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UAE can now register their trademarks in different formats, according to senior official
28 March 2024
A senior official revealed that the UAE can now register their trademark in a variety of formats, such as sounds, scents, geographical indicator marks and holograms.
During the official opening of the new intellectual property system in Dubai, Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri stated that the ministry is now working on expanding the scope of trademark registration by adding additional non-traditional trademark categories. Abdulla Al Saleh, under-secretary of foreign trade and industry at the Ministry of Economy, added that the UAE has updated its outdated IP rules in 2021 with a brand-new framework.
“The previous version of the law did not address the protection of IPR related to holograms, sounds, and smells. All of these practices are covered under the updated legislation. To that end, we developed a registration system. For instance, the hotel chain may register your scent when you arrive. It will be associated with your brand, so it cannot be used by any other brand. Similar to this, the opening theme of a video or motion picture in a theatre may also be identified as its intellectual property,” he said.
There was a notable surge in trademark registration applications in 2023, marking a 9.6 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, there was a 29.5 percent rise in the registration of intellectual works and a 2.9 percent increase in the number of registered marks.
In 2023, the ministry received 3,415 patent applications, an increase of 19.5 percent over the previous year. That same year, there were 5,108 registered patents overall, an increase of 13.7 percent from 2022.
- Excel V. Dyquiangco
