Question 1

What industrial work do you handle in the UAE?

Accepted Answer

We act on the legal architecture that industrial businesses depend on: OEM and contract-manufacturing agreements; technology and patent licensing; trademark, patent and copyright registration and enforcement; non-competition, non-disclosure and non-circumvention contracts; outsourcing and managed-services arrangements; domestic and cross-border supply contracts; and the corporate work — JVs, M&A, divestments — of industrial groups. Our sector experience includes construction, aerospace, mining, packaging, automotive, heavy machinery, F&B, pharmaceuticals and defence.

Question 2

How does Emiratisation affect industrial businesses?

Accepted Answer

The Nafis programme and the Emiratisation targets set under Cabinet Resolution 18 of 2022 have meaningful operational implications for industrial employers — most onshore private-sector entities with 50+ employees are required to maintain stipulated Emirati hiring percentages, with financial penalties for non-compliance. We advise on Emiratisation compliance strategy (recruitment programmes, succession planning, role-design), on the operational interaction with Wage Protection System (WPS) and labour-law compliance, and on the legal exposure that arises from non-compliance. Free-zone entities operate under different rules, but cross-border group structures need to align across both regimes.

Question 3

Do you advise on cross-border distribution?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Cross-border distribution into the UAE has a distinct legal architecture — the UAE Commercial Agency Law historically gave registered commercial agents strong protections, and although recent reforms have softened that position, distribution-agreement drafting still requires care to avoid unintended commercial-agency status. We advise principals (manufacturers and brand owners) on UAE distribution structuring — exclusive vs. non-exclusive, registration vs. unregistered, agent vs. distributor — and we advise distributors on protecting their UAE market position when a principal restructures distribution.

Question 4

What are common IP risks in UAE manufacturing?

Accepted Answer

The most common IP risks we see in UAE industrial mandates are: (i) failure to register trademarks and patents in the UAE despite registration elsewhere — UAE IP rights are territorial and a foreign registration alone does not protect a UAE market; (ii) loss of trade-secret protection through inadequate NDAs and post-employment restraint; (iii) gray-market and parallel-import exposure through unregistered or poorly-monitored distribution; and (iv) joint-development IP allocation that fails to clearly assign or license each party's contributions. We address all four through registration, contract drafting and active enforcement.

Question 5

Can you advise on factory establishment and industrial licensing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Factory establishment in the UAE involves federal industrial licensing (under Federal Decree-Law 12 of 2023 establishing the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology framework), emirate-level establishment licensing, environmental approvals, civil-defence and HSE clearances, and (where applicable) free-zone licensing under the relevant free-zone authority. We project-manage the licensing critical path alongside the operational set-up, with weekly tracker reports and direct regulator engagement where it compresses the timetable.

Counsel for the operations that produce in the UAE.

Practice summary

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Frequently asked questions

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