The UAE government’s 1 May 2026 update on intellectual property enforcement puts online infringement in sharper focus. Look-alike packaging on social media and e-commerce platforms, unauthorised use of product images, and fake brand accounts are now framed as issues for faster takedown action and administrative penalties, with telecom regulators expected to support a more coordinated response.The second message is practical: customs and police cooperation is becoming more evidence-driven. Dubai Customs and law enforcement are tightening the chain of evidence across import, storage and...

The United Arab Emirates deposited its instrument of accession to the Locarno Agreement on 6 July 2026, and the treaty will enter into force for the country on 6 October 2026. The agreement establishes the international classification used for industrial designs, requiring competent offices to indicate the relevant classes and subclasses in applications, registrations and official publications. The move gives the UAE a common classification framework for examining and administering design filings.The change is procedural rather than substantive, but it should make cross-border filing work...

On 30 July 2026, UAE legal practitioners issued updated brand-protection guidance that shifts the focus from obtaining a trademark certificate to building an enforcement system around it. Registration with the Ministry of Economy remains the legal foundation, but the guidance stresses that it may not be enough against counterfeit imports, unauthorised marketplace sellers and rapidly changing digital listings. Rights holders are therefore encouraged to record their marks with customs authorities across the relevant emirates and to use the official registration certificate to enrol in tools...

Regional IP industry briefings published on 5 August 2026 point to a concentrated round of reform across the Middle East, spanning design classification, trademark border enforcement and examination practice. The United Arab Emirates is approaching the effective stage of its accession to the Locarno Agreement, prompting practitioners to assess how fuller use of the international design classification system may standardise cross-border filing practice. In Saudi Arabia, the recently introduced Tahaqaq digital platform is bringing customs trademark enforcement and registered-rights...

By late June and early July 2026, the most important development in the UAE trade mark system is not a single statutory amendment. It is the way several practice signals are now lining up: the Ministry’s “One Day TM” initiative and one-day examination are no longer abstract policy language; the 50% fee relief for National Programme SMEs has made cost planning more material at filing stage; and dispute practice is showing less patience for filings that look like tactical blocking rather than genuine brand adoption.Taken separately, these look like changes in fees, procedure and...

WIPO’s new City of Innovation award turned the end of June into a real policy deadline for cities, not just a communications moment. For the 2026 edition, applications closed on June 30, each member state could forward no more than three cities, and submissions had to move through diplomatic channels rather than go straight from city hall to WIPO. That design forces cities to present innovation, creativity and IP as an integrated public strategy instead of a loose collection of projects.For the Middle East, especially the Gulf, the timing is unusually good. Cities in the United Arab...

The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism issued mid-year practical guidance on 7 July 2026 clarifying the scope of its one-day trademark examination service. Applicants may select accelerated examination for AED 2,250, compared with AED 750 for standard examination, but the one-day promise relates to the examination stage rather than the entire registration cycle. Publication, opposition and final registration steps remain separate, and the accelerated route does not relax substantive review.The guidance also sharpens the focus on classification quality. With the UAE applying the 13th...

On 16 July, regional IP firm Al-Ajaleen published an update revisiting Qatar’s implementation of the GCC Trademark Law. The development should not be read as a new law taking effect this week: Qatar’s Ministerial Decision No. 56 and its implementing regulations were published in the Official Gazette on 9 July 2023 and entered into force on 10 August 2023. The framework shortened several examination, response and opposition periods, while revising official fees for registration, renewal and related procedures.For international brand owners, closer alignment across GCC jurisdictions can...

This article updates our report of 11 July, “UAE One-Day Trademark Examination Raises the Bar for Filing Readiness”. On 15 July 2026, the UAE Ministry of Economy updated its practical guidance on one-day trademark examination and multi-class filings. Applicants may opt for examination within one working day for an official fee of AED 2,250, compared with AED 750 for the standard examination route. The accelerated service may be useful where a product launch, transaction closing or online enforcement action depends on faster progress, but it does not relax the substantive test for...

WIPO records show that Bahrain acceded to the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs on 29 July 2026, with the treaty entering into force for Bahrain on 29 October 2026. The move follows the United Arab Emirates, which acceded on 6 July and will be bound from 6 October. Taken together, the two accessions point to a clearer Gulf trend toward using the same international classification framework for industrial designs.For applicants, the practical benefit is greater consistency in classification, searching and portfolio administration across...

The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism introduced two closely related compliance developments in August 2026. On 11 August, it issued collective music management guidelines under Ministerial Decision No. 136/2026, setting out a licensing and fee framework for commercial uses of music in venues and services such as restaurants, shopping malls, fitness centres, hotels and floating hotels, airlines, broadcasters and concerts, with fee collection scheduled to begin in December 2026. A second track comes from Cabinet Resolution No. 107/2026, the executive regulation of the updated Commercial...

Regional IP practitioners again highlighted on 11 September 2026 a significant UAE Federal Supreme Court trademark ruling handled by Habib Al Mulla and Partners. The Court held that genuine prior commercial use can prevail over a later registration for the same mark, even where the earlier user's own registration had lapsed for non-renewal. It also upheld the cancellation of the conflicting registration and rejected procedural objections raised by the later registrant; the timing of the challenge within the applicable five-year period was an important feature of the case.The practical...

Since 15 September, Rouse and several other IP firms practising in the UAE have reported that the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and its Trade Mark Office are accepting trade mark applications for alcoholic beverages in Class 33 with immediate effect, and that beer can now be named as such in Class 32. Until now Class 33 was not available in the UAE under local policy, so owners of wine and spirits brands generally protected themselves indirectly through fallback classes such as non-alcoholic beverages in Class 32. The reports state that this is a change in Trade Mark Office practice and...