Intellectual Property Law in the United Arab Emirates - Case Study Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Intellectual property law Course: Date: Table of Contents Title: Intellectual property law 1 Table of Contents 1 Intellectual Property Law 3 Introduction 3 Problem Statement 3 UAE intellectual property law 4 Trademarks 4 UAE patent law 5 Copyrights 7 Designs and industrial models 7 The Apple-Samsung litigation 8 The World Intellectual Property Organization 9 Limitations 10 Trademark Usage 11 Authorization 11 Binding Agreements 11 Conclusion 12 References 12 Intellectual Property Law Introduction Trademarks, patents, industrial design rights, copyrights and at times trade secrets are exclusive right that the laws of intellectual property grant owners of Intellectual property. The law gives owners exclusive rights over intangible like discoveries, art works, literary, musical and others (Flanagan & Montagnani, 2010). International organizations such as the World Intellectual property Organization form treaties and hold conventions with countries in order to protect intellectual property rights and enhance economic growth (Richard, 2008). The rights protect nationals of different countries and resolve intellectual property issues between countries. Fraud in the commercial sector and infringement of intellectual property rights surprises the growth of the economy. Protecting Company rights against such infringements and fraud ensure sustainable economies (Jacobson & American Bar Association, 2007). Problem Statement Emirates Technology Corporation is cautious about issues of violation of property and fraud in the business sector. This is in line with the new technology that the company intends to invest in to improve its competiveness. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) economy is growing at a very high rate. The country is adopting new technologies to catch up with other changing economies world wide. In such an economy, counterfeits, commercial frauds and property infringement is common which slows the growth of the economy. According to Rodgers, (2010), the UAE government is implementing policies to boost its intellectual property law to measure up with the global standards. The head of Legal department of legal department, of Emirates Technology, Abdulla Mohammed Al Farazi expresses his concerns regarding the revolutionary technology that the company intends to implement in order to create generation two of the flat-panel television. Technologies adopted by UAE companies are likely to be similar to other technologies in other countries. In this case, the UAE can be accused of contravention of patents by the victim countries (Lennon, 2007). The essay will evaluate the intellectual property law in the UAE, the Apple Vs Samsung litigation, and evaluate the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and UAE membership. It will also review the licensing agreement that Emirates technology will use to avoid any possible litigation. UAE intellectual property law The UAE government has endorsed intellectual property laws to protect owners of such property. According to Peter (2006), the UAE federal laws of 1992 No. (37), (40) and (44) for trademarks, intellectual property and copyright, and industrial property respectively protect design patents, trademarks and inventions. Its membership in General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trade (GATT) gave UAE a chance to revise its roles to comply with Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) as an effort to protect property rights. Trademarks United Arab Emirates follows the international processes of classifying goods and services. An analysis of a trademark is made to determine its compliance with the registration formality after trademark application is made and submitted (Campbell, 2007). If the registrar accepts the application, it is then published in the Official Gazette. It is also published in two Arabic newspapers published daily and locally. The notices in the newspapers are then expected to be cut and presented to the offices of Trademark. A trademark is usually registered and the office, through the registrar awards the parties a certificate of registration in case there is adequate compliance and no appeals from any of the parties. In case any of the concerned parties opposes the trademark, they have the right to place petitions for reconsideration of the trademark registration within 30 days after the final publication date. If it’s the registrar’s decision, the request can be made to the committee and if of the committee, the request is made to the applicable court. After registration, the validity of the trademark lasts for 10 years after its application date and is expected to be renewed after every ten years. The allocation of ownership of a legal trademark to business enterprises can be done in cases where the trademark is used by the business or when it is not used. MEAC (2007) report indicates that, the effectiveness of an allocated legal trademark to third parties is invalid unless its validity is approved through recording at the registrar and its publication in the Official Gazette. Incase the business entity does not use the registered trademark in its name for 5 successive years; any concerned party has the right to appeal for cancellation of the trademark by the court. UAE patent law The patent law inspects the patentability and acquiescence of a pais to the required procedures once it is applied (MEAC, 2007). The analysis includes its originality, industrial applicability and inventiveness. Rejected applications are legally allowed to place a petition to the committee in the patent office to seek re-consideration. If the application complies with the formalities, it is certified to be published in the Official Gazette. Concerned parties are granted the right to place petitions in case of dissatisfactions to the committee within sixty days of publication in the Official Gazette. In case no one opposes or appeals, a utility certificate is granted. The rights of people to patents are done on allocation basis or through licensing procedures. In case a patent is assigned, its effectiveness on third parties is considered invalid until its validity is approved in the patents office through recording and its publication in the Official Gazette. The validity of the patent lasts for fifteen years after which it is supposed to be renewed within five years of the termination of its validity term. However, this does not apply to inventions relating to drugs and pharmaceuticals. These are awarded patents for 10 years non-renewable periods (Peter, 2006). The UAE patent law considers working of patents as a legal obligation. The law provides conditions to the owners of patented businesses regarding their operations. Failure by the owner to comply with the working requirement four years after the filling date or 3 years after the awarded date, in case the patent has not been working for a period of two successive years, if the operations/use of the patent does not meet the UAE demands and refusal by the owner to license the business under fair contractual term, the law then enforces a compulsory licensing of the business. However, Utility models have a different provision regarding the period. They are allocated 3years after the filling date and 2years after the awarding date. The use requisite is not met in case of importation made under a patent. Copyrights The UAE Federal law No. 40 of 1992 provides the Copyright and Authorship Protection clause which protects interests of Copyright. A business entity makes its own decision regarding its registration with proficient authority; however, by it registering, the law recognizes the registration as reference by the authority of the information copyrighted. At the same time, the law does not consider failure to register as violation of the author’s rights. The validity of a registered copyright lasts as long as the author lives and 25 years after they die. There are however some special cases where the applied art works, art works published under pen names, cinematographic films and first time publications after authors’ death. In this case, the validity of protection for these works lasts for twenty five years. If the protection involves photographic works, the validity lasts for 10 years only (Oxford Business Group, 2010). Designs and industrial models The treatment of designs and industrial modes in the UAE is of no difference to that of patents. According to Campbell (2007), the validity of design and industrial models lasts for only five years after registration. This is followed by a 2years renewability in an additional five successive years. Payments (annuity) are required to be made within the last three months of the protection contract. However, late payments are allowed within three months after the closing date, but with an extra charge/surcharge for the lateness (Oxford Business Group, 2010). The Apple-Samsung litigation Apple Inc. which is an American company and Samsung, a South Korean company are both international technology companies. Since they are competitors, the two companies got into conflict in 2011, with Apple Inc. accusing Samsung’s galaxy line products of violating its IPRs in the iPhone and iPad lines (Ubertazzi, 2012, p.18). The allegations based on smart phones and tablet computers’ designs and Apple posed accusations regarding violation of patent, trademarks and designs registered globally. However, exclusive jurisdiction rules require that the two companies file lawsuits in their respective countries before pursuing the case on a single proceeding. Apple therefore sued Samsung in the US federal court in April 2011 of copying its iPad and iPhone. Similarly, Samsung sued Apple in South Korea, Germany and Japan of patent infringements. The companies filed more lawsuits against each other, and even after the court prohibited sales in Germany, and Samsung introduced its new designs, Apple intended to place claims against Samsung of violating the ongoing court orders. According to Ubertazzi (2012, P.18) this were issues related to designs. By 2012, the cases were fifty or more globally and involved monetary claims between the two rivals. According to Miller (2012), the United States court ruled in favor of Apple while the South Korean, Japan and UK courts ruled in favor of Samsung. The general ruling considered Samsung to have infringed intellectual property of Apple and no infringement by Apple on Samsung. However, UMTS standard agencies established no antitrust laws that had been breached by Samsung (Lemley, 2009). The ruling also indicated a design patent violation of the iPhones and the D’677 patent where Ace was violated. The least performing patent for Apple was D’087 and Samsung was found to have violated only the galaxy S, Galaxy S 4G and the Vibrant. The World Intellectual Property Organization World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a United Nations organization which protects the intellectual property rights globally, founded in 1967. The body offer support to the intellectual property rights through its services, legal governance and provisions of infrastructure. WIPO has invested in research regarding assessment of industries’ economic contribution in terms of copyrights and other right protection issues since 2002. According to May (2007), WIPO has focused on strengthening its influence on governance with experienced expertise and professionals it has collected over the years. it has enhanced economic development through protection of the intellectual property. WIPO has also boosted infrastructure thorough the establishment of networks and developing strict policies governing the sharing of information, business dealings related to intellectual property and free databases. It has also employed the use of the available opportunities for collaborations and conventions such as UN Conference of Trade and development, Un Development Program and the UN educational Scientific and cultural Organizations (Rogers, 2010). It serves a big role in establishment and maintenance of international laws that govern intellectual property according to the developing requirements of the society. The systems that WIPO operates and offers abridge the processes of acquiring intellectual property protection globally for designs and trademarks, resolve arguments related to intellectual property and assist in the appellation of origins. The UAE is a member of the WIPO and adheres to the provisions of WIPO regulations in protecting intellectual property in the country (WIPO, 2004). Intellectual property licensing agreement The 26th November 2012 intellectual property agreement was for the purpose of licensing intellectual property in the case of Apple Company and Samsung Company. Using the Apple and samsang case, agreement to licensing agreement is required on the part of the involved company, otherwise the use of a patent is not allowed. Limitations With reference to the agreement, Samsung and apple permits the following for the contract term: Development of copies for both company designs for future references Establish more copies for internal uses and analysis. Install a provisioning profile on all registered devices to enable distribution and usage of applications The patent owner reserves the right to determine the restricted number of products that every licensee can register with Apple/Samsung and acquire licenses (Miller, 2012). Trademark Usage The licensor herein gives the licensee the right of using and displaying licensor’s trademarks, service marks, as well as trademarks and trade names that are pertinent to licensor products as per this agreement. The licensee can utilize any of the licensor’s Marks as a feature of its company, or trade (Ray, 2008). Authorization The company has all the power and authority to execute and convey the Agreement to carry out the transactions reflected herein as the licensor. The implementation, delivery as well as performance of this Agreement and the usage of the transactions carried herein have been appropriately permitted as per all essential action obligated by the law, the licensor’s Article to be taken by the licensor to approve the implementation and delivery of this Agreement and the agreement stipulated hereby or the usage of the transactions carried out herein and therein (Ray, 2008). Binding Agreements This agreement consists of the legal, legitimate and binding responsibilities of the licensor, enforceable according to its items. Conclusion Intellectual property protection serves a big role in maintaining the stability and sustainability of the economy. Violation of patents, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property can slow the growth of an economy and affect its performance. Implementation of intellectual property rights and regulative legislations to protect the rights solves the violation problem and protects the general economy from retarded growth. Partnering with international organizations protects the country’s economy and ensures international stability. Mastering intellectual property agreements also equips companies with obligations and rights they have and avoids lawsuits and petitions with regard to intellectual property. References Jacobson, J. M., & American Bar Association. (2007). Antitrust law developments (sixth). Chicago, Ill: Section of Antitrust Law, ABA. Lennon, M. J. (2007). Drafting technology patent license agreements. Frederick, MD: Aspen Publishers. Flanagan, A., & Montagnani, M. L. (2010). Intellectual property and social justice: A law and economics approach. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Richard, T. (2008). Intellectual Property Rights." In The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Rogers, M., (2010). Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Economic Growth. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Peter, H. (2006). The United Arab Emirates Yearbook. Dubai: Trident Press Ltd. Middle East and Arabic Countries: Copyright law handbook. (2007). Washington DC: International Business Publications. Oxford Business Group(2010). The Report: Ras Al Khaimah 2010. Oxford Business Group Campbell, C. (2007). Legal Aspects of Doing Business in the Middle East. International Business,Lulu.com. Ubertazzi, B. (2012). Exclusive jurisdiction in intellectual property. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. Lemley, M. (2009). The Patent Crisis and How the Courts Can Solve It. University of Chicago Press. Miller, R. (2012). Fundamentals of Business Law: Excerpted Cases. New York: Cengage Learning May, C (2007). The Global Intellectual Property Organisation: The Global Governance of Knowledge Ownership. Global Institutions Series: Routledge global institutions. WIPO. (2004). WIPO Guide on the Licensing of Copyright and Related Rights. WIPO publication, Issue 897. Ray, R. (2008). Intellectual Property Licensing: Forms and Analysis. Law Journal Press, 1998- 2008. ISBN, 973-58852-086-9. Read More