Brands and inventions built in one market need protecting in the other. We register and enforce trademarks and patents across the EU and the UAE, and negotiate the licensing and technology transfer agreements that let clients commercialise what they've built.

Brands and inventions built in one market need protecting in the other. Our team registers and enforces trademarks and patents across the EU and the UAE, and negotiates the licensing and technology transfer agreements that let clients commercialise what they've built across both jurisdictions.

Intellectual property that isn't registered where a business actually operates offers considerably less protection than most founders assume, and the registration process, priority deadlines, and enforcement mechanisms differ meaningfully between the EU system Malta participates in and the UAE's own framework.

This page covers how we approach trademark, patent, and broader intellectual property protection across the Malta-UAE corridor, and the questions we hear most often from businesses building a brand or product across both markets.

Trademark Registration

As an EU member state, Malta participates in the EU trademark system, meaning an EU trademark registration, filed through EUIPO, gives protection across all EU member states including Malta from a single application. We advise on whether an EU-wide registration or a Malta-specific national registration better serves a client's actual commercial footprint.

UAE trademark registration operates through its own national system and requires a separate application and registration process distinct from the EU system entirely. We manage UAE trademark filings directly, including class selection and responding to any objections raised during examination, coordinating timing with any parallel EU filing where a brand is launching across both markets together.

Patent Registration And Enforcement

Patent protection similarly requires separate registration processes in the EU, or through Malta's own national patent system, and the UAE, and we advise inventors and businesses on filing strategy, including priority claims that preserve an earlier filing date across jurisdictions where the relevant international conventions allow it.

Where infringement occurs, we pursue enforcement action in the relevant jurisdiction, coordinating with our litigation colleagues where a dispute over intellectual property rights needs to proceed to formal court or arbitration proceedings.

Licensing And Technology Transfer

We draft and negotiate licensing agreements that let intellectual property owners commercialise their rights across the Malta-UAE corridor, whether through direct licensing to a local operator or a broader technology transfer arrangement, ensuring the agreement properly addresses royalty structure, territorial scope, and what happens to the underlying rights if the commercial relationship ends.

IP Due Diligence For Transactions

Intellectual property is frequently among the most valuable, and most under-examined, assets in a corporate transaction. We conduct IP due diligence as part of broader M&A and investment transactions, verifying that a target company's claimed intellectual property is actually properly registered, owned free of dispute, and not subject to a licensing arrangement that would restrict the buyer's intended use of it.

Frequently Asked Questions