On April 11, 2021, the UAE Ministry of Economy’s Trademarks and Copyright Works Department released an official notice (“the notification”) announcing certain modifications to the process of registering a trademark in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The announcement came at an appropriate moment, mainly due to the pandemic, and have given relaxation to the trademark owners who want to claim priority but cannot do so due to a lack of PoA. The notice came as a comfort for many applicants who were finding it hard to provide PoA when submitting a trademark application. The Ministry of Economy, UAE, has nevertheless alleviated this issue by issuing such notice favoring applicants for marks. This article will go through some of the modifications made by the Ministry to make the procedure easier for Trademark Applicants.
Before the passing of notification by the Ministry of UAE, trademark applicants needed to present a legalized POA together with the trademark filing application. No late filing of legalized PoA was allowed. However, with the publication of the notification with came into effect from 11th April 2021 the legalized POA for new trademark registrations may now be filed later.
The new regulation requires that if the POA is not available at the time of filing of the trademark application, the trademark applicant or his authorized agent may give in writing about the intention of producing the legalized PoA within “thirty” days from the date of submitting the trademark application. There will be no official fee for the late filing of the PoA. The grace period is not renewable. If the applicant failed to submit the POA within 30 days after the trademark application filing, the application would be considered lapsed.
The official notice makes no mention of the possibility of submitting a legalized POA for trademark renewal late or of filing a post-registration trademark application. On the contrary, the notification says that submitting the late PoA for oppositions and appeals to the Ministry of Economic is not permitted. Such proceedings must be filed with a fully authorized PoA.
Here legalized POA means the Notarisation and legalization up to an Embassy or Consulate level if the applicant is a foreign national. In the case of local national, Notarisation before a local notary is mandatory. This Legalization process also includes local legalization from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The second change that the Ministry has announced in the notification relates to submitting the priority document. This change simplified the process of filing marks, particularly in the pandemic scenario. Before the notification, the application needed to include a certified copy of the Priority Document and its Arabic and English translations. Late submission of the document was no longer accepted. According to current procedures and the Paris Convention requirements, the priority document must be submitted within three months after the priority application’s filing date in the UAE. No official fee is to be charged for such late submission of the priority document.
Trademark registration in UAE is premised on the “first to file” system. Any objections based on earlier usage are unlikely to be considered as a defense. Suppose the applicant has not yet started using their trademark but wants to protect it. In that case, the best approach is to submit a trademark application stating your intention to use the trademark concerning the particular products and services. It essentially protects the applicant’s rights in the trademark before its launch in the market. Prior filing of trademark application indicates the owner’s plan to use the trademark in conjunction with their business.
Although the Ministry of UAE has simplified the procedure of submitting trademark applications by considering the Pandemic situation, it is prudent to submit trademark applications and the legalized POA application in the event of any delay. A timely filing of a POA will prevent the trademark from being cancelled. While obtaining a Power of Attorney for usage in Dubai is relatively simple, it is critical to ensure that the procedure is performed by a competent and experienced professional who is acquainted with the UAE trademark registration process and well versed with the procedure of legalizing PoA.
Any errors made while completing the application form or providing supporting documents may result in the trademark being rejected. Therefore, Farahat & co.’s business experts will help you register a trademark in the UAE and ensure that all legal requirements are fulfilled without any mistake. Therefore, kindly contact us; we will happily assist you! We can help and support you in properly completing the trademark registration process and achieving a favorable result.