• Patent fees

Fees associated with the United Arab Emirates PCT national phase entry as well as other patent fees are available in the fee calculator.

• Deadline for the PCT national phase entry in the United Arab Emirates

The time limit for the UAE PCT national phase entry is 30 months from the priority date. This timeframe cannot be extended.

• Filing requirements in the United Arab Emirates

Patent applications should be filed with the UAE Patent Office together with the translation into Arabic and English. These translations should be submitted at the time of filing.

For obtainment of the filing date, the PCT national phase patent application must contain:
- a request to grant a patent;
- applicant(s) and author(s) details (names, addresses, nationalities);
- title and abstract in Arabic, full text of the application in English as well as drawings, if any;
- International Search and Examination Reports and PCT Publication.

An original notarized Power of Attorney must be submitted within 90 days from the filing date, subject to an additional fee. Legalization thereof is not required.

A notarized Deed of Assignment from the inventor(s) to the applicant if the applicant is not the inventor must be submitted within 90 days from the filing date, subject to an additional fee.

If the applicant is a corporate body, a notarized certificate of incorporation or articles of association is also required to be submitted within 90 days from the filing date, subject to an additional fee. Legalization thereof is not required.

• Examination of a PCT national phase entry application in the United Arab Emirates

Once the formal requirements are completed and all required documents are submitted, the Patent Office will issue a formal and legal examination notice formally accepting the application. A request for the settlement of the examination fees within 90 days from receiving the notification about positive results of the formal examination will also be issued. Under the agreement between the UAE Patent Office and the Korean Patent Office, the latter is responsible for conducting the substantive examination of the applications filed with the UAE PTO.

• Novelty grace period

There is no novelty grace period provided for patent applications in the United Arab Emirates.

• Grant, validity term and maintenance fees

A grant fee for patent registration in the UAE is not stipulated. Maintenance fees are due starting from the next year counted from the international filing date. Request should be made within three months before the due date. Request may still be made within three months from the due date without any surcharge, an extension for further three months is possible upon payment of a surcharge. 

• Duration of registration procedure

If the prosecution process goes smoothly, it takes an average of 2 years to obtain a patent in the UAE.

• Utility model

PCT applications may also be protected as Utility Models in the UAE. The maximum protection period of a utility model in the UAE is 10 years from the date of filing.

• Representation by a patent attorney

Foreign applicants must enter the UAE national phase through a registered Emirati patent attorney.

• Notes

1. Online Databases for the GCC Patents, UAE Patents.
2. The patent portal facilitates a maximum allowance of 50 claims within the patent application.

Brief summary is based on the information provided by MarkMirror Intellectual Property Services on 05.03.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with the UAE IP Laws