pictures, engravings, packaging, graphic elements, forms, colours, signs, and other distinctive aspects. For the achievement of the protection, a registration in the UAE is required.

Names can be already protected by other parties by means of registration of a trademark and therefore, your use can be restricted. Some clarification is required for avoidance of potential conflicts. If you decide to use a professional IP expert to help you, there will be additional service fees. You can ask your IP service provider for an indication of how much it will cost up front.

If the name of a product or brand is already well-known, it is likely that some kind of IP protection by other parties already exists, at least in specific countries. It is very much recommended to execute some clarification before using such a name for your own business purposes since restrictions may exist.

There are two basic aspects which require clarification. Firstly, is your trademark identical or only similar to the potentially infringing trademark? Secondly, is your trademark properly registered, valid, and in force in the country where you assume an infringement exists?

AD.iP provides and maintains a list of IP service providers and law firms which allows a specific search for a qualified IP professional or firm using diverse search criteria. You may want to filter the list to find optimal support for your clarification needs.