Protecting Intellectual Property – Patent Registration In Dubai, UAE/GCC IP/Legal Practice

International Centre for Patent Registration (ICPR) under Ministry of Economy is the competent authority to register patents in the UAE. To register a patent, you can submit an online application via the ministry’s website. The filed application may contain a request to claim a priority of an application that has been filed in another state being a party of an agreement or a treaty with the UAE. In this case, the application date and number of the previously filed application should be indicated together with the name of the state, as provided for in the implementing regulations of this law. The priority term shall be twelve months as of the date of first filing.

• A power of attorney duly legalized
• If the applicant is a company, a duly legalized extract from the Commercial Register or the Memorandum of Association must be presented
• A copy of the English specification and claims with its Arabic translation
• A set of drawings related to the invention
• An abstract of the invention
• A duly legalized deed of assignment signed by the inventor, in case the applicant is not the inventor
• A certified copy of the application that shows the filing date, number and country

Upon review and acceptance of the application, the patent is then sent for examination. This process requires additional fees and can take up to two years to complete. During this process, the patent is closely examined for the three criteria, and it is possible that more information and documentation may be requested during this examination period.

Should the patent be rejected, the applicant has sixty days to submit a request to have the application re-examined. Working closely with a patent lawyer to develop a comprehensive argument to address the reason for the rejection is the most effective way to overturn the rejection.

If the patent application is accepted, the Ministry of Economy publishes the patent application information in the Official Gazette of the UAE. There is a window of sixty days for comments. During this time, anyone opposing the granting of the patent can present, in writing, any objections. This must include information as to why the patent should not be granted.

The term of the letters patent shall be a period of twenty years, and ten years for the utility certificate as of the date of filing the application. An annual fee shall be payable on the letters patent or the utility certificate, and shall be paid by the beginning of each year starting from the year following the date of filing the applications related. If such a fee has not been duly paid by the owner of the letters patent within a three-month period, then another grace period of three months shall be allowed, within which time the due fee is to be paid, provided that a late - fee shall be added.

In all instances, the annual fees may be paid in advance for the entire term of the letters patent or the utility certificate or for parts thereof. If the fee is not duly paid by the owner of the letters patent or by the holder of the utility certificate within the prescribed period indicated herein (six months from the due date), the letters patent or the utility certificate shall then lapse.