People

Mhammad Malaeb

Paralegal
Intellectual Property
  • Mhammad has more than 20 years of experience in intellectual property in the UAE and across the MENA region.

    His expertise covers a wide range of industries and sectors, with a particular emphasis on trade marks, brand protection, and enforcement.

    He has extensive experience in pre-filing clearance of trade marks, prosecution of trade marks in the UAE and internationally as part of multi-country brand rollouts, and on the maintenance and management of national, regional, and international trade mark portfolios for a range of clients ranging from small businesses through to large multinational companies. His experience in this area includes assignments, changes of name/address, portfolio audits, and due diligence projects.

    In addition, Mhammad is able to draw on considerable experience in contentious intellectual property disputes, including filing and defending oppositions before national trade mark offices and subsequent appeals, through to assisting on infringement proceedings before the UAE courts and actions before administrative authorities in the UAE, and across the Gulf region, in conjunction with the IP litigators and legal advocates at Hadef & Partners.

    Fluent in English and Arabic, he has drafted memos and pleadings for various judicial and regulatory bodies in the UAE and has worked closely with all levels of UAE enforcement authorities. This has included customs complaints, anti-counterfeiting actions including raids and seizures, criminal actions before the police authorities, and civil proceedings before the administrative bodies of the Departments of Economic Development in the various emirates of the UAE. 

    Languages
    English
    Arabic
    • Acted for a leading Japanese automotive manufacturer in relation to ‘grey-import’ of vehicles into the UAE.
    • Acted for Yokohama tires in connection with the importation of counterfeit automotive tires into the UAE from China.
    • Arranging and supervising customs complaints and subsequent raids on behalf of a leading South East Asia beverage brand against counterfeit and imitation products being manufactured and sold in the UAE.
    • Conduct of the MENA trade mark portfolio for one of the world’s largest apparel companies.
    • Arranging and supervising customs complaints and subsequent raids, in conjunction with simultaneous infringement actions, for a wide variety of luxury brands, including Cartier, Rolex, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Christian Louboutin, across the clothing, jewellery, perfumery and luxury goods sectors.
    • Conduct of the regional trade mark portfolio for one of the region’s largest automotive parts and spares manufacturers.
    • Acted for Samsung Group, the Korean electronics multinational, in trade mark enforcement matters in the UAE.
    • Senior lead paralegal on a range of trade mark, copyright and design portfolios across MENA and internationally.
    • Conduct of UAE trade mark registration program, including three-dimensional trade marks, and resulting infringement actions against counterfeits, for one of the world’s most famous luxury footwear brands.
    • Extensive experience in acting for a range of regional and international tobacco brands, including Philip Morris, on customs recordals, enforcement actions, and raids across the UAE.
    • Acting for a range of local and international food & beverage brands, including in the QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) sector, in relation to trade mark, design and copyright protection. This included acting for one of Saudi Arabia’s fastest growing QSR brands in a series of trade mark infringement actions and administrative complaints against third party ‘imitators’ and trade mark squatters in the UAE.
Languages
English
Arabic