Patent protection depends on novelty, and novelty is destroyed by disclosure. Businesses that present at an exhibition, publish a specification or pitch to investors before filing frequently find that the invention is no longer patentable anywhere.
Dubai Legal Expert advises on patents, utility models and industrial designs in the UAE, covering filing strategy, prosecution, international routes and enforcement.
UAE industrial property legislation provides for patents protecting inventions that are new, involve an inventive step and are industrially applicable. Utility models offer protection for innovations meeting a lower threshold, and industrial designs protect the appearance of a product.
The UAE is party to the international patent filing system, allowing a single international application to preserve rights across multiple jurisdictions while decisions are made about where national protection is ultimately pursued.
An early view on whether the invention is likely to meet the novelty and inventive step requirements.
National filings and prosecution through examination to grant.
International applications preserving rights across jurisdictions while national decisions are taken.
Protection for innovations and product appearance where a full patent is not the right route.
Action against infringement and licensing of patented technology to third parties.
Advice to file before exhibitions, publications and investor presentations, since disclosure destroys novelty.
An honest early assessment, since prosecuting an application that cannot succeed helps nobody.
Using the international application system to preserve rights while commercial decisions are made.
Industrial design registration where the value sits in appearance rather than in technical function.
Licence agreements covering field of use, territory, exclusivity and royalty arrangements.
Action against infringement through the available administrative and civil routes.
Novelty is assessed against everything publicly available before the filing date. A product demonstration, a conference paper, a detailed website description or an unprotected pitch deck can all constitute disclosure, and once made the invention is generally no longer patentable.
The practical rule is straightforward. File first, or disclose only under a properly drafted confidentiality agreement. That single discipline preserves more patent value than any other step a business can take.
Assess, file before disclosure, then prosecute and protect.
We take the technical disclosure and assess it against the requirements for protection.
Prior art considerations and the likelihood of meeting novelty and inventive step are assessed.
The route is chosen between national filing, international application, utility model or design registration.
The specification and claims are prepared and the application is filed.
The application is prosecuted through examination, with responses to objections raised.
Granted rights are enforced against infringement and licensed where commercially appropriate.
Inventions that are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application, subject to the exclusions the legislation sets out.
Public disclosure before filing generally destroys novelty and can prevent the invention being patented, so filing should precede disclosure.
A form of protection for innovations that meet a lower threshold than a full patent, offering a shorter term of protection.
Registration protecting the appearance of a product rather than its technical function, which is often the right route for consumer products.
Yes. The international application system allows a single filing to preserve rights across multiple jurisdictions while national decisions are made.
A granted patent runs for a term set by the legislation from the filing date, subject to payment of maintenance fees.
File before you disclose. Once the invention is public, protection is usually lost. The first consultation is free.
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