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UAE Trademark Search: Check Your Brand Before You File
Find out whether your brand name clashes with marks on the UAE register before you pay filing fees to the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET). We search identical and similar marks in your classes and explain the risk in plain words.
Local Presence
How do you check if a trademark is available in the UAE?
Start with MoET’s official trademark inquiry, which costs AED 350 (as of October 2026) and returns filed and registered marks similar to yours. Then look beyond exact matches: similar spellings, how the name sounds, Arabic versions, related classes and the markets where you sell. A clear result never guarantees approval, so treat any search as risk screening.
- Define the mark: the exact name or logo, and the goods or services it covers.
- Search the register in the right classes, plus related ones.
- Review similar results, judge the risk, then file, adjust the mark or pick another name.
- How we check
What our trademark search covers
- Consultation, free: Tell us the brand name, any logo, what you sell and where.
- Scope and quote: We agree the classes, then quote the search fee and any MoET fee.
- Search: We check the UAE register against the agreed scope.
- Result: What we found, how serious the risk looks and what we recommend next.
Search fee: estimated from AED 500, depending on the classes. If the search includes MoET’s official inquiry, its AED 350 government fee is a separate line.
Included
- Identical and similar marks on the UAE register
- Your classes and related classes
- Spelling, pronunciation and Arabic variants
Not included
- A legal opinion
- A decision on acceptance, which only MoET makes
Check the name before you commit to it
Tell us the brand and where you sell. We scope the search and quote it before we start.
- Comparison
What can MoET's official trademark search tell you, and what can't it?
MoET’s AED 350 inquiry shows filed and registered UAE marks that look similar to yours, with results returned immediately. It cannot tell you how an examiner will judge similarity, and it does not show unregistered brands in use, company trade names or well-known marks not registered in the UAE. MoET itself says a result does not guarantee acceptance.
- Why It Matters
Similar marks and pronunciation: why an exact-match search is not enough
MoET can refuse a mark that conflicts with an earlier filed or registered mark, a well-known mark or another business’s trade name. A registered owner can also act against similar marks on related goods or services where confusion is likely, so a near match can cause the same trouble as an exact one.
Sound matters too. Foreign-language words must be filed with a certified Arabic translation showing pronunciation, so we check how the name reads and sounds in Arabic as well as English.
Spelling
- Earlier mark
NOVA
- Your proposed mark
NOVVA
- Why it may conflict
One letter apart, almost identical on a label
Sound
- Earlier mark
NOVA
- Your proposed mark
NOVAH
- Why it may conflict
Spelled differently, pronounced the same
Meaning
- Earlier mark
SILVER MOON
- Your proposed mark
QAMAR FIDDI
- Why it may conflict
The Arabic words mean “silver moon”
- Class Strategy
Can you register a name that already exists in a different class?
Often, yes. Trademark rights generally cover the classes of goods or services registered, so the same word can coexist in unrelated classes. The exceptions are related goods or services where customers could be confused, and well-known marks, which are protected even for different goods. That is why we check related classes as well as your own.
Classes follow the 45-class Nice Classification, so settle yours before searching. Software businesses should first decide between downloadable software (goods) and an online service, which sit in different classes.
- UAE result
Checking the markets where you make and sell
A clear UAE result says nothing about other countries, because each country keeps its own register.
- Saudi Arabia: the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) offers a free online search of registered marks. We run Saudi trademark searches on request, as part of registration there.
- GCC: there is no single GCC trademark, so we search and file in the other GCC countries one by one, on request.
- Elsewhere: WIPO’s Global Brand Database covers many national offices, and Madrid Monitor tracks international registrations. We plan searches and international filings around where you make and sell.
- China: the first applicant to file gets the mark, so brands that manufacture there should check and file early.
What if a similar mark already exists?
You can adjust the mark, narrow the goods and services or choose a different name. You may also be able to challenge the earlier mark, depending on dates and use, so act early. If it turns into a trademark dispute, Gatestone handles the matter, including court stages.
- A mark unused for 5 consecutive years can be canceled at an interested party’s request.
- The first user of a mark someone else registered can seek cancellation within 5 years of registration; well-known marks and bad-faith filings have wider rights. See what to do if someone is already using your name.
- After 5 years of registration and use without a challenge, ownership becomes hard to dispute.
- If the earlier mark is still an application, you can oppose a conflicting application within 30 days of its publication.
Dubai, Abu Dhabi or UAE: one trademark database
A UAE trademark search covers Dubai, Abu Dhabi and every other emirate. Trademarks are registered federally with MoET, so there is no separate Dubai or Abu Dhabi register, and free zone companies use the same system.
Trade name approval is not trademark clearance
Approval of a company trade name does not register your brand as a trademark, and another business’s trade name can block a trademark application. If you are choosing a business name for a new company, check both before company setup.
How to check the status of a UAE trademark application
Anyone can request data from MoET’s Trademarks Register; a certified copy costs AED 150. International registrations designating the UAE appear in WIPO’s Madrid Monitor. Estimated: if you filed yourself, you can follow the application on MoET’s eServices using your filing reference number. If we file for you, we track the status and deadlines.
Ready to file? Next step: registration
Once the name looks clear, file soon, because protection counts from the filing date. Your search's class plan carries into the application when we register your trademark with MoET.
- Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a brand name is available as a trademark in the UAE?
Is a trademark search free in the UAE?
Will a search find similar-sounding names or Arabic versions of my mark?
Does a clear search guarantee my trademark will be approved?
Can I register a name that already exists in a different class?
Does a UAE trademark search cover Dubai and the other emirates?
Is my business name already trademarked by someone else?
Should I check trademark availability before setting up my company?
How do I check the status of my UAE trademark application?
How long does a UAE trademark last?
Know the risk before you pay filing fees
Tell us the brand name, what you sell and where. We scope the search, quote it, and explain the result in plain words.
- Testimonials
What Clients Say About Us
Entrepreneurs, brand owners, and companies choose Gatestone Group because they want clear advice, careful document support, and a smoother trademark registration experience in the UAE.
Mahmood and his team at Gatestone Group where helping a few of my clients with their business in Dubai and their service and communication...
I have had an outstanding experience working with Gatestone for the registration of two business entities in the UAE. From the initial consultation ....