Trademark enforcement in UAE

31 March 2023

Saranya Mohan

The owner of a duly registered trademark can file administrative governmental action or a court action, i.e., a criminal action or a civil action.


Administrative action

The IPPD at the Ministry of Economy and/or the DED in the UAE have the authority to enforce IP rights

The available remedies for administrative actions are:

• Fines to be determined by the Dubai DED, and to the destruction or confiscation of the infringing products.

 

Criminal action

In Dubai, the economic development at Dubai police is dedicated to infringement cases:

• Upon filing a complaint, the police officers will investigate and check whether the infringing products are available or not;

• The public prosecution will carry out the necessary investigation and take the testimonies of the parties. It will refer the matter to the Dubai court of first instance to follow the same procedure as a criminal case.

The available remedies for criminal actions are:

• Fines from AED 50,000 to AED 1,000,000, and/or

• Imprisonment up to one year

• The destruction of the infringing products

 

Civil actions

The claimant must file the civil lawsuit along with all the supporting documentary evidence, and, in response, the infringing party must submit a counterstatement along with their evidence. Thereafter, the court will hold several hearings, and the parties will be allowed to submit their written memorandums and pleadings.

The available remedies in civil actions include:

• The precautionary measures and attachment

• Destruction of counterfeit or infringing products

• Compensation for the damages resulting from the trademark infringement

• Closure of the infringing business, and

• Publication of the judgment

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