UAE to eliminate duplication of trade names with unified business

Dubai: Trade names of businesses in the UAE will not be duplicated unless common ownership of companies is proven, a top Dubai Economic Department official told Gulf News.

Mohammad Al Shael, CEO of the Business Registration and Licensing Division at the Department of Economic Development (DED), said: "On the federal level there will be a solid database for the UAE companies and their activities."

The UAE has nearly half a million companies registered with licensing authorities of the seven emirates and duplication of trade names often leaves foreign investors at a loss about which entity they are dealing with.

The federal government has initiated a process to eliminate duplication by creating a single database of businesses. The unified database would be shared among the emirates in six months to eliminate any possibility of duplication.

"Trade names should be unique," Al Shael said. "Even if there are two companies with different activities, they should not share the same trade name."

He said that after six months licensing authorities will no longer entertain applications with a suggested trade name already listed in the database.

However, regarding the existing companies who have the same trade name but belong to different owners, Al Shael said: "We are discussing several solutions to keep brand names restricted to one owner."

Grace period

Companies with older registration will be accorded priority when issuing brand names while other firms will be given grace periods of up to one year to rebrand, Al Shael said.

He said a unified database of registered companies in Dubai's free zones and other locations is being developed to improve the business environment.

"Although the number of companies that have the same trade name inside and outside the free zones is small, the trade name will go to the company that has the older registration. A six-month to one-year grace period will be given to the other company that has the same trade mark to rebrand," he said.