The United Arab Emirates welcomed the decision by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to remove the country from its watch list for intellectual property protection, from which the UAE was previously placed due to several observations related to this vital area within the country. The U.S. Trade Office highlighted in its Special Report No. 301 for 2021 a series of significant achievements made by the UAE in the field of protecting intellectual property rights over the past period, culminating in its successful exit from the watch list.
The country’s removal from the list reflects the considerable national efforts coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in collaboration with the U.S. side and relevant entities within the country, primarily the Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Federal Customs Authority, Dubai Customs, and the Department of Economic Development in Ajman, all of which demonstrated outstanding performance and significant progress in a record time for developing the country’s intellectual property rights protection system.
In this context, His Excellency Ahmed bin Ali Mohammed Al Sayigh, Minister of State, stated: "The decision by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is highly encouraging. We have worked diligently over the past year to enhance the intellectual property protection system in the UAE in various ways, and this decision is clear evidence of the progress we have made. The UAE is committed to implementing stringent regulatory standards in the field of intellectual property protection, including having a legislative framework to reduce violations and support these standards. We firmly believe that the protection and enforcement of intellectual property enriches society and stimulates economic growth, and therefore we intend to build on this achievement and continue developing the intellectual property rights system in the UAE."
The U.S. side specifically commended several measures taken by the UAE to develop its national system for protecting intellectual property rights across various commercial and investment activities, including: amendments made by the Ministry of Health and Prevention concerning the protection of intellectual property for pharmaceutical products through Decree 321; the UAE's substantial progress in enhancing law enforcement effectiveness in the field of intellectual property rights protection, particularly through the increasing efforts exerted by Dubai Customs; the UAE's application of greater transparency by publishing law enforcement procedures in the intellectual property field by the relevant authorities, including the publication of annual intellectual property enforcement statistics by the Federal Customs Authority; and significant and fruitful efforts by the Department of Economic Development in Ajman to reduce the trade of counterfeit goods.
It is noteworthy that the USTR's Special Report No. 301 highlights foreign countries, laws, policies, and practices that fail to provide adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights for inventors, creators, trademarks, manufacturers, and service providers in the United States. This year, the office reviewed more than 100 trading partners, placing 32 partners on the priority watch list or watch list.
