Trademark Maintenance in the UAE: Keeping Your Registration Valid

A UAE trademark registration is not a one-off. Five obligations keep it valid and enforceable over its ten-year life and beyond.

1. Use the mark – the five-year rule

Any interested party can apply to cancel a registered mark that has not been genuinely used in the UAE for five consecutive years. Keep dated evidence of use: invoices, product photos, packaging, price lists, advertising, website and social-media captures. Use by a licensee counts only if the licence is recorded. Use of a slightly different logo may not count – if you rebrand, file the new version.

2. Renew in the tenth year

Protection runs ten years from the filing date. Renew during year 10 (AED 6,500 per class) or, at a higher fee, within six months after expiry (AED 7,250). After that the mark lapses. Renewal guide →

3. Record every change

MoET will refuse a renewal, and a court may question your standing, if the register does not match reality. Record with MoET:

Change	When
Company name change	As soon as the new licence issues
Address change	On moving
Assignment (sale or intra-group transfer)	Before the new owner needs to enforce or renew
Licence or franchise	Before the licensee starts using the mark
Limitation of goods	When you drop a product line
Merger or legal-form change	On completion

Each recordal is a separate online MoET service. Services overview →

4. Record with customs

UAE Customs authorities (federal and emirate-level, including Dubai Customs) maintain IPR recordal systems. Recording your registration lets inspectors detain suspected counterfeit shipments and notify you. Recordal must be renewed in line with the registration.

5. Monitor and enforce

• Watch the Trademark Bulletin (twice a month) for similar applications and oppose within 30 days. Opposition guide →
• Act on infringement through MoET, DED inspectors or the courts. Tolerating infringers weakens your mark. Complaints →
• Use ® only for registered marks and only in the classes registered.

Annual maintenance checklist

• [ ] Evidence of use filed for each mark and class
• [ ] Owner name and address on the register match the licence
• [ ] All licences and assignments recorded
• [ ] Customs recordal current
• [ ] Renewal dates diarised (year 10) with a 12-month warning
• [ ] Bulletin watch active
• [ ] New products or markets covered by new classes or new filings

What we do for portfolio clients

We docket every deadline, run the bulletin watch, prepare use evidence files, record changes and handle renewals across the UAE and GCC for a fixed annual fee. Ask about portfolio management →