United Arab Emirates: UAE Trade Mark Office Implements Substantial Reduction In Registration And Renewal Fees

In recent years, there have been a number of increases in the official fees charged by Trade Mark Offices in the Middle East region. In a move that will be welcomed by local and international brand owners, the UAE Trade Mark Office has reduced the registration fee payable for trade mark applications by one third. This reduction applies both to new applications and to pending applications, and it also applies to renewal fees.

The official fees charged by the UAE Trade Mark Office have changed significantly in recent years, most notably with the publication of UAE Cabinet Decision No. 9 of 2015 (published in May 2015), which doubled the official fees across all stages of the trade mark application process.

The UAE Trade Mark Office has now implemented a 33% reduction in the official fee which applies at the registration stage of a trade mark application. An equivalent percentage reduction has also been applied to the official fee for trade mark renewals.

Although these fee reductions have not yet been officially announced, they are effective immediately, and they apply both to new applications and to pending applications.

As a result of these changes, the fees for trade mark registration have been reduced from AED 10,000 (USD 2,725) to AED 6,700 (USD 1,825). This brings the overall official fees payable for a trade mark application in the UAE to AED 8,700 (USD 2,370) per trade mark per class, rather than AED 12,000 (USD 3,270).

For trade mark renewals the total reduction (including the renewal filing and publication fees) is from AED 12,000 (USD 3,270) to AED 8,700 (USD 2,370).

The following table shows the changes in official fees at the UAE Trade Mark Office that have applied in recent years:

At this time, it is not known if any reductions will be applied to other trade mark official fees, or if reductions will be applied for patent and design matters.

Wider impact

The UAE Trade Mark Office is not the first in the region to revise official fees in recent months.

In March 2019, official fee reductions of up to 80% were announced in relation to work at the Saudi Arabia Trade Mark Office (although these have yet to be implemented). It remains to be seen if the changes in the UAE prompt any further developments in Saudi Arabia.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.