UAE Patent and Industrial Design Law
The current implemented law pertaining to the Industrial Regulation and Protection of Patents, Industrial Drawings, and Designs is the UAE Federal Law No. 11 for the year 2021, replacing Federal Laws No. 44 for the year 1992, Federal Law No. 17 for the year 2002, and Law No. 31 for the year 2006. The current implemented bylaws are those issued by Cabinet Resolution No. 6 for the year 2022.
According to UAE law, designs are defined as "Any innovative three-dimensional shape that can be used in industry or craft." However, an industrial design can be further described as "any composition of lines or colors or any three-dimensional form, whether or not associated with lines or colors, provided that such composition or form gives a special appearance to a product of industry or handicraft and can serve as a pattern for a product of industry or handicraft."
An application for protection may include more than one design, provided that such designs are interrelated in terms of manufacture and use, and that their total number does not exceed twenty designs. The filed application may also contain a request to claim priority from an application filed in another state that is a member of an agreement or treaty with the UAE. In this case, the application date and number of the previously filed application should be indicated together with the name of the state, as provided for in the implementing regulations. The priority term shall be six months from the date of the first filing.
An industrial design does not benefit from protection under the law unless it is registered in the related register at the Administration, and the application for registration is submitted and examined according to the procedures defined by the bylaws. Once a design is registered in the UAE, the protection period will remain valid for 10 years from the filing date, provided that all formalities are fulfilled, such as payment of annual maintenance fees.