The term ‘souq’ (also spelled as souk, suq, or suk) is an Arabic word for an open-air marketplace or trading district where goods are bought and sold. Economic trading has been a feature of the UAE for many centuries.
On a broader level, the UAE continues to be a rapidly growing economy. According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the UAE was ranked 30th amongst 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2025.
This growth has resulted in significant effects, as discussed in some of the articles in this newsletter, including a continued expansion of international trade shows and other events featuring a broad range of intellectual property rights from across the globe.
Two recent and very large events were:
- Gulfood 2026 (the world’s largest food & beverage trade show) was held from 26 to 30 January 2026.
- World Health Expo (WHX) Dubai 2026 (formerly Arab Health) was held from 9 to 12 February 2026.
Due to the size of the events, and number of exhibitors and attendees, both were held across the Dubai World Trade Centre and the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City.
A review of trade mark filing statistics provides a very helpful indication of the level of activity and interest in the UAE, from both inbound and domestic brand owners. From January to early November 2025, 34,234 national and international trade marks were registered in the UAE.
This level of activity, and with a view to continued economic growth and expansion of intellectual property in the UAE, saw the launch of the TM Marketplace by the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism on 26 November 2025.
Overview of the TM Marketplace
This is the first digital platform in the UAE and the region specifically designed for buying, selling, and trading trade marks. The primary goals of the TM Marketplace are to:
- Transform the intellectual property sector in the UAE.
- Boost the UAE’s attractiveness to global companies and brands.
- Enhance the UAE’s intellectual property and trade mark ecosystem.
- Promote innovation and competitiveness.
- Facilitate the monetisation of intangible business assets.
His Excellency Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, highlighted the significance of TM Marketplace:
"TM Marketplace is the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and the UAE Government Leaders Program. It is a unique initiative for the UAE and the region, enabling owners of trademarks registered in the UAE to list and trade their trademarks within a secure and transparent environment and connecting them with investors and entrepreneurs. It aligns with the forward-thinking leadership’s vision to foster a knowledge-based economy, develop new economic sectors, and support the competitiveness of the business environment."
He added:
"The platform’s launch is a crucial milestone in supporting the UAE’s efforts to enable intangible business assets, allowing them to obtain fair financial valuation that reflects their true worth and economic importance. This will be achieved through showcasing trademarks within the UAE’s markets to a wide and diverse base of investors, businesspeople, and entrepreneurs from the UAE and beyond, transforming them into active economic assets. This, in turn, will contribute to increasing the market value of our companies, especially as many of the UAE companies and individuals today own legally protected trademarks that are not fully utilised commercially."
Support for small businesses
The TM Marketplace is also designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and family businesses by converting the value of their trade marks into usable financial assets and, in parallel, encourage local and foreign investment.
H.E. Bin Touq commented
"Through this platform, we will continue to pursue numerous developmental objectives - notably the provision of an integrated, reliable, and secure digital tool that enables trademark owners to generate returns from their registered marks by easily and safely listing or selling them, while ensuring the highest levels of transparency and rights protection. It also facilitates access for investors and entrepreneurs from around the world to ready-made or promising trademarks in the UAE, by lowering their barriers to entering the local market and shortening the time to market and business growth."
Operational Aspects
The TM Marketplace ‘went live’ on launch day and will be overseen by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism.
Transactions will be limited to national and international trade marks which have been registered in the UAE in accordance with Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021 on Trademarks (the UAE Trademark Law).
Users must log in to conduct transactions, with financial payments handled securely through digital channels.
As of February 2025, approximately 12,500 verified trade marks and 3,200 users are registered on TM Marketplace. The most common classes for the trade marks listed are:
- Class 1 (chemicals)
- Class 9 (electronics)
- Class 25 (clothing)
- Class 30 (food products)
- Class 35 (business services)
- Class 42 (technology services)
- Class 44 (medical services).
Benefits for the UAE intellectual property landscape
TM Marketplace represents a major step in the UAE’s commitment to fostering a knowledge-based economy, supporting global investment, and enabling businesses to unlock the full value of their intangible assets.
As H.E. Bin Touq stated:
"Through this step, we look forward to achieving a significant leap in the country’s trademark sector and increasing the market’s attractiveness to brands by up to 20 percent within the first year of operation, along with enhancing investment in intangible assets".
This is yet a further initiative in the UAE intellectual property landscape, and follows other key changes such as a registration system for geographical indications for national products (discussed elsewhere in this newsletter) and the UAE’s accession to the Madrid Protocol.
If you have any questions on the TM Marketplace, or on the transfer of your trade mark portfolio, please email trademarks@hadefpartners.com or your usual Hadef & Partners contact