The term “intellectual property rights” refers to any and all rights connected with intangible assets owned by a person or firm that are safeguarded against illegal usage. Non-physical property, such as ownership in intellectual property, is referred to as “intangible assets.” The following are examples of intellectual property rights:

What Are the Main Types of Intellectual Property?

Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are the four main forms of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property owners frequently utilize more than one of these types of intellectual property law to safeguard the same intangible assets. For example, trademark law protects a product’s name while copyright protection covers its tagline.

Trademarks

A trademark is a word, phrase, or symbol used to identify the source of one product from that of another. Once a company’s trademarks are registered, they become legally protected and can’t be used by someone else without the IP owner’s permission. One of the most well-known examples of trademark protection is the Adidas logo.

Copyright

Copyright is one of the more complicated and misunderstood intellectual property rights, which may be defined as the authorship rights over any original work, such as literary, musical, artistic, computer software, and so on. The moment you produce original work, copyright exists in it; nevertheless, to secure protection from infringement, registration is required.

Patent

A patent is an intellectual property right that gives a person the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing their invention. A patent owner can prevent others from manufacturing, selling, or utilizing the item or method for which rights are granted.

Trade Secrets

Trade secrets are knowledge within an organization about its operations and functionality that the company decides to keep quiet for competitive reasons. A trade secret in the UAE allows a business to stay a step ahead in several areas, such as processes, patterns, designs, and commercial methods.

Infringement of Intellectual Property and Penalties

• Under Article 62 of the Federal Law No. (31) of 2006, if the accused infringer infringes upon the patent owner’s rights, he or she will be sentenced to not less than three months in jail and not more than two years in prison, as well as a fine ranging from 5,000 Dirhams to 100,000 Dirhams at the discretion of the court.

• The Trademark Law empowers the court to impose a fine of not less than AED5,000 and/or imprisonment for a period of one to three years for such breaches (Article 37).

• According to UAE Criminal Law, Article 37-39, any person who is convicted of any of the acts of copyright infringement (as described above) shall be sentenced to two months imprisonment and/or a fine ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 Dirham. In certain circumstances, though, the penalty may be higher.

• The UAE Companies Law, Article 369 provides sanctions against any person who utilizes or discloses a trade secret of a company. The penalties are imprisonment for no longer than 6 months and/or a fine of at least AED50,000 but no greater than AED500,000.

Intellectual property in its broader sense helps the world by stimulating creativity and growth. Individuals would not be able to profit from their inventions if intellectual property rights were not granted, forcing them to pursue further research and development. Intellectual property rights, therefore, have a significant impact on boosting a nation’s economy.