Design Rights in UAE. Intellectual property (“IP”) is a category of property that includes intangible creations from the human mind – such rights can exist in a design, brand or invention (among other things). Among the most well-known IP rights are design rights, which can be registered or unregistered. These rights protect the visual appearance of all or part of a product and use of these rights without the owner’s permission can give rise to criminal and civil proceedings.
Private prosecutions can be an effective tool to protect design rights as this kind of crime tends to be overlooked by traditional law enforcement agencies. In the UK, this trend is clearly evidenced by Freedom of Information Requests that were made in 2018 to the Intellectual Property Office, the Crown Prosecution Service and the City of London Police (who pioneered the specialist Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit). Importantly, these requests revealed that none of the aforementioned organisations had commenced a criminal investigation into a design right infringement. This is an unfortunate trend because, although IP crime may not leave a person battered or a home raided, it penetrates all areas of society and has staggering implications for businesses.
Our clients in the UAE benefit from our global reach and access to specialists, including investigators, in various jurisdictions. We understand that IP cases often require 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. Alongside our global 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.