Q: Online social community - start-up (seed stage). Myself and 3 of my partners are currently finalizing investors proposal (pitch deck) to raise funding capital. Prior approaching investors, we wanted to enquire about intellectual property protection and copyrights. Wanted to get an understanding of how this can be done here in UAE for it to be valid on a global level and how much would it cost. We are looking for brand logo copyright registration, user design/experience copyright registration and potential the idea itself. Would be great to get your advice. Many thanks, Aziz

Q: Dear Sir, I am a professional photographer. I want to get my photographs protected worldwide. How is it possible? And what all documents are needed? Many thanks

Q: Which organisations are responsible for trademark and copyright registration in UAE? I am looking to register the trademark for my company but I am not sure where to start.

Q: Sir, Can we use the copyright symbol in memes and photographs created by us without registering it? We are posting it on Instagram and other social media channels. We want to show that we created it. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

Intellectual Property! The concept seems to some individuals to represent an ambiguous abstraction. To others it represents incongruity. But for many, without a doubt, Intellectual Property (IP) is a potent tool. IP is an intangible asset and is a legal concept for which rights are recognised for the human mind’s creativity. Under this specialised law, owners are granted rights to diverse intangible assets such as inventions, words, phrases, symbols, designs, artistic works and such.

As the need arose to create laws for the protection of personal properties like movable and immovable assets and regulation of transferring their rights of ownership, it had also become crucial to regulate the intellectual property rights as in artistic and literary works, inventions, companies' logos and products/services...etc. Seeking to protect such rights requires a basic knowledge about their origin and significance.

The UAE Copyright Law provides protection to authors of the works and owners of related rights in case of violation of their rights within the United Arab Emirates. Protection of the law does not include ideas, procedures, work methods, mathematical concepts, abstract principles and facts, but however extends to the innovative expression of any thereof.

The provisions of this Federal Decree-Law, known as the "New Copyright Law", govern Copyright regulations in the United Arab Emirates. The New Copyright Law repeals the previous UAE Copyright Law (Federal Law No. (7) of 2002 On Copyrights and Related Rights).