UAE Opens Class 33 to Trademark Registration

In Brief

For the first time, the UAE Trademarks Office is accepting applications in Class 33, the international class covering alcoholic beverages (excluding beers). In a related development, Class 32 – which has traditionally been limited to non-alcoholic beers and other non-alcoholic beverages – will now also accept specifications for alcoholic beers. Together, these changes represent a notable policy shift for a jurisdiction that has long restricted alcohol-related goods from trademark protection, with immediate implications for any businesses with an interest in wine, spirits, beer, or related hospitality branding in the UAE. It is worth noting that Qatar has also allowed Class 33 earlier this year as well.

The Old Position

As a matter of public policy, the UAE did not previously permit trademark applications covering Class 33 goods. Brand owners in the drinks sector had no direct route to protection in the UAE and were left to rely on indirect measures, such as filing in adjacent classes or omitting alcoholic goods from their UAE specifications altogether, leaving a gap between their UAE filings and their international trademark portfolios.

What Is New

The UAE Trademarks Office will now accept and register Class 33 applications. In practical terms, this means specifications for alcoholic beverages (other than beers) can be filed and examined in the UAE on the same basis as any other class, closing the gap that previously existed between UAE filings and specifications used elsewhere.

Separately, Class 32 will now also accept alcoholic beers in specifications, whereas previously only non-alcoholic beers could be protected under that class. Where relevant, existing Class 32 trademark registrations can be amended to include alcoholic beers alongside the non-alcoholic beverages already covered.

Why This Matters for Your Portfolio

Where relevant to your business, the following points are worth flagging:

• Direct protection at last: for the first time, alcoholic beverage marks can be registered in the UAE in their own right, rather than through indirect or partial coverage. Class 32 registrations can also now extend to alcoholic beers, meaning brand owners no longer need to rely on the non-alcoholic beer limitation that previously applied.
• Portfolio consistency: clients can now bring their UAE filings into line with their global specifications, removing a long-standing mismatch between UAE registrations and international portfolios.
• Stronger enforcement footing: a registered mark in Class 33 gives clients a clearer basis to act against infringers, counterfeiters, and bad-faith filers, and supports customs recordal and border seizure of counterfeit alcoholic beverages in the UAE.
• First-mover advantage: a surge in new Class 33 filings is expected now that the class is open. Filing early helps secure priority and reduces the risk of a competitor or bad-faith applicant registering a similar mark first.
• Commercial relevance: this is particularly significant for clients active in the UAE’s hospitality, retail, duty-free, and tourism sectors, where alcoholic beverage branding carries real commercial value.

Our Recommendations

• Existing portfolios: clients with UAE trademark holdings in the beverages, luxury, or hospitality space should have their portfolios reviewed to identify marks that were previously left unprotected, or protected only indirectly, and that are now candidates for a Class 33 filing. In addition, existing Class 32 registrations should be reviewed to determine whether they can be amended to include alcoholic beers, given that this was not previously permitted.
• Trademark watching: with an anticipated wave of new applications, we recommend putting a dedicated watch service in place for Class 33 in the UAE to catch conflicting marks as they are published.

For assistance with next steps protecting your brand in the UAE, please contact the key contacts.