The UAE’s Ministry of Economy has received 2,428 patent applications in 2021, an increase of 26.7 percent from 2020 when 1,917 applications were received.
In 2010, a total of 1,288 applications were received, compared to 157 in 2000.
The total number of industrial model requests increased by 290 percent during the last decade to reach 9,690 in 2020 compared to the 2,483 requests received in 2010. It continued to rise last year to reach 10,663 by the end of 2021.
Patent applications submitted in 2021 were distributed among various sectors such as machinery and construction (23 percent), chemical engineering (24 percent), pharmaceuticals and biotechnology (24 percent), electricity and metals (7 percent), and information and communication technology (9 percent).
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said the UAE has achieved regional leadership in various fields related to innovation and intellectual property, thanks to the vision and support of its wise leadership.
At a media briefing on a federal law of 2021 on Industrial Property and Patents, which forms part of the largest legislative amendments in the UAE’s history that encompasses 50 federal laws, including the drafting of new legislation and amendments to the existing ones.
Al Falasi said the new law is directed at all segments of society, including individuals and companies that want to protect their new inventions and innovative ideas with industrial and commercial applications.
Foremost among these are individual inventors, universities and academic institutions that supervise the development of inventions and innovations of their students, and companies that have inventions, innovations or research centers, media reports said.
He said the law also stands to benefit entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized companies, start-ups based on innovation and invention, and companies operating in the fields of information and communications technology and new economy sectors.