The UAE has reintroduced a two stage process for trade mark applicants to pay publication and registration fees.
However, at the same time, a strict publication deadline has been introduced. If publication does not now take place within 30 days of the payment of publication fees, then the application will lapse. This deadline is not extendable and there is no provision for applications to be restored if the deadline is missed in error.
Payment of registration fees
The decision to reintroduce a two-stage process for trade mark applicants to pay publication and registration fees reverses a procedure which was introduced in November 2009. The November 2009 decision required applicants to pay both the publication and registration fee within 30 days of acceptance.
This procedure coincided with the UAE Trade Marks Office clearing an 18 month backlog of pending applications. With the official publication and registration fees payable at the UAE Trade Marks Office totaling AED 5,500 (USD 1,500) per application and tens of thousands of applications being accepted, applicants have paid many millions of dollars in official fees to the UAE Trade Marks Office over the past few months at very short notice.
The reversal of this procedure means that official fees must now be paid to the UAE Trade Marks Office as follows:
|
Fee |
Amount |
Timing |
|
Application fee |
USD 140 |
Payable at filing |
|
Publication fees |
USD 140 |
Payable within 30 days of acceptance. Monthly penalty of USD 15 for late payment |
|
Registration fee |
USD 1,360 |
Payable within 60 days of publication (if no opposition). Monthly penalty of USD 140 for late payment |
The current requirement for applicants to pay official fees in three stages is in line with international practices, and it is welcome news that the registration fee is no longer payable until the end of the process.
Publication deadline
However, the introduction of a strict publication deadline for publication of applications is less welcome, particularly in the absence of a restoration procedure for applications where the deadline has been missed in error through no fault of the applicant itself.
It is now essential that UAE trade mark agents (and applicants handing their own portfolios in the UAE) have robust procedures in place to ensure that publication deadlines are met, otherwise the consequences will be severe.
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