Intellectual property specialist Dennemeyer & Associates
In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the UAE Cabinet issued the Ministerial Decree No. 20 of 2020, implementing significant reductions to, inter alia, the official fees related to trademarks.
After several increases of official fees for trademark services in the GCC countries in recent years (Qatar in 2005, the UAE itself as recently as 2015 and Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 2016), the UAE had already taken a step in the opposite direction by implementing notable reductions of certain trademark fees through decision No. 51 of 2019 of the Cabinet.
The new decree is now reducing these fees even further – by up to 30% - with effect from April 5, 2020, as below:
| Trademark Service | Old Official Fees (AED) | New Official Fees (AED) | Old Official Fees (US$, approx.) | New Official Fees (US$, approx.) |
| Search for a trademark in one class | 500 | 350 | 136 | 95 |
| Filing a trademark application | 1,000 | 750 | 272 | 204 |
| Publication fees in the Official Bulletin for TM registration | 1,000 | 750 | 272 | 204 |
| Registration fees | 6,700 | 5,000 | 1,824 | 1,361 |
| Renewal fees within the last year of the protection period | 8,700 | 6,500 | 2,369 | 1,770 |
| Recordal of Assignment, Merger, Mortgage or Licensing | 1,700 | 1,250 | 463 | 340 |
| Recordal of Change of Name or Address | 500 | 350 | 136 | 95 |
| Recordal of Change of Local Agent | 500 | 350 | 136 | 95 |
| Obtaining certified copy of Registration Certificate or any other document | 200 | 150 | 55 | 41 |
| Preparing and filing an opposition with the Trademark Office | 10,000 | 7,500 | 2,720 | 2,040 |
| Preparing and filing an appeal against a decision issued regarding an opposition | 10,000 | 7,500 | 2,720 | 2,040 |
| Attending a hearing session at the Trademark Office | 500 | 350 | 136 | 95 |
| Issuance of replacement certificate for a trademark | 200 | 150 | 55 | 41 |
| Application for a true copy of the contents of the trademark registry or any application or document mentioning the trademarks submitted to or issued by the Trademark Office | 200 | 150 | 55 | 41 |
This decision is a welcome step for stakeholders, especially in light of the current circumstances and economic effects. Not only startups and SMEs might reconsider investment in IP protection when looking at ways to save money. This decree is helpful in mitigating these hesitations and it further underlines the UAE’s commitment to innovation and with its IP protection, even in trying times.
It remains to be seen if and when other countries in the region will follow suit - Saudi Arabia has already announced considerable reductions of the official fees for trademark matters a while back but has yet to implement these.
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