RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/291/Add.2
5 March 2002
(02-1093)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Responses from the United Arab Emirat es to the questions posed by Canada,
the European Communities and their member States, Switzerland and the United States
Addendum
By means of a communication from the delegation of the United Arab Emirates dated
4 March 2002, the Secretariat has received the following responses to questions posed by Canada, theEuropean Communities and their member States, Switzerland and the United States, as circulated in
documents IP/C/W/261/Add.1, 274, 263 and 268, respectively, together with responses to follow-up
questions posed by the United States, as circulated in document IP/C/W/268/Add.2.
_______________
CANADA
1
3. Please describe if there are any administrative procedures which are prerequisites for
obtaining copyright protection and, if so, how  they comply with TRIPS obligations.
The 1992 Copyrights and Neighboring Rights law No. 40 stipulates in its Article 4 that the
copyrights shall be registered in the Ministry of Information and Culture and non-deposit of the work
does not prejudice any of the protection aspects of the rights decided by the law.
Article 33 stipulates that the Ministry of In formation and Culture establishes a system for
registration of copyrights and any actions that will occur on them.
The bylaw of the 1992 Copyrights Law indicates the administrative procedures to be followed
by the owners in pursuing depositing or registering actions.
4. Please describe under what circumstances “fair use” exceptions apply to copyright, and is
this in line with TRIPS obligations?
The 1992 Copyrights Law No. 40 determines in its Article 14, as follows, the actions allowed
without the consent of the owner of copyright:
- the personal use of the work through copying or translating it.
- The use of the work in the educational system with the purpose of the clarification
through copies, programmes and reproductions for educational, cultural and religious
                                                     
1 These responses to questions posed by Canada supplement those distributed in document IP/C/W/291.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 2
purposes. The use must be in the necessary limit, provided that this will not seek any
monetary profit and the name of the author and the origin of the work be indicated.
- Quotation of paragraphs with the purpose of clarification, explanation and criticism
and to the extent usually observed and necessary to reach the set objective, providedthat the name of the author and the origin of the work be indicated.
- Copying information and political, economic, social, cultural and religious press
articles related to current events and their publication by newspapers as well as
broadcasting works of like nature provided that the origin be mentioned.
- Copying any audio or visual work relating to current events presented in broadcasting
news and publishing it in the limit of the set objective and with the mention of the
name of the author.
- Public libraries, non-commercial documentation centers, educational and cultural and
scientific institutes may copy protected works in the limit of the necessary needs,provided that this will not prejudice the author’s rights.
- Newspapers and other news agencies may publish presentations made during judicial
procedures and other similar works presented to the public, provided that the name of
the author be mentioned.
The amendments of the 1992 Copyrights law envisage reorganizing these provisions to cope
with the TRIPS Agreement. The envisaged amendments are presented as follows:
Without prejudice to literary rights of the author stipulated in the mentioned law, the author
after the publication of his work must not prohibit a third person to perform one of the following acts:
- To make a sole copy from the work for the merely non-commercial or professional
but personal use, except the works of the fine and applied arts unless were located
in public place. The works of architecture are also excepted.
- To make a sole copy of computer programme with acknowledgement of its
legitimate acquisitor who has a unit to derive from, provided that such act occurs in
the limits of the licensed purpose or the purpose to retain or substitute at the time oflosing the original, been damaged or became invalid to use.
- Copying protected works to use them in judicial procedures or analogous to them
within the limits required by such procedures provided that the source and the
author name be mentioned.
- Taking a sole copy of the work with acknowledgement of records house or
archives, libraries, or documentation centers who do not seek direct or indirect
profit all in the following two cases: (i) copying must be for the purpose of
preservation of the original, or to exchange it for a lost, destroyed unsuitable to use
or unobtainable copy against reasonable conditions; (ii) the purpose for copying
must be in reply to application by a natural person to use it for research or studyprovided that it must be granted for one time or for interrupted periods of time
provided that obtaining a license beca me impossible in accordance with the
provisions of the law.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 3
- Quotation of short paragraphs, derivation or reasonable analysis of the work for the
purpose of criticism, discussion, or information provided mentioning the source and
the author’s name.
- Performing the work in family meetings or  by students in an educational institute
against no direct or indirect remuneration.
- Presenting the fine arts, applied and plastic arts works or architectural works in
broadcasting programmes, if such works are permanently present in far places.
- Reproduction of written, sound or audio-visual short excerpts for cultural, religious,
educational or vocational training purposes provided that copying be in reasonable
limits of its purpose and that the name of the author and the title of the work be
mentioned wherever is possible and that the copying authority does not aim at direct
or indirect profit and that license for copying was unobtainable in accordance withthe provision of the law.
Also under the same amendments, the author has no right to prohibit the copying made by
newspapers, periodicals, broadcasting organizations within the limits justified by the aimed purpose to
publish any of the following:
- Excerpts of his available works to the public in a legal manner. This applies also on
communicating excerpts from audio or visual works during current events,
broadcasting or communicating them to the public by any other medium. The
source and author’s name must be mentioned.
- The published essays relating to discussion of issue preoccupying the public
opinion in certain time, as long as no notification of prohibition was served at thetime of publication provided that the source and author’s name must be mentioned.
- Addresses, lectures, speeches recited in open sessions of parliamentary or judicial
councils and public meetings as long as such lectures and speeches are addressed to
the public and copied within the limits of copying the current news.
All these restrictions on the economic rights of the authors are applied on the holders of
neighboring rights.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR MEMBER STATES
2
B. C OPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
8. Please state how your legislation grants the retroactive protection provided pursuant to
Article 18 of the Berne Convention (the obligation of which derives from Article 9 of the TRIPSAgreement) and Article 14.6 of the TRIPS Agreement.
The 1992 Copyrights Law Articles 38-44 provides for preventive measures and penalty
including confiscation, the closing of the institution violating copyright and prison measures and
compensation.
                                                     
2 These responses to questions posed by the European Communities and their member States
supplements those distributed in document IP/C/W/291/Add.1.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 4
The draft amendment will provide more detailed measures to enforce copyrights as referred to
in the TRIPS Agreement. The obligations arising from Article 9 of the TRIPS Agreement (Berne
Convention Articles 1-21 except Article 6bis) will be met through the extension of the scope in terms
of the various categories and subjects of copyright as well as the nature of the protection.
Furthermore, the amendment envisages to state that in case of conflict of laws the provisions
of the law shall apply on the works, performances, phonograms, broadcasting programs related to
foreigners on conditions of reciprocity, and without prejudice to the provisions of the international
agreements to which the UAE is party.
G. L AYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
43. Please state the term of protection granted by your legislation to topographies.
Topographies are classified among the works protected under the 1992 Copyrights and
neighboring law No. 40. The 1992 law, which includes layouts and topography among the works
protected in the United Arab Emirates against any unlawful use or aggression. The term of protection
of author rights is determined by the period his life and 25 years after his death.
The term of protection of copyrights and neighbouring rights will be determined, after
introducing the amendments to the 1992 Copyrights law, as follows:
• As regards the author rights, the term of protection is determined by the period of life
of the owner and 25 years after his death. The draft amendment will extend thisperiod to 50 years as referred to in the TRIPS Agreement.
• The term of protection of the rights of the joint authors is determined by their period
of life and 50 years begin from the date of the death of the last surviving author.
• The term of protection of the authors of collective works except the authors of applied
arts is 50 years begin from the date of the first publication.
• The economic rights of the works published for the first time after the death of their
author expire after fifty years starting the first day of the next calendar year of their
first publications.
• The term of protection of the rights of the authors of the applied artwork is 25 years
from the date of their publication.
• The term of protection of the rights of the performers is 50 years from the date of the
Accomplishment of the work performed. If the performance was fixed in a
phonogram the period would be calculated from the end of the year in which the
fixation was made.
• The term of protection of the rights of the producers of phonograms is 50 years from
the date of publication or fixation if it was not published.
• The term of protection of the rights of the broadcasting organisations is 20 years from
the next year to the year in which the first transmission of the program was made.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 5
SWITZERLAND3
B. P ATENTS
9. Does your legislation provide for the principle of the reversal of burden of proof in a process
patent litigation?  Please cite the relevant provisions of law.
The existing Patent and Designs Law No. 44 (1992) does not provide for the principle of the
reversal of burden of proof in a process patent litigation.  However, the Draft amendment envisages
the introduction of this principle in order to conform to Article 34 of the TRIPS Agreement.  The new
Article provides that in case of litigation concerning process patent, the court shall have the authority
to order the defendant to prove that the manufacturing process, which he has used, is different from
the patented process protected by a patent.
UNITED STATES4
B. C OPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
6. Please describe the protection the copyright law of the United Arab Emirates provides for
performers, and the term of the protection.
The 1992 Copyrights and Neighboring rights law No. 40 law includes performances among
protected works.
To conform to the TRIPS Agreement, the ame ndment to this law envisages to precise the
rights of performers who shall enjoy the following economic rights:
- The right to transmit their unfixed performance and communicating it to the public;
- The right to fix their performance on a phonogram;
- The right to reproduce their fixed performance on a phonogram.
In this respect, the amendment will considers prohibited any fixation of such live performance
on a phonogram for direct or indirect commercial revenue, rental, transmission or availability to the
public on any medium by third person without authorization of the right holder. As far as the term of
the protection is concerned, the law provides for a period of fifty years protection to be calculatedfrom the beginning of the next calendar year in which the performance was accomplished. If the
performance was fixed in a phonogram, the period would be calculated from the end of the year in
which the fixation was made.
7. Article 14.2 of the TRIPS Agreement provides that producers of phonograms are to enjoy the
right to authorise or prohibit the direct or indirect reproduction of their phonograms.  Article 14.2
requires that producers of phonograms are to have the right to authorise or prohibit the commercial
rental to the public of originals or copies of their phonograms. Please describe how the copyright law
of the United Arab Emirates implements these obl igations and indicate the term of protection.
The amendment to the 1992 Copyright law will provide for the protection of the rights of
producers of phonograms. It will state that the producers of phonograms shall enjoy the following
rights:
                                                     
3 This response to a question posed by Switzerland supplements those distributed in document
IP/C/W/291.
4 These responses to questions posed by the United States supplement those distributed in document
IP/C/W/291.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 6
- The right to prohibit any exploitation of their phonograms by any means without their
authorization. The law prohibits copying, rental, broadcasting, re-broadcasting,
availability to the public by third parties.
- The right to disseminate their recordings via wire, wireless, computer or other means.
The term of the protection will be fifty calendar years calculated from the beginning of the
next year in which the publication of the phonogram was done or the year in which the phonogram
was fixed if it was not published.
C. TRADEMARKS
8. Please describe the subject matter that can comprise a trademark under the trademark law ofthe United Arab Emirates.
The 1992 Trademarks Law No. 37 considers as trademark the following:
Names, words, signatures, letters, numbers, drawings, symbols, addresses, hallmarks, stamps,
pictures, vignettes, notices, packages or any other mark or combination of marks having a
distinctive form and used or meant to be used- in distinguishing goods or products ofwhatever origin, or in showing that the goods  or products are owned by the owner of the
trademark because he manufactured it or selected it or traded in it, or rendered a service under
it. A sound shall be considered part of the trademark if it was accompanying it.
9. Please describe the procedure that must be followed to register a trademark in the United
Arab Emirates, citing the relevant provisions of law, and describe the rights that the owner of aregistered mark can exercise.
The 1992 Trademarks Law No. 37 Article 5 provides that the Ministry of Economy and
Commerce shall keep a register to be called "Trademarks Register" which shall be registered all
trademarks, names and addresses of their owners, type of their activity, description of their goods or
products or services and any assignment or transfer of ownership or change of license to use or anyother amendments. The Law stipulates that every person may apply for a true copy of the contents of
the said register upon payment of the prescribed fees.
Article 6 of the same law states that the following persons shall have the right to register their
trademarks:
- UAE natural and moral persons who exercise any commercial, industrial, handicraft
or services activity.
- Non-UAE natural or moral persons who exercise any commercial, industrial,
handicraft or services activity in the UAE.
- Non-UAE natural or moral persons who exercise any commercial, industrial,
handicraft or services activity in any country which grant the UAE reciprocal
treatment.
- Public moral persons.
Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the 1992 Trademarks law No. 37 as well as the
1993 Ministerial Decision No. 6 lay down detailed c onditions and procedures governing registration
of trademarks in the UAE.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 7
Article 7 states that each person desiring to use a trademark to distinguish any goods or
products or services may apply for registering it.
Article 17 of the 1992 Trademarks law No. 37 considers the person who has a trademark
registered in his name its exclusive owner.
Article 20 provides for the owner's right to remove the trademark from the register. It
provides also that if the owner of the mark has granted, by contract, to a third person a license to use
the mark, the said mark may not be removed from the register except upon written consent of the
licensee unless the licensee expressly renounces his right in the license agreement.
Articles 27-28 and 29 lay down the holder’s right of transferring the ownership of a trademark
and the conditions under which the transfer, levying a charge or seizure related to a trademark are
made.
Articles 30-31-32-33 and 34 organize the license contracting, which is stated by the law as a
right of the trademark holder.
Articles 37 defines the penalties with regard to the counterfeiting, imitating, misleading the
public, fraudulent use of registered trademark.
10. Please provide the length and terms of protection the trademark law of the United Arab
Emirates provides for a trademark. Please explain how the length and terms of trademark protection
in the United Arab Emirates are consistent with Article 18 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Article 19 of the 1992 Trademarks law limits the duration of the protection of a registered
trademark to ten years with the possibility of renewal for further consecutive periods of ten years
each.
11. Please explain whether the trademark law of the United Arab Emirates is consistent with
Article 20 of the TRIPS Agreement, which requires that the use of a trademark shall not be
unjustifiably encumbered by special requirements such as use with another trademark, use in a
special form or use in a manner detrimental to the trademark’s capacity to distinguish the goods or
services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. Please cite any relevant laws,
regulations and judicial decisions.   
The 1992 Trademarks law does not provide for any provision imposing unjustifiably
requirements, which encumber the trademark. The only requirements for the registration of
trademarks regarding form and use are stated out in Article 3, which prohibits the registration of some
marks such as public emblems, flags, and other symbols relating to countries or international
organizations unless authorized by them. Registration of marks violating public morals or public order
is prohibited as well.
12. Please explain whether the law of the United Arab Emirates complies with Article 21 of the
TRIPS Agreement, which requires that the licensing of trademarks shall not be compulsory.
The Trademarks law does not provide for any provision, which laying down the compulsory
licensing of trademarks.  Articles 30, 31, 32 and 34, which organize trademarks licensing are fully in
conformity with Article 21 of the TRIPS Agreement in the sense that they do not impose the
compulsory licensing of trademarks.  Article 27 of the same law conforms also with Article 21 of theAgreement while stating that transfer of the ownership of a trademark may be effected with or without
the business to which the trademark belongs.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 8
D. GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
13. Please describe in detail how the laws of the United Arab Emirates provide for therecognition and protection of geographical indications required by Article 22.2 of the TRIPS
Agreement, citing to the relevant provisions of laws or regulations, and provide examples of
geographical indications so protected.
Geographical indications are protected through the 1992 Trade Marks Law No 37. All the
provisions contained in this law apply to geographical indications. Paragraphs 6 and 9 of Article 3
exclude from the registration (protection) geographical indications, which have the purpose to mislead
the public on the veritable origin of the product or services or which contain false indications as to the
origin or source of the products or services.
14. Please describe in detail the manner in which the higher level of protection required for
wines and spirits Article 23.2 of the TRIPS Ag reement is implemented, citing to the relevant
provisions of laws or regulation, and provide examples of geographical indications for such products.
Geographical Indications related to the wine and spirituous are not registered in the United
Arab Emirates in pursuance of the 1992 Trade Marks Law Article 3 paragraph 2, which states that any
mark which violates public morality or is contrary to public order shall not be registered as trademark.
G. LAYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
21. Please describe in detail the protection for layout-designs of integrated circuits provided
under the laws of the United Arab Emirates, including the term of protection, and cite to the relevant
provisions of law.5
The 1992 Copyright and Neighboring Rights Law includes layouts and topography among the
works protected in the United Arab Emirates against any unlawful use or aggression. The term ofprotection of author rights is determined by the period his life and 25 years after his death.
The term of protection of copyrights and neighbouring rights will be determined, after
introducing the amendments to the 1992 Copyrights law, as follows:
• As regards the author rights, the term of protection is determined by the period of life
of the owner and 25 years after his death. The draft amendment will extend thisperiod to 50 years as referred to in the TRIPS Agreement.
• The term of protection of the rights of the joint authors is determined by their period
of life and 50 years begin from the date of the death of the last surviving author.
• The term of protection of the authors of collective works except the authors of applied
arts is 50 years begin from the date of the first publication.
• The economic rights of the works published for the first time after the death of their
author expire after fifty years starting the first day of the next calendar year of their
first publications.
• The term of protection of the rights of the authors of the applied artwork is 25 years
from the date of their publication.
• The term of protection of the rights of the performers is 50 years from the date of the
Accomplishment of the work performed. If the performance was fixed in aphonogram the period would be calculated from the end of the year in which the
fixation was made.
                                                     
5 This response to question 21 replaces that distributed in document IP/C/W/291.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 9
• The term of protection of the rights of the producers of phonograms is 50 years from
the date of publication or fixation if it was not published.
• The term of protection of the rights of the broadcasting organisations is 20 years from
the next year to the year in which the first transmission of the program was made.
H. P ROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION
Follow-up questions:
1. Please explain in detail how Article 39 of the 1992 Patent and Industrial Design Law
No. 44 includes the protections that are requi red under Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Specifically, please explain how the law ensures th at a second comer will not be allowed to rely
on data that is submitted to the regulatory authorities in support of a pioneer drug application,
as required by the unfair commercial use provisions of Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement.
The 1992 Patent and Industrial Designs law No. 44 defines in its Article 1 "know-how" as the
technical information, data or knowledge that result from professional experience and are applicable
in practice.  Article 39 states that know-how shall be protected against any unlawful use, disclosure or
communication by third parties unless it has been published or made available to the public.  The
same Article states clearly that in order to enjoy protection, the owner of the know-how shall take the
necessary steps to preserve the confidentiality of its elements. Article 42 provides for provision
ensuring that a third party will not be allowed to  use, disclose or communicate any element of know-
how without consent of its owner, stating that any of these acts shall be deemed an unlawful act,
provided that the person committing the act was aware of the confidential nature of the know-how or
could not have ignored such nature.  Furthermor e, the Bylaws of the 1992 Patent Law (the 1993
Decision No. 11 of the Ministerial Council) lays dow n procedures required to ensure the protection of
know-how as well as its contracting aspects.
As regards pharmaceutical products specifically, the law No. 4 of 1983 related to
pharmaceutical institutions and pharmacy profession and its Bylaws provide for establishment of aCommittee in charge of pharmaceutical registration and pricing.  All the confidential information
submitted to it must be kept confidential, provided that it is confidential and the owner has undertake
the necessary steps to keep it confidential.
2. Please explain whether there are any provisio ns in the laws of the United Arab Emirates
that require applicants who are seeking marketin g approval for a product to disclose to the
regulatory authority the existence of pending patent application or a patent relating to the same
product.
Article 11 of the 1992 Patent and Industrial Designs law provides that the application for
registration may contain a declaration claiming the priority of an earlier application filed in a State
party to a convention or treaty to which the UAE has acceded.
In the area of drugs and pharmaceutical products marketing specifically, the law No. 4 of
1983 related to pharmaceutical institutions and pharmacy profession and its Bylaws impose, as
perquisites for marketing such products:
(i) The authorization of competent authorities to import the products. (Article 40)
(ii) The registration of the products before marketing them (Article 65).
The Bylaws of the above mentioned law which defines the procedures of the registration of
pharmaceutical products require the disclosure of scientific and technical elements of the productbefore its marketing.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 10
3. Please indicate how many grants of marketing approval for unauthorized copies of
patented pharmaceutical products have been revers ed in the last five years. Please address any
ongoing efforts to reverse marketing approva ls for unauthorized copies of patented
pharmaceutical products and to prevent any further registrations of such products.
[No response received]
I. E NFORCEMENT
26. Article 43.1 of the TRIPS Agreement requires that judges be authorized to order production
of evidence necessary to substantiate a party’s claims where that party has been unable to obtain
such evidence from the opposing party. Please describe how laws or regulations of the United ArabEmirates provide this authorization, citing to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
The Evidence law provides for an equitable and fair access to judicial procedures. The
balance of the rights and obligations of both party’s claims and the opposing party is ensured. The
basic principle of this law is that the claimant must provide evidence to substantiate his claim and theevidence must be relevant to the action. The cour t can, however, order the evidence be produced if it
is under control of the opposing party. The court can also call on the party to question him regarding
the changes or alterations made to the element of evidence.
27. Please describe in detail the all of the civil remedies that are available to right holders under
the laws of the United Arab Emirates, citing to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
The three intellectual property rights-related laws provide for measures aimed at preventing
violation of intellectual property rights. The 1992 Trade Marks Law No. 37 in its chapter VI on
Penalty (Articles 37-43), the 1992 Copyright Law in its chapter VIII (Articles 38-44 on Penalty), and
the 1992 Patent and Design Law in its chapter V on Preventive Measures, Offences and Penalty(Articles 58-61) lay down measures to prevent any infringement or unlawful act which violate rights
of the owner of intellectual property.  These laws also provides for remedy measures like preventive
seizure, confiscation, destruction of products and equipment as well as removing of the effects of the
illegal acts and compensation.
28. Please describe in detail the provisional procedures and remedies available to right holders
under the laws of the United Arab Emirates, citing to the relevant provisions of laws and regulation,
and indicate any condition under which a right holder may avail itself of those procedures andremedies.
The 1992 Trademarks law No. 37 states in Article 41 that the owner of a trademark may, at
any time, and even before initiating any civil or cr iminal action, obtain from the court, upon a petition
accompanied by an official certificate establishing the registration of the mark, an order directing thenecessary preventive measures be taken, including in particular the following:
- Preparing a detailed descriptive inventory of the articles and equipments indented to
be used or actually used in committing any of the crimes provided in the law. The
said inventory shall also include the products and goods, manufactured locally orimported, addresses of the establishment or packaging, papers or any other articles on
which the counterfeit mark or statement was affixed.
- Seizure of the articles mentioned above after the plaintiff shall have submitted a
financial security determined by the court to identify the defendant if that becomes
necessary.IP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 11
The 1992 Patent law Article 58 provides for preventive remedies available to right holder in
stating that the owner of the patent can request the competent court before or during the civil or penal
action, to issue an order for the precautionary seizure on the invention, the industrial design or on the
establishment using or exploiting any of industrial property in relation to which an infringement or an
unlawful act has been committed that contravenes the law or contracts or license. The amendment ofthis Article envisages adding provision to determine the affectivity of the same rule on the application
of patent as well.
The amendment to the 1992 Copyright law will provide for precautionary procedures and
penalties authorizing the competent court to take decision in order to prevent any fraud or suspend
publication, exhibition, reproduction or impose seizure on the copies of the works, performances,
phonograms or the broadcasting programs published without prior permission from the right holder.
29. Please explain whether the judicial author ities of the United Arab Emirates have the
authority to order that goods found to be infringing, as well as the materials for making them, be
disposed of outside of the channels of commerce, as required by Article 46 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Yes the three intellectual property laws provide for such measures.
Article 61 of the 1992 Patent law No. 44 states that the competent court may decide to
confiscate the property or dispose of the property in whatever manner it deems appropriate. It may
also order the destruction of the equipment used  in committing the act of imitation, and remove the
effects of any illegal act.
Article 43 of the 1992 Trademarks law No. 37 provides for the confiscation of the articles
seized and the destruction of the illegal marks, the products, packaging and equipments as well as
other articles bearing the illegal marks and counterfeiting.
The 1992 Copyrights Law No. 40, Article 43, provides for confiscation and the closing of the
institution violating copyright. The draft amendment will confirm these measures and introduce
destruction measures in order to ensure that the infringing products and the materials for making them
be outside of the channels of commerce as referred to in the TRIPS Agreement.
J. S
PECIAL REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO BORDER MEASURES
30. Please describe in detail the procedures under the laws of the United Arab Emirates that
provide for border enforcement at least for trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, identifying
the competent authority and citing to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
Customs Departments are authorized to take measures at the borders to prevent any violation of
trademarks-related rights and copyright piracy in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations as
well as under Customs regulations. These measures could be taken either following the demand of theright holder or the judicial order
31. Please indicate if border enforcement is available to owners of other forms of intellectual
property and, if so, please describe the procedures and remedies available in relation to each form of
intellectual property, citing the relevant provisions of law.
Customs Departments are authorized to take measures at the borders to prevent any violation of
all other forms of intellectual property rights protected under TRIPS Agreement and the national
relevant laws and regulations, in accordance with the above-mentioned laws as well as under Customs
regulations. These measures could be taken either following the demand of the right holder or the
judicial orderIP/C/W/291/Add.2
Page 12
32. Article 58 of the TRIPS Agreement specifies procedures to be followed where the competent
authorities can act ex officio. Please explain whether the competent authorities in the United Arab
Emirates are empowered to act ex officio and, if so, please identify the intellectual property areas
subject to ex officio action.
Customs regulations allow for such measures.
K. C RIMINAL PROCEDURES
33. Please describe in detail how the laws of the United Arab Emirates implement Article 61 of
the TRIPS Agreement that requires Members to have criminal procedures and penalties, including
imprisonment and/or monetary fines sufficient to act as a deterrent, at least for cases of willful
trademark counterfeiting and copyright infringement on a commercial scale. Please cite to the
relevant provisions of laws and regulation.
Articles 37 and 38 of the 1992 Trademarks law No. 37 determine the illegal acts to be
sanctioned by imprisonment and monetary fine or by either of the two penalties.
Article 60 of the 1992 Patent law No. 44 lays down criminal sanctions and monetary penalties
to be imposed to whom infringe any right protected by the law. The draft amendment of this provision
intends to put a maximum to the fine that increases what is defined in the misdemeanor for the penalty
to suit with the importance of the contravention.
The 1992 Copyrights law No. 40 lays down th e same procedures (Article 37 to 42).
34. Article 61 also requires that remedies in appropriate cases include the seizure, forfeiture and
destruction of infringing goods and any material and implements the predominant use of which has
been the commission of the offense. Please describe the provisions in the laws of the United Arab
Emirates that provide for such remedies, and describe the circumstances in which those remedieswould be imposed, citing to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
The 1992 Trademarks, Patent and Copyrights laws provide for remedy measures like
preventive seizure, destruction of products and, confiscation of equipments as well as removing of the
effects of the illegal acts and compensation. Article 41 and 43 of the Trademarks law provide for
precautionary measures, seizure as well as destruction of illegal marks, products and packaging andtools and the article bearing the illegal marks.
Article 58 of the Patent law provides for the precautionary seizure. The related amendment
will determine the affectivity of the measure on the application of the patent as well. Article 61 of the
same law provides for confiscation of the seized objects, destruction or effacing of the impacts of the
violating actions, as well as the equipments and tools used in the falsification.
The 1992 Copyrights law provides for the same measures. The amendments to the copyright
law envisage enhancing these measures.
35. Article 61 also indicates that Members may provide for criminal procedures and penalties in
cases of willful infringement of other forms of intellectual property. Please describe any provisions of
the laws of the United Arab Emirates that provide for such procedures and remedies, citing to the
relevant provisions of laws or regulation.
The provisions cited above are applicable to the other forms of intellectual property. The 1992
Patent law No. 44 for instance covers, in its Arti cle 60, patents, utility certificates, know-how,
inventions, processes or an element of know-how, industrial designs or any right protected by the lawIP/C/W/291/Add.2
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as rights protected against falsification or infringement. These illegal acts against the mentioned
protected rights are subject the criminal procedures and monetary fines.
K. STATISTICAL QUESTIONS
36. Please provide statistical information related to civil copyright, trademark, geographical
indication, industrial design, patent, integrated-circuit layout design, and trade secret enforcement for2000, including the number of cases filed; injunctions issued; infringing product seized; infringing
equipment seized; cases resolved (including se ttlement); and the amount of damages awarded.
[No response received]
37. Please provide statistical information related to criminal enforcement in the area of copyright
piracy and trademark infringement for 2000, including the number of raids, prosecutions, convictions,
and the amount of fines and/or jail terms (including whether the fines were paid and whether the jail
term was actually served or was suspended) and any other information establishing that criminal
system operates effectively to deter copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.
[No response received]
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