Before I answer your question, answer this – Would you leave your briefcase full of cash unlocked (or even locked) on the bench in a park or your car with the key inside in a street and go home assuming no one will touch it because it’s not their property? The catch is that your brand is your valuable asset too and you won’t want to let someone steal it. We all hate taking rounds of court, right? However, despite knowing the possible consequences of not registering the trademark, most companies ignore or procrastinate their trademarks and brand name registration, and if you are one of them, then let me tell you that trademark registration is as necessary as buying business insurance and must not be taken lightly. They both keep you from unpleasant surprises in the future. After all, prevention is better than cure!
You’ve spent tons of time coming up with the right name for your product or business, or even a whole list of names for your various services and products, all for leaving them all to hang in the breeze, unprotected? Of course not! Doing business without trademarking your brand is like writing an exam, sitting right next to your competitor without covering the paper. A registered trademark not just protects the brand from competitors and counterfeiting, but also helps business owners earn the trust of their consumers. Furthermore, if you are looking to expand your business in any of the GCC nations, you should have a brand protection strategy in place. This will deter competitors from manipulating your brand reputation and intellectual property (IP) when you start growing. Therefore, the sooner you file a trademark application, the better it is for your business. Even starting the trademark application as soon as your LLC or corporation paperwork is filed is a great idea. By filing for a trademark prior to launch, you can be sure that your name is protected once you kick off commercial sales. Below are some of the reasons why trademark protection must be your top consideration.

• Provides brand recognition: Customers can instantly identify your brand amidst a crowd of identical products or services in the market if it bears a registered trademark.
• Stops counterfeit: The absence of trademark registration is an open invitation to copycat competitors to take advantage of your brand value in the market by creating similar names or making counterfeit products under your brand name. You can get a master copy of the most valued trademarked products such as apple in the market as well. Imagine if Apple had not done trade registration.
• Puts a good impression on customers: Your registered brand name or logo easily gets etched into the minds of buyers forever, which is a dead giveaway that they are impressed with your business values and initiatives.
• Builds trust: A trademark registered in the UAE conveys a clear message to customers about the brand owner, the company’s reputation, products and services, and this transparency acts as a thread of trust connecting you with your buyers.
• Establishes a rapport with your niche customers: Trademarks are vital for SMEs to gain an upper hand in the market, as customers have a comprehensive range of choices in a highly dynamic market like Dubai. Remember, not all customers go for big brands.
• Notifies others of your rights: After being registered in the official register, a trademark cannot be used by others. It is also helpful when you are getting regression in foreign countries, ensuring your brand protection worldwide.
• Gives you the right to initiate litigation: You can stop the infringement by asking the companies to withdraw a similar name or logo, and this can be done only if your trademark is registered with the UAE Trademark Office.
• Authorises you to use the word “registered”: Once registered, you can flaunt your rights by using the word “registered” or the symbol “®”. You may use the “TM” symbol on the logo of your company or brand if the trademark application is still under process.
• Helps lure investors: Registered trademark is key for drawing potential investors. Convincing investors to invest in your company is not easy if your brand is registered with the UAE Trademark Office. It clearly indicates that you have not yet thought about the future of your start-up.
• Makes it easy for customers to reach you: Just think of how we easily relate to the name, design and logos of big brands such as Apple or Amazon. By registering your brand in the UAE, you can ensure that consumers have a recall value with your name.
• Trademarks make the greatest assets: As your business matures or expands, the trademark’s value also increases. The trademarks will be of tremendous value when you are planning to diversify the products or services, franchise through licensing or sell the company

If not for trademark registration, opportunist competitors can create confusion among customers by creating brand names or logos that are similar to yours. And letting them make an unfair profit at the expense of your valued brands is the last thing you want. As per UAE law, expatriate business owners must register their trademarks only through trademark agents in the country. Only trademark agents can access the official gazette where trademarks are published. You have to work with renowned and reliable trademark agents in Dubai, such as Adam Global Dubai. Highly qualified and up to date on the UAE Trademark Law, our IP experts in Dubai have registered a large number of brands from various sectors in the GCC. You may have our trademark registration experts register your trademark in the UAE, so you can carry on your business with mental peace knowing that your trademarks are adequately protected in the UAE as well as other GCC countries.

There are mainly five types of Intellectual Property products in the UAE viz. Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets and Right Industrial Design. Allow us to give a brief explanation about each ahead:

• Patent: A patent is an exclusive license granted for any set of procedures that are the result of an innovative idea or any new invention. The invention under discussion could be a device, product, application, or entirely new method. There are utility certificates for inventions and designs that have an industrial application but are not novel enough to warrant a patent. When it comes to intellectual property laws, scientific theories, mathematical methods, principles, animal or human treatment, and business methods cannot be patented.
• Copyright: Copyright, the most popular type of IP, allows authors and artists to publicly display their ownership of a piece of written or visual expression.
• Trademark: Protecting brands and the name of the product is the main purpose of a trademark. It is traditionally applied to phrases used to describe the service offered by a specific brand. A wordmark is another name for a trademark or brand that just consists of words. The trademark area also includes slogans and logos.
• Trade Secrets: Intellectual property (IP) rights on confidential information which may be sold or licensed are termed Trade Secrets. Typically, to qualify as a trade secret, the information must be:
  1. commercially valuable because it is secret,
  2. be known only to a limited group of persons, and
  3. be subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret, including the use of confidentiality agreements for business partners and employees.

  It is considered an unfair activity and a breach of trade secret protection when others obtain, utilize, or disclose such secret information without authorization in a way that is inconsistent with honest commercial practices.

• Right Industrial Design: Industrial design is the process of creating something that is aesthetically pleasing. It could have 2D features like lines, patterns, or colours or 3D features like shapes. You may protect your design from infringement and other sorts of unauthorized replication by purchasing industrial design rights.

In general, your brand can be registered legally in one of two ways: as a trademark or as a copyright. Both the trademark and copyright certificates are valid legal documents that serve to protect your brand as an item of intellectual property. The processes for establishing a brand, registering organizations, and law enforcement vary though.
Determine the primary aim of brand use before selecting the appropriate legal type of brand registration. We advise you to register your brand as a trademark if you plan to take part in state procurement processes and primarily work with ministries and government agencies. However, it is more effective, less expensive, and quicker for business owners who sell goods and services to customers directly (B2B, B2C) to register a trademark as a copyright.

There are certain limitations that you should know target=”_blank”>before going for trademark registration in the UAE. You must ensure that the trademark you’re registering does not contain any of the following:

• Symbols such as for Red Cross and Red Crescent
• Names or titles of third parties
• Offences against public morals and religions
• Direct translations of other well-known trademarks
• Public symbols (such as flags)

There may be additional limitations to what you can include in your trademark, which you can figure out by getting in touch with the Ministry of Economy or Adam IP Lawyers in Dubai.

Below is the list of primary documents you need to upload after filling up the application form online:

• • Trademark Logo
  • Copy of Trade Licence
  • Power of Attorney
  • Passport Copy
  • Priority Document

List of Goods and Services to be protected

You may be asked for additional documents if applicable. 

The Ministry of Economy is the competent authority to register and protect intellectual property in the UAE. You can register a trademark, copyright or patent through the ministry’s website. Here’s your step-by-step guide to trademark registration in GCC:
Step 1: Perform a trademark search to ensure the trademark is not already registered in GCC
Whether by using free trademark search tools or with the help of Adam IP Dubai trademark agents, make sure the trademark you are going to register in GCC does not already exist. If it is not in use, then you can go ahead with the next steps of trademark registration in the UAE.
Step 2: Fill out the online application form on the Ministry of Economy’s website
Ministry of Economy is officially in charge of trademark applications. Go to the homepage of their website and complete the application form, attach the pertinent documents and submit. You may access the trademark registration form by clicking on the options below one by one:

• ‘Services’
• ‘e-Services’ from the dropdown menu
• ‘Trademarks’ from the Services page
• ‘Trademark Registration’ under New Applications
• And finally, ‘Submit’

Step 3: Pay the application fee
Make the payments online via the MOE’s e-services platform to proceed with your trademark registration application. You may also have to fork out the court fees or a translation charge.
Step 4: Wait until the final evaluation by the ministry
After the successful submission of the application, the MOE will review your submission. Usually, it takes 30 days for trademark clearance, if no issues are found with your filing.
Step 5: Pay for publishing the document in the Official Gazette
Once approved, pay the publishing fee on the same platform. After receiving the payment, the ministry publishes the trademark document in the Official Gazette to ensure no one has any objection to the trademark being registered. They wait for 30 days from the application release date and proceed further with the trademark registration if no objection is filed within the agreed time.
Step 6: Finally pay for trademark registration and collect the certificate
You have to make final payments at this step. The Ministry of Economy grants you a certificate of approval if no objection to the trademark is filed within the stipulated period. The document features the registration number, date of filing, company name and owner’s name, trademark, and a list of the goods, products, and services that come under it.
Remember, trademarks are only a subset of the broader category of Intellectual Property Rights. Once registered, the trademark is valid for ten years in GCC and can be renewed for another ten years following payment of a certain fee.
The process flow for a successful application: Fill Application >> Application Payment >> Application Review >> Pay for Publishing >> Publishing >> Pay for Registration >> Registered

Expected Duration for Trademark Registration Completion
The Trademark Registration process usually takes 120 days to complete if everything goes well. Let’s know why you have to wait for at least 4 months to have your trademark registered in the UAE with the help of the following table.