Latest enactment on Patent Registration in UAE

The Federal Law no. 11 of 2021 (“the Law”) is concerning the protection and regulati9on of IPR rights in the UAE. The UAE issued the law repealing the previous Patent Law No. 17 of 2002. The law is applicable across the UAE including free zones and is dedicated to patents, industrial designs, integrated circuits, undisclosed information and utility certificates.

This law, gazetted on 31^st May 2021, will come into effect in November 2021 as and when the Executive Regulations are published.

Features of the new law:

The new law appears to be at par with the international patent laws and addresses the issue of determining the right to invention.
Introduction of a 12-month grace period for disclosing an invention before filing and speeding up the examination of urgent applications.
One of the requirements to obtain a patent must be newness and novelty and if such invention has not been disclosed publicly before the date of filing (either orally or in writing).
Under the new law, disclosures made by the inventor within a period of 12 months of the filing date will have no effect on novelty, whatsoever.
The new law sets out the subject matter exclusions and now its scope extends to include research on plant or animal species.
The new law lays down the exclusion of software from patentability but without offering any clarification or guidance with regards to software exclusion.
The new law excludes natural substances which are isolated or purified without precluding the method of isolating or purification of such natural substances from patentability.
Latest provision sets out that late filing is possible, in absence of application in English or Arabic.
Deadline of 90 days is set from the date of receipt of the official notice to obtain missing documents requirements.
If within the scope of application, the new provision allows for post-filing amendments to be made to the application.
The new law includes provisions on compulsory licenses, rights of license holders, multiplicity of compulsory licenses and exceptions to the conditions of obtaining compulsory license by the court.
There are sections with respect to the international patent application covering claims for damages, preventive measures and penalties.

The new law published determines to reform the UAE’s legal framework and support the UAE’s visions. This law is instrumental in strengthening UAEs enforcement system and protecting the IP rights of its respective holders.

The content available is intended to deliver general guidance to the related subject-matter. Expert advise must be sought.

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