Brand protection
Trademark registration in the UAE, before someone else files it
The UAE is first-to-file. Whoever registers the mark owns it, and recovering a name from a squatter costs multiples of registering early. We file, track and renew with the Ministry of Economy.
What registration involves
- Availability search across the UAE register and obvious conflicts
- Filing with the Ministry of Economy in the right Nice classes
- Examination, then publication for the opposition window
- Certificate issue; protection runs ten years and renews indefinitely
What founders get wrong
- Registering the company name but not the brand: a licence does not protect a trademark
- Filing one class when the business spans several, leaving gaps competitors can file into
- Waiting until revenue proves the brand, by which point the mark is exposed
- Ignoring the Arabic transliteration, which can be registered against you
Timelines and scope
A clean UAE filing typically takes four to eight months to certificate, with protection effective from the filing date. For brands trading beyond the Emirates we handle GCC filings and coordinate international coverage through the Madrid system where your home registrations allow it.
Questions
Trademark & IP Registration, asked and answered
How much does a UAE trademark cost?
Government fees run around AED 6,700 per mark per class from filing to registration, plus professional fees. Multi-class brands budget accordingly, and we prioritise the classes where you actually trade first.
Can I register a trademark without a UAE company?
Foreign owners can file in the UAE, and many do defensively. If you are forming a company with us anyway, sequencing the two together avoids paying twice for documents.
What if someone already registered my brand?
Options run from opposition during publication, to cancellation actions for bad-faith filings, to negotiated transfer. All cost more than filing first, which is the honest moral of the story.
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