The UAE’s Ministry of Economy & Tourism has unveiled TM Market Place, the Middle East’s first dedicated digital platform for listing, buying and trading registered trademarks. The platform aims to turn intangible brand assets into more liquid, tradable items, boost trademark registrations and attract global brands to the UAE market.What is TM Marketplace?TM Market Place provides a central online venue where owners of trademarks registered in the UAE can list their marks for sale or license, and where buyers and investors can discover, evaluate and acquire brand assets. The platform was developed under the UAE Government Leaders Programme and intends to make trademark transactions faster, more transparent and easier to manage, bringing a new commercial use for intellectual property in the region.
How does the UAE platform work?
The platform was developed through a collaboration between the MoET and the UAE Government Leaders Programme, ensuring it meets the highest standards for security and transparency. It acts as a trusted digital bridge connecting sellers with a wide, diverse base of local and international investors.Here’s how the process is streamlined:
- Secure Transactions: All buying and selling activities require users to log in for identity verification, and financial transactions are completed seamlessly using secure digital payment systems.
- Verified Assets Only: To protect investors, only national and international trademarks officially registered in the UAE can be listed on the platform.
- Regulatory Oversight: The Ministry of Economy provides direct supervision, guaranteeing full compliance with both national and international IP laws, including the foundational Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021 on Trademarks.
- Lowering Market Barriers: For entrepreneurs and international investors, the platform provides access to ready-made or promising brands, drastically cutting the time and risk typically involved in starting a business from scratch in the UAE market.
No download, no subscription
For those eager to jump into the world of brand trading, accessing the TM Market Place is intentionally simple and user-friendly. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) established the platform as a secure online digital portal, meaning there is no mobile application to download from an app store. Users can access the marketplace directly through the MoET’s web services and must log in to ensure identity verification and transaction security.Crucially, there is no subscription fee required to browse, list, or access the marketplace. The platform operates as a government-overseen exchange. Any costs incurred are directly related to the transaction itself: the agreed-upon purchase price of the trademark (paid to the seller) and the subsequent official government fee for the mandatory legal process of re-registering the brand’s ownership in the buyer’s name. This free-to-access model removes financial hurdles for new investors and keeps the focus solely on the value of the intellectual property being traded.
