The benefits of setting up a business in Dubai are well accepted among entrepreneurs and investors around the globe. Thousands of large and small businesses are performing well already in Dubai and their numbers are constantly increasing with every passing year. The government of Dubai is not only providing best facilities for these businesses to grow but it is also quite serious about protection of identity of every single business operating in the country.
For this purpose, it is mandatory for all companies to either register trademark or copyright in Dubai before starting their business. Both these processes are intended to provide maximum safety to all existing and new businesses. But there is a difference between these two types of processes. Copyright protects original work in literary and artistic type for books, audio or video material. On the other hand, trademark protects company brand like its name and logo.
Benefits
Trademark registration is not only necessary but it is also quite beneficial for businesses. It saves companies from several types of legal disputes and assists in getting maximum profit from their business. Following are important benefits that you can avail after trademark registration of your business.
- The most important benefit of trademark registration is the protection it provides to your brand and logo. After registering your business through trademark, you will become the sole owner of your company and no one else will be allowed to copy the same brand name and logo. This is especially helpful to already established businesses as new companies try to take some share of their profit by adopting similar name or logo. But it becomes impossible after trademark registration of a business
- Another important advantage of trademark registration in Dubai is that it provides international protection to a business. UAE is signatory of Berne Convention. More than 170 countries are part of this international convention. It means, trademark registration of your business in UAE will also provide it international recognition. Businesses in other countries will also not be allowed to use brand name and logo of your business
- Registration of trademark allows business owners an automatic right to sue the other party if it is illegally using its name or logo. This can result in recovering up to three times the damages and also the fee of lawyer from the user of unlawful trademark
Why is trademark registration necessary?
Without having trademark (or copyright) registration, it becomes almost impossible for companies to prevent rival businesses from making unlawful use of trade name, logo and other characteristics of their goods and services. Not only smaller companies but even global companies can’t afford to mess with others in the presence of trademark registration.
We have seen several cases where giant companies clashed for trademark registration. Few of the examples include Apple Corps vs Apple Computers (now Apple Inc.), Academy Awards vs GoDaddy and Coke vs Pepsi. This makes it easily understandable to others that they can easily protect their entire businesses through trademark registration. In the absence of such protection, anyone in the congested market can easily make use of other’s possession (trade name, logo etc.).
How trademark protects the brand
Trademark registration not only bans other companies from using the exact name and logo of the parent company but it also restricts them to use similar names and logos i.e. preventing trademark dilution. It means trademark registration prevents all types of unfair means of using a company’s business name and logo by its rivals.
Trademark registration process in Dubai
Registration of trademark in Dubai mainland, any of the free zones in Dubai and other areas of UAE require submission of application in the Ministry of Economy & Commerce. This application must be duly filled and accompanied with all important documents. Following are important documents required for this registration process:
- Passport of the person signing the application
- Contact details of the person registering for trademark
- Valid business trading license
- Sample of trademark design
- Complete list of goods and services that require protection
- Power of attorney on behalf of the firm
After submission of application, the relevant department will decide the matter in given time. This can take few months. Trademark in Dubai is valid for 10 years after which renewal of trademark is required.
Trademark registration is an extremely important process to protect company’s brand name and logo. It is important to complete this process before starting a business in Dubai in order to avoid any potential damage and complications. You can easily do so by contacting Riz & Mona Consultancy. We are available via our WhatsApp # 971-56-9971225 and email address info@rizmona.com.
