Dubai Court Cancels Infringing Trademark in Major Ruling Protecting Global Education Brand in UAE

A Dubai court has ordered the cancellation of a trademark registered by a former UAE licensee of a globally recognised educational institution, ruling that the registration was made in bad faith and amounted to unfair competition and trademark infringement.

The judgment, issued by the Dubai Court of Appeal, also imposed a permanent injunction barring the former licensee from using the institution’s name, logo or any similar intellectual property, in a decision legal experts say strengthens protections for internationally recognised brands operating in the UAE.

The dispute centred on a global educational society founded in 1949, which operates more than 230 schools worldwide. Court documents showed that the institution had entered into a licensing arrangement in 1997 with a local UAE entity, allowing it to use the organisation’s name and logo to operate schools in the country. That licence expired in March 2017.

However, during the course of the licensing relationship, the local entity registered a nearly identical trademark in its own name in 2004, reproducing key elements of the institution’s brand identity, including its distinctive shield and torch motifs.

After the licence ended, the former licensee continued using the branding and defended its actions on the basis of the locally registered trademark.

The case turned on whether a licensee could claim ownership over a brand it had only been authorised to use under contract.

Lawyers for the claimant argued that the registration had been secured in bad faith and was intended to appropriate the goodwill and reputation of the original brand owner. They also presented evidence showing that the mark had acquired substantial recognition internationally and within the UAE’s education sector long before the disputed registration.

A court-appointed expert committee reviewed the competing trademarks and found that the defendant’s logo was a direct imitation of the claimant’s brand, noting substantial similarities in colour, typography and graphic elements that could mislead the public.

The Dubai Court of Appeal rejected the defendants’ ownership claims, ruling that the educational institution’s rights in the trademark were original, longstanding and continuous since 1949. It further held that the former licensee’s conduct amounted to unfair competition and infringement of a well-known mark under UAE law.

The court ordered the cancellation of the disputed trademark and all related registrations and permanently prohibited further use of the branding.

UAE-based legal consultancy Kaden Boriss, which led the litigation, said the case had involved proceedings across multiple jurisdictions over three years, beginning in 2023 with expert-related proceedings before the Sharjah Federal Court.

Legal specialists said the ruling offers important guidance for multinational companies and brand owners in the UAE, reaffirming that access to a trademark through a licensing arrangement does not create ownership rights and that bad-faith registrations will not be allowed to undermine legitimate intellectual property claims.

 
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