Q: IP infringement. The main company (USA) has sent a Cease & Desist Letter to the previous distributor in the UAE but they do not reply. They remain using the brand name, showcasing it on their website and spoiling the market with selling off their remaining stock with bargaining prices and without warranty while we are the new authorized distributor. How to stop this? Kind regards, N.V.A.

Q: I have a company in a free zone and I am in propose of setting up a B2C site for a client. How can I protect my site/logo? What is the difference between symbol R and TM, which one should I do and how much does it cost?

Q: I am an Indian citizen. My brother was charged with plagiarism by his employer for which the penalty was AED 20,000.00 to be paid as fine. He paid the fine and was acquitted by the court. He received termination of the case letter and a letter stating that his passport can be handed over to him as there is no further research required. When he went to collect his passport on 13th June 2017 from the city police, he was detained to be deported in 3-4 days. Since then he is in central jail AD. I have no information of any charges against him. I don't know when will he be deported and why have they still not deported him. Could you please let us know the deportation procedure and what should be the next step from our side.

Q: We are the distributors of major cycling & cycle spare parts brands in GCC. We have noticed that there are a few shops that sell our brands but have not purchased from us. They are importing from other sources. Is there any way we can stop that legally?

Q: Dear Lawyers, I am in discussions with a manufacturer in China to become their distributor in the UAE. We have agreed to exclusive distribution, meaning they should not supply their products or brand to another distributor in the UAE. We will be signing a contract for exclusive distribution. How can I legally prevent their products from entering the UAE market? If we find another company selling the product in the UAE, what legal action can we take? Thanks!

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.

UAE Trademark Law creates the legal framework for the protection of registered trademarks in the UAE. The law includes the definition of trademark, signs that cannot be registered as trademarks, registration and cancellation procedures, sanctions for unlawful use of trademarks, and so on.

This Ministerial Decision regulates the implementation of the provisions of the UAE Trademark Law. It determines classes of goods and services and sets up the procedures for registration, renewal, modification, cancellation, licensing, transfer of ownership and mortgage of trademarks.

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).

The provisions of this Federal Decree-Law, known as the "New Trademarks Law", govern Trademarks regulations in the United Arab Emirates. The New Trademarks Law repeals the previous UAE Trademarks Law (Federal Law No. (37) of 1992 Concerning Trademarks).