Acceptance of UTLS patent application for further consideration in the UAE
The patenting of intellectual property in Arab countries is becoming an increasing priority for applicants from all over the world.
Currently, the work on patenting the Urban Transport and Logistic System (UTLS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is underway. In 2020, through a patent attorney, the right holder for the invention of Tiaglin D.V. has submitted an application to the Intellectual Property Protection Department, which is a body of the Ministry of Economy authorized to issue patents. Notification of the decision to formally and legally allow patent application No. 6000208 has been received from the Intellectual Property Protection Department in the fall of 2022, reflecting the completion of formal examination and filing of all required documents on the application. This decision is made after consideration and acceptance of the application, with a preliminary determination that the claimed technical solution meets the patentability criteria and can be patented. The patentability criteria are: novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.
Once the application has been reviewed and accepted, it is sent for examination, and information about the patent application is subject to publication in the official gazette of the UAE. The examination requires additional fees and can take up to two years. During the examination, the application is scrutinized according to three criteria, and it is possible that more information and documentation contained in the application may be requested during the examination period: an abstract detailing the specific invention, information on its industrial application.
The rapid economic development of the UAE in the field of information technology, communications, and finance has led to the need for mass registration of patents in the UAE. The patenting of inventions in the UAE is gaining momentum. Since the damage from trade in counterfeit goods is very tangible (auto parts, leather goods, electrical appliances, etc.), it requires strong measures to counteract violations. Moreover, oil reserves are not limitless, so the country does not want to be a raw material appendage, so the stimulation of many areas of economic development is an important step for it. And to emphasize the importance of intellectual achievements, the UAE Intellectual Property Association acts in accordance with national legislation, but in full agreement with WIPO, WTO and the Paris Convention. Violators of intellectual property rights face up to 3 months in prison, in case of repeated offenses, the term grows up to six months, and a fine of 500 thousand dirhams.
In the UAE, there is a relentless advocacy of the importance of respecting intellectual property. And all available resources - technical, legal, managerial - are mobilized for this purpose. But in accordance with the general requirements, the legal framework is being improved and modernized. By the end of the 20th century three Laws on intellectual property protection came into force: the Patent Law, the Copyright Law, the Trademark Law.
The main attraction for international business is the absence in the state of income tax and capital tax (except for oil and banking sector). Foreign entrepreneurs arriving in the country are provided with useful information and issued a UAE resident visa. The free economic zone is regulated by a separate governmental body, which registers enterprises and issues licenses. Considering the trends of the time, the country successfully operates an interactive portal (Arab Intellectual Property Center), which provides information on the legal resource of intellectual property and the ways of its protection in the Arab world.
Due to the novelty and attractiveness of the claimed technical solution (UTLS), it seems possible to grant a patent by the International Centre for Patent Registration (ICPR) under the Ministry of Economy of the UAE in the short term.