Trademark owners and commercial agencies worldwide are responding enthusiastically to the efforts of Dubai Economy to protect intellectual property and enhance business competitiveness in the emirate. The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in Dubai Economy saw a 34% increase in trademark files and a 127% increase in commercial agency files registered in 2019 compared to the previous year.

Trademark files registered at CCCP in 2019 reached 5,157 and 50 commercial agency files were also registered during the same period, while in 2018 the figures were 3,844 and 22 respectively.

US brands led in terms of trade mark files registered in 2019 – 1,585 files, or 31% of the total. The UAE stood next with 818 files (16%) while German brands went up by 7% to 373 files. France, Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, British Virgin Islands, India, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Canada were also among the top 15 source countries for files registered in 2019.

Mohammed Ali Rashed Lootah, CEO of CCCP, said: “The rising number of trademarks and agencies registered shows the importance of Dubai Economy, not only in attracting the best and highest-quality brands from around the world but also in providing multi-channel intellectual property protection. The 34% increase in trademark files also indicates brand owners recognising the importance of the retail sector and purchasing power in Dubai as well as the healthy competition among them and their confidence in Dubai Economy in protecting their rights.”

The Intellectual Property Protection Department in Dubai Economy received 298 complaints relating to trademark infringement in 2019, which was a marginal increase of 1% in comparison to 2018. Meanwhile, infringement cases from commercial agencies showed a decline of 17%, from 42 to 35, between 2018 and 2019.

US trademarks were involved in 58 of the trademark infringement complaints in 2019 while Emirati and French brands were involved in 43 cases. Brands from Switzerland (36), Germany (23), Italy (16), UK (15), Japan (12), and Spain (7) were also involved and the remaining complaints were related to 24 different countries.

Perfumes were the leading category of goods involved in the complaints (35 cases). Cosmetics (32), personal care products (30) jewellery, clothes, phones, accessories (28 cases each), bags and leather products (14), motor & machinery (11), eye glasses (10), foods (8), advertising, restaurants (7 each) watches and auto parts (6 each) came next in that order.

Other issues highlighted in the cases were associated with energy drinks, education services, lamps and electrical appliances, cleaning tools and powders, oils and greases, building materials, pharmaceuticals, cans and casings, tobacco and smoking accessories, inks, and electronic devices.

Lootah concluded: “Our effort is to contribute to firmly positioning Dubai as a sustainable city and a gateway for competitive business locally, and globally. We also seek to provide an attractive environment for local and foreign investments and enhance confidence among businesses as well as consumers.”

CCCP encourages consumers to report any incidents of fraud or counterfeiting through its consumer protection channels, including the call centre number 600 54 5555 and ‘Smart Protection,’ an artificial-intelligence-based app designed to protect the rights of consumers and businesses.