UAE waives patent registration fees for students and People of Determination

Student inventors and People of Determination in the UAE can now register and protect their inventions without paying fees for a range of industrial property services, under Cabinet Resolution No. 136 of 2026, which took effect on September 14, 2026.

The Ministry of Economy and Tourism said the resolution provides full fee exemptions for 29 industrial property services, covering patent applications, industrial designs, utility certificates and other procedures related to protecting inventions.

Both student inventors and People of Determination are exempt from fees for 11 services, which previously cost between Dh100 and Dh1,000. These include patent and industrial design registration applications, applications to register integrated circuit layouts and utility certificates, first substantive examination and re-examination of utility certificates, publication of registration, and annual industrial property protection fees for the second through fifth years.

People of Determination also qualify for exemptions covering nine additional services with existing fees ranging from Dh1,000 to Dh9,000. Student inventors receive exemptions for another nine services, previously costing between Dh500 and Dh4,500.