UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Maria Farrukh Khan, Fatima Shah, Heera Sandeep and Essam Abdel Khaleq, United Trademark & Patent Services
United Trademark & Patent Services Suite 401-402 Al Hawai Tower Sheikh Zayed Road PO Box 72430 Dubai UAE
Tel: +971 4 343 7544 Fax: +971 4 343 7546 Email: dubai@unitedtm.com Web: www.utmps.com
1. Trade Mark and Copyright Law 1.1 Governing Law The current statutory law on trade marks in the UAE is Federal Law No 36 of 2021 on Trademarks, which replaced Federal Law No 37 of 1992 (the “Trademark Law”). The Trademark Law’s implementing regulations came under Cabinet Decision No 57 of 2022. Federal Law No 38 of 2021 on Copyrights and Neigh - boring Rights (the “Copyright Law”) governs copyright in the UAE. The Trademark Law does not have provisions on common law rights, yet they are recognised by UAE courts. Article 4 (2) of the Trademark Law permits the use of well-known marks as evidence of rights owner - ship. By contrast, copyrights are recognised without registration under the Berne Convention, arising auto - matically upon the creation of works. 1.2 Conventions and Treaties/Rights of Foreign IP Holders The UAE is a signatory/member of the following trade mark treaties/bodies: • Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; • World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS); • Nice Agreement Concerning the International Clas - sification of Goods and Services;
• Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks; • Madrid Protocol (International Registration of Marks); and • World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The UAE is also a signatory of the following copyright treaties: • Berne Convention – protects foreign works auto - matically without registration; • WIPO Copyright Treaty – implements digital and internet-related copyright protections; • Rome Convention – protects performers, produc - ers of phonograms and broadcasting; organisa - tions; and • TRIPS (as a WTO member). Treaties are not self-executing; they must be incorpo - rated into UAE domestic law to be enforceable. Foreign IP holders enforce rights through UAE domes - tic law. Copyright protection is automatic upon crea - tion; registration is optional but aids enforcement. Berne Convention countries’ works are protected without formalities. Courts enforce rights with criminal penalties for piracy and counterfeiting.
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