Well-Known Trademarks in the UAE: Protection Without Registration

The UAE Trademark Law gives special protection to well-known marks – brands with a reputation in the UAE that exceeds their home market – even if the owner has never registered them here. It is the main exception to the first-to-file rule.

What the law provides

• A mark identical or similar to a well-known mark cannot be registered for identical or similar goods without the owner's consent.
• For dissimilar goods, protection applies where use would suggest a connection with the well-known mark or damage its interests.
• The owner can oppose applications, apply to cancel registrations obtained in bad faith, and take infringement action.

What makes a mark "well known"

Factors considered include the extent to which the mark is known to the relevant public in the UAE as a result of promotion, the duration and geographic extent of use and registration, the value associated with the mark, and recognition in other countries. Fame abroad alone is not enough; recognition in the UAE market must be shown.

Evidence

Sales and advertising figures in the UAE and region, media coverage, distributor agreements, social-media reach in the UAE, awards, registrations and enforcement decisions in other countries, consumer surveys.

How it is used in practice

• Opposition against a squatter's application within 30 days of publication. Opposition →
• Cancellation of a bad-faith registration by a former distributor or franchisee.
• Infringement complaints against counterfeiters before the brand's own UAE registration issues.

Why register anyway

Proving well-known status is expensive and uncertain; a registration is AED 6,500 per class and certain. Foreign brands entering the UAE should file before appointing distributors. Register → · International filing →

Send us the brand name and what it covers for a free preliminary check and a fixed-fee quote – contact us. Official services and fees: MoET links.