Trademark Assignment in the UAE: How to Transfer Trademark Ownership

A trademark assignment transfers ownership of a registered (or pending) mark from one party to another – on the sale of a business, a group restructuring, a change of legal form, or when a founder moves a personal registration into the company. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021 an assignment must be in writing and is effective against third parties only once recorded with the Ministry of Economy & Tourism (MoET).

What the law requires

• Written deed of assignment signed by assignor and assignee, identifying the mark(s) by registration number, the classes and goods, and the consideration (a nominal amount is acceptable).
• With or without goodwill. The 2021 law allows a mark to be assigned separately from the business, but if the assignment would mislead the public about the origin or quality of goods, MoET can refuse to record it.
• Partial assignment – some classes or some goods only – is permitted; the register is split.
• Signatures notarised, and legalised if the assignor is outside the UAE; Arabic translation by a licensed legal translator.

How to record the assignment with MoET

1. Prepare the deed and, if needed, a power of attorney for the agent filing on the assignee's behalf.
2. Log in to the MoET portal and open the trademark ownership transfer service; enter the registration number and the new owner's details exactly as on its licence or passport.
3. Upload the deed, translation, the assignee's licence or ID and the POA; pay the service fee.
4. MoET examines and, if in order, records the new owner and publishes the change in the Trademark Bulletin.
5. Download the updated registration record; update customs recordals and any licences.

Allow a few weeks. If the mark is due for renewal, record the assignment first – MoET refuses renewals where the owner on the register does not match the applicant.

Assignment in common situations

Situation	What to do
Selling the business	Include all marks and applications in the SPA; record each assignment; assign domain names and social accounts separately
Founder → company	Assign from the individual to the licensed entity; record before raising investment
Group restructuring	Assign to the IP-holding company and record intra-group licences back to operating companies
Change of legal form (LLC → PJSC)	Usually a change-of-name recordal, not an assignment – check with us
Merger	Record on the basis of the merger documents

Fees

MoET charges a service fee per registration assigned (ask us for the current amount); professional fee per deed plus translation and notarisation costs. Assigning a portfolio of marks in one deed is cheaper than separate deeds.

Pitfalls

• Unrecorded assignments: the buyer cannot enforce, renew or license the mark.
• Owner-name mismatches between the deed, the licence and the register.
• Forgetting pending applications – they can be assigned too.
• Assigning the trademark but not the trade name (or vice versa): both need attention on a business sale.
• Assignments to foreign entities without a UAE agent appointed for future correspondence.

Related

• Trademark licensing (use without transfer)
• Trademark maintenance – recording changes
• MoET services overview

We draft, notarise, translate and record assignments for single marks and portfolios – contact us.