Two founders build a business around the same brand. When their relationship ends, one continues selling under the logo through a new company. The other demands an immediate stop, but the trademark certificate names an individual, the business paid for advertising and the original permission was never clearly documented.
This situation requires a careful review of ownership, permission and actual use. Businesses searching for the best lawyers in Dubai for a trademark dispute should seek advice that identifies the relevant rights before selecting a remedy. A disagreement between partners may involve company assets, contractual obligations and trademark law at the same time.
The following guide explains how to prepare a business partner trademark dispute in the UAE, protect evidence and assess options for stopping unauthorised use or agreeing an effective commercial separation.
The Ministry of Economy and Tourism reported 402,311 registered national and international trademarks in the UAE by the end of September 2025. This measures the registered trademark portfolio, rather than infringement disputes, and does not determine who owns or may use the particular brand in a partnership dispute.
Obtain the current registration certificate and register information. Check the owner's exact legal name, the mark as registered, the covered goods or services and the protection status. Compare that information with the branding being used in practice. A word mark and a particular logo may require separate analysis.
Article 18 of Federal Decree Law No. 36 of 2021 treats the registrant as the owner, while also addressing disputed ownership, earlier use and bad faith. Registration is therefore a central starting point, but a dispute about how it was obtained should not be dismissed without examining the statutory conditions and evidence.
Identify who should instruct the lawyer. If the trademark belongs to a company, establish who can act for that company. A shareholder's percentage does not itself establish personal ownership of every company asset or authority to settle the company's claims.
A trade licence, domain name, social media account and trademark certificate answer different questions. Paying for a website may support a contractual account between partners without establishing ownership of the registered mark. Control of an account password does not settle either issue.
Prepare an asset schedule recording the named holder, supporting document, person with operational access and disputed conduct. Include packaging designs, photographs and customer databases where relevant, but identify any additional rights separately. A trademark claim should not be expected to resolve every disagreement about business information or creative material.
Review any business sale or share transfer carefully. Articles 28 and 29 address trademark transfers and their relationship with a transferred business. Article 28 also requires recording and publication before the relevant transfer has effect against third parties. The executive regulations specify supporting documents and the registration process.
Ask who allowed the use, in what capacity and on what terms. Was permission granted to the partner personally, to the original company or to a separate distributor? Identify the products, territory, duration and any limits on use by another business.
Article 30 permits a trademark owner to license use for all or some registered goods or services. Article 31 requires the licence agreement to be written and duly notarised, but does not make recording the licence in the register compulsory. The executive regulations address formalities and the procedure where registration is requested.
Do not treat an absent register entry as proof that no licence exists. Equally, a history of informal cooperation should not be assumed to satisfy every statutory requirement. Provide the complete correspondence and documents so counsel can assess their legal effect.
Article 34 restricts assignment of a licence or granting further licences unless the owner has agreed otherwise. Permission previously given to one entity should therefore be examined before assuming that it extends to a newly established company.
A partner leaving management, selling shares or ceasing employment may not terminate every separate agreement. Read the licence and exit documents together. Check the termination ground, required notice, delivery method and any period allowed to remedy a breach.
Prepare a dated account of the termination steps. Record any agreed arrangements for remaining stock, customer orders, replacement signage or a transition to another brand. A demand to stop all use immediately may conflict with an agreed transition period.
If the licence was registered, removal from the register has its own procedure, including evidence of termination and notification to the other party. Article 32 and the executive regulations address that process. The administrative record should be considered alongside the underlying contractual position.
Capture dated examples of the disputed advertisements, packaging, invoices and websites. Record the relevant addresses and preserve original files. Where a customer contacted the wrong business, retain the complete exchange rather than extracting only the sentence that supports the complaint.
Distinguish the registered sign from the disputed sign and identify the goods or services involved. Explain where the use occurred, which entity supplied the product and whether the presentation suggested an ongoing commercial connection. Similarity alone should not replace analysis of the applicable legal requirements.
Collect records through lawful access. Do not enter a former partner's accounts, remove company equipment or change shared access rights merely to strengthen the claim. Ask counsel how evidence should be preserved where access is disputed or material may disappear.
Contract enforcement, a challenge to ownership and a trademark infringement complaint serve different purposes. A missing royalty payment may require contractual analysis. Allegedly unauthorised branding may require investigation of the mark, permission and conduct. The claimant and remedy should follow that analysis.
The Ministry of Economy and Tourism provides a trademark infringement complaint service whose published requirements include a registered and valid mark and supporting documents. Where a representative files, the stated power of attorney formalities must also be met. Using that service should not be confused with obtaining a civil compensation judgment.
A legal notice can identify the rights asserted, the specific uses challenged and the steps requested. Before sending it, consider whether notification could affect evidence preservation or an urgent application. Avoid unsupported criminal accusations and demands extending beyond the rights established.
Article 47 allows a right holder to seek appropriate precautionary measures from the competent civil court's summary judge for actual or potential infringement. Measures can include preserving evidence, describing the infringement and restricting identified goods or attaching relevant materials or proceeds. Evidence and an appropriate guarantee may be required.
An order without first summoning the other party is subject to statutory conditions, including specified risks of irreparable harm or lost evidence. It is not automatic because the parties have fallen out.
The article also provides a 20 day period for the substantive claim, calculated from the order or notification of rejection of the relevant grievance, as applicable. Failure can expose the order to cancellation at the defendant's request. An urgent application should therefore include a plan for the main proceedings.
Article 48 permits the owner to seek civil compensation for harm caused by infringement under the general rules. A claimed amount should connect the alleged conduct to identifiable loss. Lost sales, corrective expenditure and other asserted harm require evidence and legal assessment.
Article 49 separately addresses specified criminal acts, including counterfeiting and certain knowing or bad faith uses. A partnership disagreement does not itself establish those offences, and a criminal fine should not be presented as compensation payable to the complaining business.
A settlement should define permitted future use, removal dates, treatment of stock and digital accounts, payment and any required registry changes. Ask trademark lawyers in Dubai who will verify completion. A clear transfer obligation is more useful than a general promise that both parties will stop interfering with each other.
Not by itself. Review the registration, creation and payment records, agreements and any transfer documents. Different rights may belong to different people, requiring separate legal analysis.
That depends on ownership, any surviving permission and the disputed use. Examine the licence and exit arrangements before concluding that departure automatically removes every right.
Ask for an explanation of ownership, permission, evidence gaps, available remedies and costs. The best lawyers in Dubai for your matter should have relevant capability and explain how trademark and commercial issues will be handled together, without guaranteeing a result.
No. The article distinguishes the written and notarised licence requirements from optional recording in the register. Review the actual permission, documents and statutory formalities before drawing a conclusion from the register alone.
No. Urgent protection carries its own conditions and procedural obligations. Plan the substantive proceedings and relevant deadline with counsel when seeking precautionary measures, rather than treating the interim order as a final resolution.
Dr. Hassan Elhais is a Senior Legal Consultant at Amal Al Rashedi Lawyers and Legal Consultants in Dubai. He advises on UAE family, civil, commercial and criminal law matters.
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