Intellectual Property Newsletter - April 2015

Middle East and North Africa region

Our market updates this month lead with the news that Dubai Customs may soon cease the practice of re-exporting counterfeit products seized by their inspectors. This will be very welcome news for many brand owners.

At Clyde & Co, our IP team is patting itself on the back having received the inaugural UAE IP Firm of the Year at the 2015 Managing IP Global Awards, which took place at MIP's 10th annual awards ceremony held in London on 11 March. Well done team!

Also in March, we were ranked as band one again by Chambers and Partners, with each of Rob Deans, Joycia Young and Jon Parker being ranked as leading lawyers. We are also delighted by some of our clients' comments which include that we:

are "willing to go the extra mile to ensure that matters are handled in the best possible manner"; "really have that mix of local experience and commercial understanding"; and have a way of "distilling issues across multiple jurisdictions down to a few salient points which are easily understood and acted upon". We certainly try very hard indeed to provide our clients with the advice required in a professional and personable way. The feedback that we receive through these surveys is genuinely appreciated – thank you!

In this month's issue, we also cover:

Protecting IP rights in sanctioned countries: Iran and Syria

This month we report on a very topical issue for many of our clients – can they register and enforce their intellectual property rights in Iran and Syria? Our sanctions specialists, Patrick Murphy and Douglas Maag, answer this question together with Harriet Balloch in our IP team.

Market updates and insight from around the region

For further information, please speak to your usual contact in the Clyde & Co IP team, or email us at ip@clydeco.com.

UAE Trade Mark Gazette

The latest edition of the UAE Trade Mark Gazette was published on 1 April 2015. This month's opposition deadline is 1 May 2015.

If you identify any marks that are of potential concern, or if you have any queries, then speak to your usual contact in the Clyde & Co IP team, or email us at ip@clydeco.com.

The timeframe for arranging the legalisation of a Power of Attorney (which will need to be filed at the same time as any opposition) is generally around three weeks. With this in mind, please contact us as soon as possible if you identify any marks which you may wish to oppose.

Market updates and insight

Protecting IP rights in sanctioned countries: Iran and Syria

By Harriet Balloch, Senior Associate, with input from our sanction specialists, Patrick Murphy, Legal Director and Douglas Maag, Senior Counsel

We are regularly asked to advise brand owners on the impact of sanctions on their ability to protect and enforce intellectual property (IP)...

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