The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism has begun implementing a cabinet resolution that fully exempts student inventors and People of Determination from fees across 29 intellectual property services, covering patents, industrial designs, utility certificates, and integrated circuit layout registrations.
Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026 took effect on September 14, 2026. Under it, 11 services are available at no cost to both groups, with fees that previously ranged from AED 100 to AED 1,000.
People of Determination receive exemptions across nine additional services where fees had reached as high as AED 9,000, while student inventors are exempted from a further nine services with fees previously up to AED 4,500.
Dr. Abdulrahman Hassan Al Muaini, Assistant Undersecretary for the Intellectual Property Sector at the Ministry, said the resolution reflects a broader legislative push that includes accession to the Locarno Agreement on international classification of industrial designs.
“The Cabinet resolution affirms the UAE’s vision of fostering creativity and innovation by supporting student inventors and People of Determination, enabling them to register their innovations with ease and protect their rights. This enhances their participation in the national intellectual property ecosystem, facilitates their access to its services, and enables them to benefit from its enablers, thereby contributing to consolidating the UAE’s position as a global hub for creativity and the new economy. The Ministry continues its efforts to develop the digital infrastructure for the IP services ecosystem, including patent, industrial design and utility certificate services. This enhances the efficiency of the services provided, contributes to accelerating the procedures for registering and protecting intellectual property rights, and provides a more seamless and flexible experience for inventors, innovators and business owners, in alignment with the objectives of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision,” he said in a statement.
The move comes as registration activity picks up. The Ministry recorded a 9 percent rise in patent applications during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
Utility certificate applications grew faster, up 21.43 percent over the same comparison. Total cumulative applications for patents, utility certificates, and industrial designs in the country have reached 22,184.
Al Muaini said the Ministry is also investing in digital infrastructure for IP services to speed up registration procedures and reduce friction for inventors and businesses, in line with the government’s “We the UAE 2031” vision.
