The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has recently enacted a new Property Law No. 4 of 2019 to align the IP law and rights with international treaties (the ‘Law’). This Law will help DIFC based entities to protect their intellectual property rights and encourage creativity and innovations. It provides the recognition to UAE registered IP rights in the DIFC, which will cover trademarks, patents, copyrights, trade names and trade secrets, utility certificates, industrial designs and drawings.
The key aspect of the Law is to the rights and limitations to protect and determine the ownership of patent and copyright with respect to employment. It will also cover matters such as: resolve disputes and impose fines; sanctions and remedies for intellectual property infringement; jurisdiction of the commissioner of intellectual property; and the DIFC Court in infringement cases.
The new law will come into effect on November 21, 2019.
