Unfair Competition in UAE. Although unfair competition encompasses a range of behaviours, they are characterised by bad faith, dishonesty and fraud. Intellectual property (“IP”) offences provide well-known examples of unfair competition – these include counterfeiting, trade secret misappropriation and design right infringement. As you may know, IP is a category of property that includes intangible creations from the human mind – such rights can exist in a song, design, brand or invention (among other things). Under the criminal law, the use of such rights without the owner’s permission can amount to a criminal offence.
IP crime may not leave a person battered or a home raided, but it penetrates all areas of society in the UAE and has staggering implications for businesses. Indeed, trade in counterfeit products costs the global economy billions of pounds each year in forgone company sales and tax revenues.
Edmonds Marshall McMahon is a unique firm of former government prosecutors and investigators, and we are experts in prosecuting IP offences. Alongside our attorneys, we have a dedicated investigations team comprising former government investigators and detectives from the police force. We work closely with our firm’s investigators to gather the best evidence to take cases forward. We also assist our clients to present “prosecution ready” cases to state agencies for prosecution.
Our clients in the UAE benefit from our global reach and access to specialists, including investigators, in various jurisdictions. We understand that IP offences often requires a tailored international strategy and our knowledge of local jurisdictions, including the UAE, allows us to take fast effective action on behalf of our clients. We do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach to prosecuting offences and pride ourselves on our imaginative approach to cases, which yields exceptional results for our clients.