UAE Trademark Licensing: Why Registration and a Properly Documented Licence Agreement Matter for Brand Owners

A brand is only as valuable as the rights behind it. In the UAE, those rights rest on two things: registration of the mark, and the way any use by others is documented. Both are governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021 on Trademarks (in force since 2 January 2022) and its Executive Regulations, Cabinet Resolution No. 57 of 2022. As at 28 October 2026, we found no amendment to the Decree-Law itself, although procedural and fee changes have been made since. This article is for general information only and is not legal advice.

Registration: the foundation

The Ministry of Economy (now the Ministry of Economy and Tourism) keeps a federal Trademark Register. Registration gives the owner:

• Protection for 10 years from the filing date, renewable for further 10-year periods. Renewal can be filed in the last year of protection and for six months afterwards.
• Effect from the filing date, and the right to stop others using an identical or similar mark where confusion is likely.
• Presumed ownership. The registrant is treated as owner, and ownership generally cannot be disputed once the mark has been registered and used continuously for five years without proceedings, unless the registration was made in bad faith.
• Enforcement tools. These include interim court measures, customs suspension, compensation claims and criminal penalties. Fines for counterfeiting can reach AED 1,000,000.

Registration also carries an obligation. Any interested person may ask for removal of a mark that has not been used for five consecutive years, unless circumstances beyond the owner’s control prevented use.

What the law says about licence agreements

A registered owner may use the mark itself and may license one or more persons to use it for all or some of the registered goods or services. The Decree-Law sets the framework:

• Form. The licence must be in writing and notarised.
• Term. A licence cannot outlast the mark’s protection period.
• Permitted restrictions. Licensors may limit territory and duration, require effective quality control, and bar conduct that abuses the mark. Restrictions unrelated to the rights conferred by registration are not permitted.
• Sub-licensing and assignment. A licensee cannot assign the licence or sub-license unless the owner agrees.
• Recordal: optional, but not without consequences

The 2021 law does not require a licence to be recorded in the Register. Recordal is available if a party asks for it.                

The Ministry’s application covers the registration number, the parties, the licensed goods or services, start and expiry dates and any territorial limits, together with the notarised contract.

Why it matters commercially

Brand owners rely on the licence terms for control: quality standards, scope, territory, sub-licensing and what happens on termination. Registration status and renewal dates set the outer limit of what can be licensed.

Licensees are building a business on someone else’s mark. The register extract, the goods and services covered, the remaining protection period and the owner’s right to deal with the mark all bear on the value of the arrangement.

Investors and in-house counsel typically review the chain of title. Transfers, pledges and attachments of a mark bind third parties only once recorded and announced, so the Register can differ from the documents in a data room.

Practical Takeaways

• Registration status and renewal dates set the ceiling for any licence term.
• A licence must be written and notarised. Foreign-executed or non-Arabic documents need translation and attestation for recordal.
• Recordal is a choice with consequences, notably for removal of the mark from the Register while a licence is recorded.
• Ownership transfers and pledges must be recorded to bind third parties, which makes register checks a standard part of diligence.
• The contract does the heavy lifting: scope, quality control, sub-licensing, royalties and post-termination use should be set out expressly.

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