- Protect how your product looks
Industrial Design Registration in the UAE
A registered design protects your product’s shape, pattern and colors in the UAE for up to 20 years from filing. Tell us about the product and your launch, and we prepare and file the application with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET).
- Registry: MoET (federal, every emirate)
- Law: Federal Law No. 11 of 2021
- Protection: up to 20 years from filing, with annual fees
- Government application fee: from AED 1,000 (as of October 2026)
- Professional fees: estimated from AED 1,500 per application
- Hague system: the UAE is not a member
Local Presence
What does an industrial design registration protect?
An industrial design registration protects how a product looks: the two- or three-dimensional shape, pattern, color or combination of these that gives an industrial or handcraft product its specific appearance. It does not protect how the product works. In the UAE, a design gets this protection only once it is recorded in MoET’s register.
Think of furniture, lighting, bottles, footwear, device casings or a textile pattern. To qualify, a design must be new and ornamental, and not contrary to public order or morals. New means not disclosed to the public before filing, apart from your own disclosure in the 12 months before filing.
Industrial design, patent, copyright or trademark: protecting one product
| What you want to protect | Right | UAE term | Registration needed? | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it looks | Industrial design | Up to 20 years from filing, with annual fees | Yes | This page |
| How it works | Patent or utility certificate | 20 years (patent) or 10 years (utility certificate) from filing, with annual fees | Yes | Patent registration in the UAE → |
| Artwork, prints and packaging graphics | Copyright | Applied art: 25 years from first publication | No; protection is automatic | Copyright for artwork and applied art → |
| Brand name, logo, or a distinctive 3D shape used as a brand sign | Trademark | 10 years from filing, renewable | Yes | Trademark registration in the UAE → |
Take a new reusable bottle. Its shape is a design, a leak-proof valve may qualify for a patent or utility certificate, a printed pattern can carry copyright, and the brand name and logo can be registered as trademarks. We rank these by launch date and budget.
Reasons to register anyway:
Not under that name. UAE law protects a product’s appearance through an industrial design registration with MoET, under Federal Law No. 11 of 2021. If you have seen the term “design patent” elsewhere, this registration is the UAE equivalent.
Can you register a product design you have already shown in public?
Often, yes, if you act within a year. A UAE design must be new, but your own disclosure in the 12 months before filing does not count against novelty. A launch, trade show or social media reveal more than a year before filing can stop the design qualifying, so the safest plan is to file before you show it.
Showing a design includes an online store listing, social media teasers, a trade show or catalog, a crowdfunding page, and samples sent to buyers.
How to register an industrial design in the UAE
You file online through MoET’s Apply for Industrial Design service, with black and white drawings, a description and a representative image, ending up in both Arabic and English. MoET examines the application against the legal conditions, including novelty. If it is accepted, you pay the publication fee, receive the certificate and keep the design in force with annual fees.
How long does design registration take?
Estimated timeline: MoET’s service figures are about 7 months from filing to the end of the formal examination, and about 3 months from paying the publication fee to the certificate. MoET’s page is partly out of date, so treat them as indicative.
Launching soon?
Tell us the launch date and where the product will be sold. No drawings are needed yet. We plan the filing around it.
Documents and drawings you need
| Who | What you need |
|---|---|
| Every applicant | Black and white drawings, a description of the drawings and a representative image, ending up in Arabic and English |
| UAE residents | Emirates ID |
| Companies | Company register extract |
| Applicants who are not the designer | Proof of entitlement, such as an assignment from the designer |
| Applicants who live outside the UAE | A power of attorney (mandatory) |
| Applicants claiming priority | The priority document from the first filing |
A fundamental difference between the Arabic and English versions is grounds for refusal or invalidation. The company extract, entitlement document and power of attorney must be certified in line with MoET’s instructions; we confirm the formalities for your country before you sign.
How long does industrial design protection last in the UAE?
UAE industrial design protection lasts up to 20 years from the filing date, kept in force by annual fees. There is no renewal filing. Guides that quote 10 years describe the law that applied before Federal Law No. 11 of 2021. If an annual fee is paid late, a monthly penalty applies.
If fees remain unpaid after the grace period, the right is lost, which is also how protection ends for a discontinued product.
How much does industrial design registration cost in the UAE?
As of October 2026, the MoET application fee is AED 2,000 for companies, or AED 1,000 for individuals, SMEs and academic institutions. Publishing the registration costs AED 800 or AED 400. Annual fees start in the second year, from AED 200 a year for companies and AED 100 for others in years 2 to 5. Gatestone’s professional fees are separate, estimated from AED 1,500 per application.
Government fees (MoET, as of October 2026, Cabinet Resolution No. 112 of 2023)
| Fee | Companies | Individuals, SMEs and academic institutions |
|---|---|---|
| Application | AED 2,000 | AED 1,000 |
| Publication of registration | AED 800 | AED 400 |
| Annual fee per year, years 2 to 5 | AED 200 | AED 100 |
| Annual fee per year, years 6 to 10 | AED 1,000 | AED 500 |
| Annual fee per year, years 11 to 15 | AED 2,500 | AED 1,250 |
| Annual fee per year, years 16 to 20 | AED 4,000 | AED 2,000 |
| Grievance | AED 1,000 | AED 500 |
| Late payment fine, per month | AED 400, up to AED 4,000 | AED 200, up to AED 2,000 |
Annual fees over a full 20-year term add up to AED 38,300 for companies and AED 19,150 for individuals, SMEs and academic institutions (government annual fees only, as of October 2026).
Government fee and professional fee
| Government fee (paid to MoET) | Professional fee (estimated) | |
|---|---|---|
| Design application | AED 2,000 for companies, AED 1,000 for others, then the fees above | Estimated from AED 1,500 |
Government fees: reductions and exemptions
- Reduced government fees apply to SMEs and academic institutions. MoET decides who qualifies; we check where you stand at the consultation.
- Under Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026, as announced by MoET, student inventors and People of Determination may qualify for exemptions from certain industrial property fees. Eligibility is confirmed by the Ministry.
Government reductions and exemptions apply to MoET’s fees only. Our professional fee is a separate line in your quote.
After registration: copies, licensing and annual fees
Knowingly infringing a registered design can be punished by imprisonment, a fine of AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000, or both, and the owner can claim compensation. We handle the matter, including court stages; the courts decide.
If a manufacturer will use the design, or you sell it, set the terms in a written agreement, which our team prepares.
We track annual fee dates for the designs we file, so a right does not lapse by accident.
Can you protect a UAE design in other countries?
Yes, through separate filings in each market. The UAE is not part of the Hague international design system, so a UAE design is registered directly with MoET. If you filed abroad first, Paris Convention priority lets you file in the UAE within 6 months and keep the earlier date.
- The UAE was not a Hague member when we checked WIPO Lex on 22 October 2026. Saudi Arabia joined with effect from 7 April 2025, so Gulf routes differ by country.
- The UAE joined the Locarno Agreement on 6 October 2026. It sets how designs are classified and offers no filing route.
- Where the product is made and sold decides the other markets and the filing order.
How Gatestone helps with industrial design registration
The questions we ask
- What is the product, and how many variants are there?
- Has the design been shown anywhere, and when?
- When and where will it launch?
- Where is it made (for example China), and where will it be sold now and next?
- Who created the design: an in-house team, a freelancer or an agency?
- Does the product also have a technical feature or a brand name to protect?
What you receive
- Which designs to file and how to group them
- Guidance on the drawings
- The filing order across markets
- Government fees and our professional fee as separate lines
We then prepare and file the application with MoET, as part of the intellectual property services we offer from offices in Dubai, Riyadh and London.
- Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can an industrial design protect how my product works?
How many designs can I include in one application?
Can I use photographs instead of drawings?
Do foreign companies need a UAE agent to register a design?
How can I search existing UAE designs?
What happens if I miss an annual fee?
Is my product design also protected by copyright?
Plan your design filing before launch
ell us about the product, the launch date and your markets. We plan the filing and quote both fees separately before anything is filed.
- 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 ....