Background to the resolution
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has introduced fee exemptions for two groups of applicants in the industrial property system: student inventors and Persons with Disabilities (‘People of Determination’). The exemptions are contained in Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026 (the Resolution), which the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MOET) began implementing on 14 September 2026.
The Resolution waives government fees in full for 29 specified industrial property services. The aim is to make it cheaper to protect and maintain inventions, industrial designs and related rights, so that good ideas are not left unprotected because of cost. The measure sits within a wider policy direction. The UAE has been building its intellectual property (IP) ecosystem with a view to supporting emerging innovators and helping research outcomes become protectable and commercially useful assets.
Scope of the exemptions
The 29 services break down as 11 shared by both categories, plus nine more for each category. Each beneficiary is therefore exempt from fees for 20 services. Only these listed services are covered. Other costs remain payable, as explained below.
The 11 shared services
The shared exemptions span several stages of the protection life cycle, from the initial application through to the early years of maintenance. They include:
- applications for patent registration and industrial design registration;
- applications relating to integrated circuit layout designs and utility certificates;
- first substantive examination and substantive re-examination of utility certificates;
- publication of industrial property registrations; and
- annual protection fees for the second, third, fourth and fifth years.
According to the information released by MOET, the original fees for these shared services range from AED 100 to AED 1,000. The range indicates that the shared exemptions are not confined to one expensive step. They remove a series of smaller charges that, taken together, form a meaningful part of the early cost of holding a registered right.
Waiving the annual fees for years two to five matters most in practice. Early-stage inventors often have no income from an invention yet, and these recurring fees are a common reason why rights lapse.
Additional services for each category
Beyond the shared services, the Resolution adds nine further exempt services for each category.
People of Determination. The nine additional services available to People of Determination carry original fees ranging from AED 1,000 to AED 9,000.
Student inventors. The nine additional services available to student inventors carry original fees ranging from AED 500 to AED 4,500.
Applicants should check the exempt services listed for their own category rather than rely on the headline figure of 29.
Fees that remain payable
The Resolution exempts specified government service fees. It does not follow that an application becomes cost free. Applicants should distinguish between the exempt government fees and other expenses that commonly arise in an IP project, such as:
- professional fees for preparing and prosecuting an application;
- the cost of technical drawings, specifications and supporting documentation;
- translation costs where documents are not in the required language; and
- fees for any service that is not one of the 29 specified services.
The exemption lowers the cost of applying, not the standard an application must meet. The invention must still be described adequately and the claims drafted with care.
The legal framework behind the resolution
The Resolution operates within the UAE’s industrial property framework, the principal instrument of which is Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2021 on the Regulation and Protection of Industrial Property Rights. That law governs the rights the Resolution refers to: patents, utility certificates, industrial designs and integrated circuit layout designs.
The four rights protect different things:
- Patents protect inventions that are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.
- Utility certificates provide a form of protection for inventions, and the Resolution’s reference to first substantive examination and substantive re-examination of utility certificates shows that these certificates are subject to an examination process.
- Industrial designs protect the appearance of a product, as opposed to its technical function.
- Integrated circuit layout designs protect the layout of the circuits in semiconductor products.
MOET has linked the exemptions to wider reforms, including the UAE’s accession to the Locarno Agreement on the international classification of industrial designs, and work on digital IP services under the We the UAE 2031 vision.
Market context: growing filing activity
According to MOET’s announcement of the Resolution, patent applications rose by 9% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Utility certificate applications rose by 21.43%. MOET received about 4,361 patent applications in 2025, and the cumulative total of patent, utility certificate and industrial design applications has reached 22,184. The Resolution aims to widen participation while filing activity is already growing.
Practical considerations for eligible applicants
Student inventors and People of Determination who intend to rely on the exemptions should consider the following matters before filing.
Eligibility: The exemptions apply to those who satisfy the applicable eligibility requirements. The Resolution and the guidance issued under it should be consulted to establish who qualifies as a student inventor or as a Person of Determination for this purpose, and what evidence of status an applicant is expected to provide. This article does not set out those requirements, and applicants should not assume that status alone is sufficient without the supporting documentation that the authority may require.
Choice of right: The most appropriate form of protection depends on the nature of the innovation. A new technical solution may be suited to a patent or a utility certificate, a novel product appearance to an industrial design, and a semiconductor layout to a layout design registration. The choice affects the examination process, the fees involved and the scope of the protection obtained.
Timing and novelty: Novelty is a central requirement for most industrial property rights. Public disclosure of an invention or design before filing, whether in a student competition, an academic paper or a thesis defence, may affect the ability to obtain protection. Students who work in an academic setting should be aware of this risk before the work is published.
Ownership: Where an invention is developed in a university or with institutional resources, questions can arise about who owns the right and who is entitled to be named as the applicant. These questions are best settled by reference to the applicable policies and agreements before an application is filed, because a defect in title may be difficult to correct afterwards.
Maintenance: The exemption for annual fees covers the second to fifth years only, as reported. Applicants who plan to maintain a right beyond that period should anticipate that ordinary fees may apply from the sixth year, subject to the terms of the Resolution and any later amendment.
Procedure: Filing procedures, required forms and supporting documents should be checked against the current requirements of MOET before submission, since an incomplete application can cause delay irrespective of any fee exemption.
Considerations for institutions and businesses
The Resolution is directed at individual beneficiaries, but it has consequences for the organisations around them. Universities, research centres and incubators may wish to review their innovation programmes in light of the exemptions. Where student projects have the potential to generate protectable outputs, early identification of that potential can allow protection to be sought while the cost barrier is lower. Institutional policies on ownership, disclosure and commercialisation should be aligned with this, so that eligible students are not disadvantaged by uncertainty about their rights.
Businesses that sponsor, mentor or collaborate with student inventors should also consider how the fee exemptions interact with any agreement on ownership or licensing. An exemption that depends on the status of a particular individual may not extend to a different applicant, such as a company to which the right is later assigned. The effect of an assignment on the exemptions, and on fees that fall due after the assignment, is a matter to be examined against the text of the Resolution.
Organisations that support People of Determination in education or employment may likewise find it useful to make information about the exemptions available to those who could benefit from them.
Key points at a glance
| Item | Position |
| Instrument | Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026 |
| Implementing authority | Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MOET) |
| Implementation start | 14 September 2026 |
| Beneficiaries | Student inventors and People of Determination |
| Services exempt | 29 specified industrial property services |
| Shared services | 11, with original fees of AED 100 to AED 1,000 |
| Additional services, People of Determination | 9, with original fees of AED 1,000 to AED 9,000 |
| Additional services, student inventors | 9, with original fees of AED 500 to AED 4,500 |
| Services per category | 20 |
| Rights covered | Patents, industrial designs, utility certificates, integrated circuit layout designs |
| Annual fees exempted | Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 |
| Underlying law | Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2021 |
| Not covered | Professional fees, translation, technical documentation and services outside the 29 listed |
Frequently asked questions
1. What is Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026 in the UAE?
Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026 is a UAE Cabinet measure that exempts student inventors and People of Determination from government fees for 29 specified industrial property services. MOET began implementing it on 14 September 2026. It applies to services relating to rights such as patents, industrial designs, utility certificates and integrated circuit layout designs.
2. Who benefits from the fee exemptions under Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026?
The beneficiaries are student inventors and People of Determination who satisfy the applicable eligibility requirements. Each category is exempt from fees for 20 services, of which 11 are common to both categories and nine are specific to the relevant category.
3. Which industrial property rights are covered by the fee exemptions under UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026?
The exempt services relate to patents, industrial designs, integrated circuit layout designs and utility certificates, which are rights regulated by Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2021 on the Regulation and Protection of Industrial Property Rights. The exemptions cover specified services connected with these rights, such as applications, publication, examination of utility certificates and certain annual fees.
4. Are annual protection fees exempt for student inventors and People of Determination in the UAE?
As reported, annual protection fees for the second, third, fourth and fifth years are among the 11 shared exempt services. The reported exemption does not extend beyond the fifth year, so fees for later years should be checked against the text of the Resolution.
5. Does the UAE fee exemption under Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026 cover professional, translation and documentation costs?
No. The Resolution exempts specified government service fees only. Professional fees, technical documentation, translation and any service outside the 29 specified services are separate costs that the applicant continues to bear.
6. Under Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026, are the fee-exempt services the same for student inventors and for People of Determination?
The two categories share 11 exempt services, and each has nine further exempt services listed under its own service numbers. The original fees for People of Determination’s additional services range from AED 1,000 to AED 9,000, and for student inventors’ additional services from AED 500 to AED 4,500. Applicants should check the services listed for their own category.
7. Does the fee exemption under UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026 still apply if a student inventor assigns the patent to a company?
Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026 does not address assignment. The exemptions are tied to the beneficiary’s status, so applicants should not assume they continue once a right is assigned to a company or other third party.
Part of ATB Legal’s Intellectual Property practice.