I. General Overview

Area: 83,600 square kilometers.
Population: 10.24 million (July 2024), with 88% of the population being foreign, primarily from India, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. Most residents are Sunni Muslims. Arabic is the official language, and English is widely spoken.
Key economic data (2023):
GDP: $457.4 billion
GDP per capita: US$50,600
GDP growth rate: 2.4%
Currency: Dirham

II. Treaty Membership
1. Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention)
Accession: 1996

2. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Accession: 1999

3. Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol)
Accession: 2021

III. Trademark Application Procedure and Required Documents
1. Trademark Registrable Elements and Types
Elements that can be registered as trademarks in the UAE include: words, graphics, symbols, slogans, three-dimensional logos, color combinations, sounds, holograms, etc.
The types of trademarks that can be registered in the UAE include: trademarks, service marks, collective trademarks, certification trademarks, and serial trademarks.

2. Filing Routes
1) National filing (direct filing)
2) Madrid International Registration

3. Required Documents
⦁ Power of attorney (legalized by the embassy or consulate);
⦁ Clear representation of the mark;
⦁ List of goods and/or services;
⦁ Applicant's name and address;
⦁ If priority is claimed, a certified copy of the priority document needs to be submitted..

4. Application Procedure and Timeline
Filing: the 10th edition of the Nice Classification is adopted; multiple-class applications are allowed (but not currently implemented); a whole class can be applied for; all goods in Class 33, alcoholic beverages in Class 32, and pork in Class 29 are not eligible for trademark registration
Examination: Formal examination and substantive examination; substantive examination takes about 90 days
Publication/Opposition: opposition period 30 days
Registration: It takes about 3-4 months from filing to registration (if smooth)

5. Protection Period and Renewal:
The validity period is 10 years from the date of application and can be renewed for 10 years each time before expiration.

6. Assignment
Only registered trademarks can be assigned. An assignment agreement and a power of attorney from the assignee, legalized by the embassy or consulate, must be provided. The processing time is approximately 6-12 months.

7. Chang of Name/Address
To change a trademark, you need to provide a power of attorney and a proof of change legalized by the embassy or consulate, and the processing time is about 2-3 months.

7. Trademark Cancellation:
Non-use Cancellation: If a trademark has not been used for 5 consecutive years, any interested party may file a cancellation request for the non-used trademark.

IV. Trademark application statistics *:
A: Statistics on total trademark applications:
2020: 18,620
2021: 25,487
2022: 32,234

B: Statistics of trademark applications from China:
2020: 1,455
2021: 1,790
2022: 2,532