Posted: September 17th, 2022

UAE Intellectual Property Laws

UAE Intellectual Property Laws
Intellectual property protection plays a crucial role in safeguarding the interests of the inventors from third-party exploitations. Therefore, it is necessary for both natural and artificial persons to conform to the intellectual property rights regulations requiring the registration of any invented process or product. For instance, Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. (CNS) is an organization planning to expand its operations by opening a foreign branch in Abu Dhabi and, thus, is concerned whether protecting its intellectual property rights (IPRs) is sufficient to protect the management’s trade interests while operating in this foreign country. The organization invented a brand computer interphase (BCI) termed BrainGate Neural Interface System providing medical interventions by supporting neuro-signals’ transmission from the brain of physically disabled persons implanted in the user’s disabled motor cortex part of the brain to support movements. CNS has sought international patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in supporting the planned launch of BrainGate Co., a subsidiary company to be launched in Abu Dhabi. However, it intends to continue using the parent company’s trademark and domain address to safeguard its trade interests in Abu Dhabi, thereby raising fears whether such intellectual rights are sufficient to protect its operations in this foreign country. Drawing from the case of CNS, the paper appraises the UAE intellectual property laws to assess whether the organization’s current state of holding only non-UAE trademark rights may grant the company full protection against the third-party infringing on its IPRs.
An Assessment of how Patents and Trademarks Are Protected in the UAE
The UAE intellectual law provides several provisions in registering patent and trademark rights. Under article 3 of Federal Law No.37, the UAE law issues trademark protection to only new inventive ideas or steps inventive in fact (UAE Ministry of Economy Administration of Industrial Property, 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). The law specifies various characteristics that could be trademarked, including titles, signatures, posters, engravings, seals, names, posters, and other characters that can be used to distinguish one brand from the other (see Appendix A). Other items cannot be patented, such as geographic names, honorary degrees, and banknotes that appear misleading. The law specifies that trademarkeable characteristics should not violate the public morals, be a public symbol or renewed trademark differently translated (STA Law Firm, 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). The law allows both natural and artificial persons to apply for a trademark and patent rights. These persons could be UAE or non-UAE residents and must follow the due process of patent registration. The registration time frame for such applications should take four months before a certificate is issued to the applicant (STA Law Firm, 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). The process undergoes a series of steps.
The first procedure involves a trademark search to ascertain whether a proposed characteristic to be registered is already in use or could be trademarkable. Once successful, the Ministry of Economy (MOE) provides an application form among other stipulated requirements for registering trademarks and patent rights. These include a trade license, an attorney’s signature, a list of goods and services to be traded, and personal information, including contact details, identification card, or names of the business (UAE Ministry of Economy Administration of Industrial Property, 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). Once approved, an applicant pays a registration fee of AED5,000 (UAE Ministry of Economy Administration of Industrial Property, 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). Subsequently, the MOE verifies whether valid information was provided; if there is failure, the ministry revokes the registration process. However, the applicant is granted the right to appeal and for a requisite amendment. If approved, a trademark license is issued within 30 days (UAE Government, n.d.). The MOE will finally publicize the issued license in at least two UAE newspapers. If no objection is received from the public, the MOE finally gives the applicant a certificate of approval, allowing them the right to use the registered trademark. The trademark is for a period of 20 years and must be renewed at a fee upon the twenty-year period lapse (see Appendix B). Finally, the issued trademark is only useable within UAE.
Whether CNS can Sue Others on its Patented Right Violation
A potential claim for IPRs infringement can be enforced in cases where third parties wrongfully engage in the manufacturing, distributing or selling of a product or process already patented. Such claims are only enforceable when a person has been granted a patent right over a product. CNS maintains several trademarks, such as Cyberkinetics, Neuropart, Cerebus among others, in the USA and other parts of the world. However, the UAE intellectual property laws restrict patent rights as validly useable within six emirate countries, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm, Al-Quwain, and Fujairah or in cases where a patent relief is issued to a foreign trademark. Nevertheless, CNS is a foreign organization that sought international patent applications through the PCT for its planned operation within Abu Dhabi as a foreign company. Such registration allows it to assume its patent and trademark rights while operating in Abu Dhabi. Moreover, the organization has the right to seek a cross-border relief if the invention in question since CNS is registered with the PCT where Abu Dhabi is listed as a member state.
UAE patent laws allow 100% relief of patented rights of foreign firms whose residential states are listed within the PCT that its member states engage in (UAE Federal Law, n.d.). Therefore, such companies are entitled to receive sums of money related to the actual prejudice suffered in infringing on their patent rights. Such compensations should include some amounts related to lost profits, unfair trade profits earned by the infringer (AGIP, n.d.). Alternatively, the court may set a lump sum amount in relation to the royalties payable to the patent holder if the infringer had sought the patent holder’s approval in using the invented property (AGIP, n.d.). Since the organization is registered with the PCT for which UAE states are members, CNS is granted the right to use third-party persons for infringing on its patent rights in recovery of the total loss realized had the infringer sought for the organization’s approval to use its protected trademark.
Provisions for Damages and Possible Remedies in IPR Infringement under the UAE Patent Law
Patent right violations attract several legal damages. Holding a patent or trademark similar to other trademarks attracts the tort of passing off. Therefore, such violations are civil wrongdoings and may also be termed criminal depending on the circumstance of the case (Al-Sharieh, 2021). In addition, the property owner is entitled to sue for infringement damages resulting in loss of profits associated with the use of the registered trademark. Likewise, the patent holder can sue for the actual damage arising from any actual misrepresentation causing customer confusion and a diverted sales loss. In this regard, patent right violations can attract civil or criminal wrong punishable before the UAE courts.
The UAE legal jurisdiction provides various remedies when the patent or trademark rights of property owners are violated. For instance, the court may issue a permanent or temporary injunction to stop the infringement or demand that the infringer compensates the property owner for the damage caused as a result of such violations (UAE Federal Law, n.d.). The court may also issue a precautionary order for any invention, drawing or design, or any intellectual property as long as their use violates the Industrial Regulation and Protection of Patents laws under Article 60 of Federal Law No. 31 of 2006 – Write a paper; Professional research paper writing service – Best essay writers or contradicts the terms of contracts for any license issue (UAE Federal Law, n.d.). At the same time, this law provides for imprisonment of not less than three months and not more than two years or payment of a minimum fine of 5,000 Dirhams and not more than 5,000 Dirhams (UAE Federal Law, n.d.). The law also emphasizes the closure of the violator’s business for 15 days to 6 months, awaiting their compliance by compensating the owner of the registered trademark and subsequent payments of the imposed fine. Similarly, Article 63 of Federal Law No. 31 of 2006 – Write a paper; Professional research paper writing service – Best essay writers provides for a court’s rule to confiscate or destroy such objects as machinery resulting in the infringement of a person’s patent right (STA Law Firm, 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). These remedies are enforceable to both natural and artificial trademark holders.
Rights Granted to Patentees under UAE Patent and Trademark Laws
UAE laws grants several rights to patentees. Where the subject matter of the patented right is a product, the patentee has the right to prevent any third party from using the invention in question without the owner’s consent in either offering for sale, using, selling, or importing such items (AGIP, n.d.). Where a process forms the subject matter of any invention, the patentee is tasked with preventing third-party individuals from using products obtained from the patented process without the owner’s consent. The patentee also has the right to exploit the patented property by either using, selling, or distributing the invented process (AGIP, n.d.). In addition, the UAE law grants the patentee the right to surrender the patent upon receiving permission from the controller of the intellectual property. Furthermore, the patentee is entitled to the right to apply for the modification of the invention owned by them. Nonetheless, they must approve their modification needs, and once altered, the intellectual property is granted for their use specifying the terms of usage.
Rights Granted to the Owners of Patent and Trademarks under the UAE Laws
UAE patent laws grant intellectual property owners several rights. The owner of any invented property has the right to apply for the registration for patent right protection and assign to any third-party person the right to exploit or use the patented product or process in compliance with the owner’s terms and conditions (STA Law Firm, 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). Patent owners can also stop any person from using or exploiting the protected property. Therefore, one can obtain a court injunction restraining any usage of the invention in question without their approval. Moreover, the owner of the property has the right to seek for compensation from a third party who, with prior knowledge of the patent protection, performed acts considered violating or infringing on the terms of use of any patent property.
The owner also has the right to seek compensation for third party’s violation of the patent terms when at the time of the use of the invented property, the third party user was unaware of the registered property but was served with a written notice explaining that the property one was using is protected with authorized patent rights office and needed to have obtained the owner’s approval before using it. AT the same time, the patent owner is granted the right to appoint an authorized attorney to represent them in a court process when lodging claims about the violation of their registered trademark (Al-Sharieh, 2021). Patent right holders are similarly granted the right to apply for customs seizure with the UAE customs department when they have sufficient proof to claim that importation of counterfeit items has occurred and, therefore, seek suspension of the importation of those goods or a permanent prohibition of their importation. These rights protect the interests of intellectual property owners from third party exploitations.
Conclusion
Based on the case of CNS, an assessment of the UAE intellectual property laws suggests their full protection of the organization amidst CNS management’s fears on whether its international patent protection will safeguard it from third party protection in launching a subsidiary company in Abu Dhabi. The UAE IPRs regulatory authority grants equal rights to both foreign and non-foreign natural and artificial persons as the right to acquire patent rights of any new invention. However, these rights are only issued to registered patent and trademark property. Therefore, both application for trademark registration or import relief of any foreign trademark qualifies an organization’s patented property to be protected within the UAE territory. As a result, such firms as CNS registered with the global patent rights for which UAE nations are member states are entitled to sue the public for breaching their IPRs while operating in Abu Dhabi. The organization is entrusted with similar rights as other resident companies of Abu Dhabi. The company can seek third-party compensation in case of IPRs violations. Such damages may relate to a breach of tort of passing off or criminal offense of infringing on the trademark rights of the public. Hence, Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. is duly authorized to demand compensation related to third party’s use of its domain address as well as its other trademark properties.

References
Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property: AGIP. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2021, from https://www.agip.com/Agip_Country_Service.aspx?country_key=10&service_key=T&SubService_Order=3.
Al-Sharieh, S. (2021). The intellectual property road to the knowledge economy: Remarks on the readiness of the UAE Copyright Act to drive AI innovation. Law, Innovation and Technology, 13(1), 141-166.
STA Law Firm. (2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). UAE intellectual property guide. Retrieved June 19, 2021, from https://www.stalawfirm.com/public/uploads/downloads/UAE-Intellectual-Property-Guide.pdf
The United Arab Emirates’ Government Portal. (n.d.). Intellectual property. Retrieved June 19, 2021, from https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/business/intellectual-property.
United Arab Emirates Federal law no. 15 of 1980 governing publications and publishing, 1980. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2021, from https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/62110/65257/E80ARE01.htm.
United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy Administration of Industrial Property. (2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). Federal Law No. (31) for the year 2006 – Write a paper; Professional research paper writing service – Best essay writers pertaining to the Industrial Regulation and Protection of Patents, Industrial Drawings, and Designs. Retrieved June 19, 2021, from https://www.sabaip.com/wp-content/uploads/2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online/04/United-Arab-Emirates-Industrial-Design-Law.pdf

Appendices
Appendix A
Figure 1
Intellectual property regulations in the UAE (Source: The United Arab Emirates’ Government Portal. (n.d.). Intellectual property. Retrieved June 19, 2021, from https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/business/intellectual-property).

Appendix B
Figure 2
UAE Patent Law (Source: STA Law Firm. (2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online). UAE intellectual property guide. Retrieved June 19, 2021, from https://www.stalawfirm.com/public/uploads/downloads/UAE-Intellectual-Property-Guide.pdf)

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