Trademark Infringement Penalties in the UAE: Fines, Imprisonment and Civil Damages

Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021 treats trademark infringement as both a crime and a civil wrong. Penalties were increased compared with the previous law.

Criminal offences and penalties

The law provides for imprisonment and/or fines (the fine bands run from tens of thousands to a million dirhams depending on the offence) for anyone who:

• counterfeits a registered mark or imitates it in a way that misleads the public;
• knowingly uses a counterfeit or imitated mark;
• knowingly sells, offers for sale, possesses for sale or imports goods bearing a counterfeit or imitated mark;
• uses a mark they are not entitled to use.

Courts may also order confiscation and destruction of the goods and the tools used to make them, closure of the business for a period, and publication of the judgment at the offender's expense. Repeat offences attract heavier penalties.

Administrative penalties

Departments of Economic Development impose fines, seize goods and can suspend licences for trading in counterfeit goods, independently of criminal proceedings.

Civil remedies

The owner can claim compensation for actual loss and lost profits, an injunction, destruction of infringing goods and packaging, and precautionary seizure at the outset. Courts appoint an IP expert to assess similarity and damages. Expert witness →

Customs

Goods detained at the border under an IPR recordal are destroyed at the importer's expense if infringement is confirmed.

Who can be liable

Manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers, online sellers and, in some cases, landlords and platforms that knowingly facilitate sales.

Related

• How to enforce your mark
• Filing an infringement complaint
• UAE Trademark Law overview

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