New fee schedule implemented

The Council of Ministers of the United Arab Emirates has issued Resolution 30 of 2004, which ratifies a new schedule of official fees for trademark registrations, publications and renewals as well as new procedures relating to deadlines for responding to office actions.

The most notable changes are as follows:

• The Trademark Office will impose a fine of $14 for each month of delay in the payment of the publication fees of an accepted mark. If the delay reaches one year, the maximum fee becomes due (ie, $137). This differs from the previous rules where the penalty for not paying the publication fees within 60 days of the acceptance of the mark led to cancellation of the mark.
  
  
• The Trademark Office will enforce a fine of $137 for each month of delay in the payment of registration fees. The maximum fee is $1,362 for a one-year delay. Under the previous rules, the registration fee had to be paid within 60 days of the expiry of the one-month opposition term. Failure to do so resulted in the cancellation of the mark.
  
  
• The fee for a renewal application has been increased to (i) $69 as long as it is filed during the last year of the protection period, and (ii) $136 if filed during the three-month grace period.
  
  

The resolution came into effect on January 1 2005.

Nayla Hawa, Rouse & Co International, Dubai