According to Federal Law No. 31 of 2016, promulgated by Law No. 17 of 2002 on Regulation and Protection of Industrial Property of Patents, Industrial Drawings and Designs, a patent protection in the UAE is granted for any new invention resulting from an innovative idea or innovative improvement of an invention in all fields of technology, provided that such an idea or innovative improvement has a scientific basis and is applicable. The invention shall be deemed industrially applicable in its broadest term if used or utilised in such fields as agriculture, fisheries, handicrafts and services. Examples of patents that are not protected include
Researches, plant and animal species, and biological methods for production of animal and plant excluding microbiological methods and their products
Diagnostic methods, treatments and surgical operations needed for humans and animals
Scientific and mathematical principles, discoveries and methods
Guidelines, rules or methods followed to conduct business, perform mental activities or play games
Invention that may lead to violation of public order or morals.
A new UAE Federal Patent law (Federal Law No.11 0f 2021) came in to force at the end of 2021.The new law also applies to design and some other aspects of intellectual property, but not to trademarks or copyright. A set of Executive Regulations has been issued under this law and these came into force in June 2022.
Basic requirements for acquiring patent rights:
• The invention must be industrially viable
• The invention must be new; it must not be known to the public before the filing date.
• The invention must involve an inventive step.
• The specifications must be drafted clearly with sufficient technical disclosure so that an ordinary person may understand the invention.
A granted patent in the UAE is valid for a total of 20 years, from the official date of filing. Patent terms after the 20-year mark are not eligible for an extension, as per UAE Federal laws.
Utility Certificate-Patent
This service allows customers to submit an official request to the Development of Innovation in the Economy and Patents Department (DIEPD), in order to obtain an innovation utility certificate. This certificate protects the innovation of a technical idea, using the rules of nature - insofar as shape, structure or combination of subjects. A patent however, is an extremely advanced innovation of a technical idea, using the laws of nature. The term of duration of utility model right is ten years from the filing date (Patent Law, Article 14).
Industrial Design Registration
This service allows customers to submit an official request to the Development of Innovation in the Economy and Patents Department (DIEPD) to obtain an industrial design, in order to protect the intellectual property rights of the shape, pattern, colour or combination of these in a three dimensional article, producing an aesthetic impression.
An industrial design in the United Arab Emirates is valid for 10 years from the filing date. Annual maintenance fees must be paid starting from the year following the filing date.
Copyrights
According to Federal Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyrights and Neighboring Rights, an intellectual work is any original work in the areas of literature, arts or science, whatever its description, form of expression, significance or purpose. The following intellectual works are protected under copyrights law:
1. Books, booklets, articles and other literature
2. Computer software and applications, databases and similar works defined in a decision to be issued by the Minister of Economy
3. Lectures, speeches, sermons and other works of similar nature
4. Plays, musicals and pantomimes
5. Musicals accompanied by dialogues and musicals which are not accompanied by dialogue
6. Audio and video works or audio-visual works
7. Architectural work and architectural plans and drawings.
8. Drawings, paintings, sculptures, etchings, lithography, screen printing, reliefs and intaglio prints and other similar works of fine art
9. Photographic work and the likes.
10. Works of applied art and plastic art
11. Charts, maps, plans, 3-D modelling for geographical and topographical applications and architectural designs etc.
12. Derivative works, subject to the protection afforded to the work(s) upon which they are based. The protection shall extend to the title of the work, if created, as well as the creative concept devised for broadcast material.
Duration of protection
According to Article 20 of Federal Law No. 7 of 2002 on Copyrights and related rights, the economic rights of the author under this Law shall be protected for the duration of his life plus 50 years starting from the first day of the calendar year following his death. Economic rights of applied art works expires after 25 years, which start from the first day of the calendar year following their first publication.
Requirements Software Copyright
- Software name.
- Brief description of the software (2 – 5 lines).
- Authors details (passport & EID OR trade license if company, mobile number, phone number, email address, fax, P.O. Box number, address).
- Copyright holder details (passport & EID OR trade license if company, mobile number, phone number, email address, fax, P.O. Box number, address).
- Authorization letter.
- One pdf file (80m maximum size) containing below information:
- One of the important parts of the source code is an explanation of the carefully selected part and the screens or models related to this part.
- The language used for programming and the tools used in the development
- database schema
- In the event that the system communicates with systems with external databases using web services, the method of communication with these services must be explained.
- Briefly mention the method of setting up the development environment.
- Pictures of all models and screens in the system, an explanation of the characteristics of these models, an explanation of the nature of the (User Roles) roles, if any, and the procedures that each of these roles can implement on these forms or screens.
