UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Maria Farrukh Khan, Fatima Shah, Heera Sandeep and Essam Abdel Khaleq, United Trademark & Patent Services
10.5 Customs Seizures of Counterfeits or Parallel Imports The UAE has a system for customs seizure of coun - terfeits and parallel imports. Recording the trade mark with the customs authorities of each Emirate is a preventive measure that enables customs officials to monitor incoming and outgoing shipments marked under these recorded trade marks. If a shipment appears to be suspicious, customs have the power to detain it and notify the trade mark owner or its author- ised agent in the UAE. If the trade mark owner or its agent confirms that the goods are counterfeit, the cus - toms department proceeds with seizure of the goods. Customs can seize counterfeit products and pass on the matter to the public prosecutor, and then the criminal courts, which will then issue an order for the destruction of the goods. To enable the customs department to regulate and monitor shipments, it is strongly recommended that the trade mark be record - ed therewith. Under the Copyright Law, customs may seize sus - pected counterfeit goods, either on their own initiative or at the request of the copyright owner. Registra - tion or prior recordal is not required but is recom - mended to facilitate enforcement. Suspected goods may be detained for up to 20 days, during which time the right-holder can inspect them and initiate civil or criminal proceedings. Unlike trade marks, there is no concept of a local distributor for copyright, so genuine imports without the owner’s consent are generally not seized unless other copyright violations occur.
• the claimant is responsible for proving the defend - ant’s fault or breach, the actual damage suffered and the direct causal link between the two; • the evidence that the claimant has been able to submit – ie, whether it justifies the amount claimed; and • whether the trade mark that has been infringed is a well-known mark. Courts are not required to follow a specific calculation method or provide a breakdown of the award, which can lead to variability in judgments. Courts often appoint experts (eg, medical or financial experts) to assess the extent of the harm and associated costs, and tend to rely heavily on their reports. Copyright owners may claim civil compensation for actual damage suffered, including loss of profits and moral harm, under general civil law principles and Arti - cle 43 of the Copyright Law. There are no fixed formu - las or statutory caps for civil damages; compensation is usually assessed based on actual proven loss, lost profits, market impact and indicators of unjust enrich - ment, and moral damages may be awarded where reputation or attribution is harmed. In practice, courts often appoint a court expert to examine and quan - tify damages, and while the court generally relies on the expert’s report, it retains full discretion to accept, modify or disregard it. Registration is not a prerequi - site to claim civil compensation for copyright in the UAE, but it provides strong evidentiary value as prima Each party is responsible for bearing costs such as expenses and attorneys’ fees. The official fees are paid by the claimant/complainant who initiates the litigation/appeal. The court may include in its judg - ment the decision that the losing party should pay a particular amount of the costs (decided by the court) as the prevailing party’s attorney fees. 10.4 Ex Parte Relief The trade mark or copyright owner can seek relief without notice to the defendant, as it is not mandatory to send legal notice to the infringer under UAE law. facie proof of ownership and date. 10.3 Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
11. Appeal 11.1 Appellate Procedure Trade Marks
Either party can appeal against the decision of the Ministry of Economy before the Federal Court of Appeal, within 30 days of the decision. Copyright Any person affected by a summary court order may first file a grievance with the president of that court within 15 days, who may uphold, revoke or modify the order. Decisions issued by the Grievance Committee
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