Important updates
And industry news
3D Trade Marks in the Middle East: An overview
The concept or nature of a 3D trade mark per se is not explicitly recognised in the GCC Trade Mark Law or other national trade mark laws in the Middle East region. In practice, this type of mark is very often considered as an industrial design and is not widely...
SAUDI ARABIA: Commercial Courts’ Authority on IP and Administrative Disputes
In a recent decision, the Administrative Appellate Court of Saudi Arabia upheld a First Instance Administrative Court decision that dismissed an appeal against a trademark office’s final refusal based on the administrative court’s lack of judicial jurisdiction due to...
UAE to Adopt Long-Awaited Data Law
The United Arab Emirates has announced that a long-anticipated new data protection law draft will soon be unveiled. Presently, the UAE does not have a unified set of data protection laws at the federal level. There are, however, a number of both general and sector...
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In the Hotseat with… Sara Omran
Practice Operations Manager Sara Omran has been part of our Beirut team for 11 years. Sara is well versed in the areas of team organization and management, with strong critical thinking, problem-solving, negotiation and conflict management skills. Describe yourself in...
An update on Federal Law No. (11) of 2021 regarding the regulation and protection of industrial property rights
The UAE has issued Federal Law No. (11) of 2021 regarding the regulation and protection of industrial property rights. Gazetted on 31 May, it will come into effect in November 2021. This is a law dedicated to patents, industrial designs, integrated...
Protection of Trade Secrets in the UAE
Overview of Trade Secrets The World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) provides the following elements for information to qualify as a trade secret. The information must be: commercially valuable because it is secret;known only to a limited group of persons;...
Combatting Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals in the UAE
The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 10 medical products (mainly antibiotics and antimalarials) in low-to middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year and costing untold millions in further...