The Ministry of Economy and Tourism launches "Brand market"

Abu Dhabi, November 26 / WAM / Today, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism launched the “Brand Market”. The first digital platform for selling and trading trademarks of its kind in the Emirates and the region, which was developed by the “UAE Government Leadership Programme” and represents a new national project that adds to the innovation and competitive environment for intellectual property and trademark sector in the country’s markets.

The platform aims to bring about a qualitative shift in the branding industry, pushing it to higher levels of growth and prosperity, and enhancing the UAE’s attractiveness to international companies and brands.

This came during an event organized by the Ministry at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism. His Excellency Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry; His Excellency Dr. Abdul Rahman Hassan Al-Muaini, Assistant Undersecretary for the Intellectual Property Sector at the Ministry.

His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri said that the “Trademark Market” platform represents the result of a joint effort between the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and the UAE Government Leadership Programme, as it is a unique initiative of its kind at the level of the UAE and the region, and allows owners of trademarks registered in the country to list and trade their trademarks in a safe and transparent environment, and links them to investors and entrepreneurs, in line with the vision of the wise leadership to enhance the knowledge economy model, develop new economic sectors, and support the competitiveness of the business environment.

His Excellency added that the platform constitutes an important pivotal station in supporting the country’s trends towards empowering the intangible assets of businesses, and giving them the opportunity to obtain a fair financial evaluation that reflects their true value and economic importance, by displaying trademarks in the country’s markets to a wide and diverse base of investors, businessmen and entrepreneurs from inside and outside the UAE and transforming them into effective economic assets, which contributes to raising the market value of companies in the UAE, especially since many companies and individuals today own legally protected trademarks, but they are not exploited commercially. Enough.

His Excellency continued: “Through the platform, we will continue to work to achieve many development goals, the most prominent of which is providing an integrated, reliable and secure digital tool that allows trademark owners to generate revenue from their registered trademarks by listing or selling them easily and safely, while ensuring the highest levels of transparency and protection of rights, and facilitating the access of investors and entrepreneurs from different parts of the world to ready or promising trademarks in the country, which lowers their barriers to entry into the local market and reduces the time for product launches and business growth.”

His Excellency pointed out that the “Brand Market” platform will support the expansion of small and medium-sized companies and family businesses by transforming the power of their brands into a usable financial asset, in addition to its contribution to the trading of intangible assets of brands as a strategic economic value that supports innovation and promotes sustainable economic development, and encourages the private sector to increase investment in building brands, research and development, and innovative products.

His Excellency explained that the official operation of the platform will begin today, stressing the aspiration through this step to bring about a qualitative shift in the trademark sector in the country, and to increase the market attractiveness of trademarks by up to 20% during the first year of operation, in addition to enhancing investment in intangible assets.

For his part, Hasher bin Dalmouk, a member of the Government Leadership Program – UAE Government, said in statements to the Emirates News Agency, WAM, on the sidelines of the platform’s launch event, that the value of a trademark is primarily determined by the owner of the trademark himself according to his estimation. He pointed out that there are basic factors that raise the commercial value of the trademark, most notably its spread, ease of circulation, and strength in the market, stressing that strong, old, and well-known trademarks usually have a higher value when sold compared to trademarks that are not widespread.

He pointed out that some short, easy, or desirable names in the market may have a high commercial value even without being linked to an operational activity, noting that the new platform allows users to negotiate with trademark owners directly to reach the appropriate price.

He explained that putting brands on the platform requires users to upload their brands on the platform.

Regarding the idea of ​​the platform, Bin Dalmouk pointed out that the idea came through a graduation project for members of the Government Leadership Programme. He said: “We thought about how to contribute to increasing the number of trademarks, and we found that the matter requires a change in the prevailing culture towards the trademark, as it is currently viewed as a legal tool, while we want it to be understood as a valuable commercial commodity that can be traded, sold and bought.”

He added that the idea was inspired by the experience of vehicle plates in the UAE, which in the past were merely a licensing tool, then became a valuable commodity that was bought, sold, and traded at very high prices, to the point that it became an investment field for some individuals.

He continued: “Our goal is to change this perception through a platform that facilitates the display, trading and purchase processes, so that the trademark moves from being merely a legal procedure to being an asset with real commercial value.”

Regarding the ability of individuals to register trademarks, Bin Dalmouk explained that the law changed about three years ago so that individuals can register a trademark without the need to possess a commercial license.

He said that some names may be registered at a small cost, but their market value may reach one or two million dirhams if the name is distinctive and desirable, even without the presence of actual commercial activity.

He stressed that individuals can register their marks inside or outside the Emirates, and international brands can also register their marks in the country to protect intellectual property rights.

The Ministry of Economy and Tourism supervises the platform, ensuring compliance with national and international intellectual property laws, using unified and clear agreements, and applying the highest standards of consumer protection.

From this standpoint, sales and trading operations through the platform will be limited to national and international trademarks registered in the UAE, and in accordance with the provisions of Federal Decree Law No. 36 of 2021 regarding trademarks, ensuring the protection of the rights of trademark owners, and enhancing transparency and security in all transactions carried out on the platform.

As for the buying and selling mechanism, the platform requires login, to ensure secure transactions and reliable verification of the identity of all users, while completing financial transactions via electronic payment in a safe and smooth manner.

During the event, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism highlighted its efforts to develop the intellectual property and trademark environment in cooperation with its partners in the government and private sectors, locally and internationally, by developing integrated legislative and regulatory frameworks.

The most prominent of these efforts is the issuance of the Trademark Law and its executive regulations, as well as the new Cabinet decision regarding fees for trademark services provided by the Ministry, the development of the “Geographically Specific National Product” registration system, and the UAE’s accession to the Madrid Protocol.

These national efforts have played an important role in advancing the trademark industry and enhancing its growth and prosperity in the Emirati market, as the number of national and international trademarks in the country from the beginning of January until the beginning of November 2025 reached 34,234 trademarks, and 19,957 national and international trademarks were registered during the first half of the current year, with a growth rate of 129% compared to the first half of last year. The number of registered national and international trademarks also doubled during the year 2024 to reach To 31,537 marks compared to 16,712 marks in 2023.

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