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Yes you can use your trademark; however, it’s very imperative to register your trademark as the registration of the trademark will be considered as an announcement of your ownership to the public. Also, the registration will allow you to know whether your trademark has been taken or used by others, not to mention the fact that Registration is prerequisite for the protection of your trademark under the penal system, in general, the benefit of registration includes but not limited to, registration will shield you from any infringement and unlawful competitions from infringers or unauthorized use of your trademark by others in the expense of your trademark.

There is no exact definition of famous or well known trademark, however, some scholars and researchers in the field of intellectual property as well as the World Intellectual Property Organization have set certain factors to be considered in the determination of whether a Trademark can be defined as famous trademark or not. Nonetheless, there are worldwide known trademarks that can be defined as well known trademark or famous trademark without a dispute due to the fact that such trademarks have transcended and crossed the boarders of many countries and became widely known to the public and to the concerned consumers of those countries like (Coca Cola),( McDonalds) and (Calvin Klein). Also, most legislation have attempted to define the famous trademark in general and left the determination of whether such a mark is famous or not to the discretion of the judges and courts. The Famous trade mark is defined under the UAE Trademark Law in Article (4.1 & 4.2) as “1. Famous Trademark is a mark of fame which transcended beyond the borders of its country of origin to other countries….” 2. And to determine whether a trademark is famous or not, the fact of its recognition and knowledge among the concerned consumers who came to know the mark due to its publicity, should be considered”.

It is highly recommended to conduct a comprehensive trademark search first to ensure that there would be no conflict with your proposed trademark. Thereafter, it is followed by submitting the trademark application before the UAE Trademark office wherein it can be determined if the trademark application is accepted or rejected. Once the trademark application is accepted, It is then followed by publication of your trademark, and then the final trademark registration will commence which usually takes 18-24 months to complete the procedures.

The (10 years) protection period for registered trademark is calculated in the United Arab Emirates from the date of filing the application for registration of the trademark.

Claiming priority is a provisional right that is granted to a trademark or industrial design owner or a Patent Holder upon filing the first trademark/patent application. This right allows the Patent Holder and the trademark owner to file trademark and Patents application in other countries for the same trademark or Patent by claiming priority and upon valid registration, the date of such registration would be calculated from the date of the first prior application in any given country. Usually, claiming priority would be allowed between countries who are members of same multilateral international convention (Paris Convention), treaties, and bilateral agreement between countries adopting the same favorite treatment policy.

It is important to register your trademark and logo to protect your rights as it means that you obtain your exclusive rights and any possible protection afforded by law to registered trademark or brand.

If you would like to create a new logo for your company, you must contact a designer who could create and design your logo and it’s very imperative to create distinctive and unique logo capable of being registered and protected with the concerned authorities.