This is a practical manual for managing annuities on United Arab Emirates (AE) patents. It covers, in order, the anchor date and deadline calculation method, the grace period and fines, lapse and restoration, reductions, and official fees. In the UAE, annuities accrue every year even while the application is pending and the office sends no reminders, so deadline management itself is the core of maintaining the right.
1. At a Glance
- System type
- Annual annuity (from the 2nd year, including while the application is pending)
- Anchor date
- Filing date For PCT cases, the international filing date — elapsed annuities are settled retroactively upon entry
- Deadline calculation
- Anniversary of the filing date
- Start of payment
- From the 1st anniversary of filing (2nd annuity), annually, including while pending
- Term
- Filing date + 20 years
- Grace period
- 3 months with no surcharge → thereafter a monthly fine (individual AED 200 / corporate AED 400, capped at 10 months' worth) ⚠️
- Restoration
- 9 months after lapse · AED 5,000 + accumulated fines ⚠️
- Reduction
- Individuals, UAE SMEs and academic institutions = 50% of the corporate rate (limited to UAE-based entities)
- Prepayment / bulk payment
- No separate provision confirmed in the available materials
- Management difficulty
- medium — a locally registered agent is mandatory, and the office sends no reminders
2. Anchor Date and Deadline Calculation
The UAE uses the filing date as the anchor date. For cases going through the PCT, the international filing date is the anchor date. The deadline falls on the anniversary date of the filing date itself. No month-end adjustment rule and no "day before the anniversary" rule apply.
Annuity numbers are counted from the filing date. The 2nd annuity falls due on the 1st anniversary of filing, and subsequent annuities follow on the same date each year. Since the term is the filing date + 20 years, up to 19 payment events arise.
Below is an actual calculation for a case with a filing date of 2020-06-15 and a registration date of 2023-03-10.
| Annuity year | Due date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Year 2 | 2022-06-15 | Application pending |
| Year 3 | 2023-06-15 | After registration |
| Year 4 | 2024-06-15 | After registration |
| Year 5 | 2025-06-15 | After registration |
| Year 6 | 2026-06-15 | After registration |
| Year 7 | 2027-06-15 | After registration |
| Year 8 | 2028-06-15 | After registration |
| Year 9 | 2029-06-15 | After registration |
This case has a total of 19 payment events. The registration date (2023-03-10) plays no role in the deadline calculation. Whether before or after registration, the deadline remains June 15.
3. Start of Payment
- Payment begins from the 1st anniversary of filing, that is, from the 2nd annuity.
- Regardless of whether the patent has been granted, payment is due every year even while the application is pending. Waiting for registration and thereby missing the deadline is the most common type of incident.
- When entering the UAE via the PCT, annuities that have already elapsed as of the international filing date are settled retroactively. This amount must be included in the entry quotation.
- Even if registration is delayed, annuities fall due individually each year, so there is no structure whereby the accumulated amounts are generated in a lump sum at the time of registration.
4. Grace Period and Surcharges
The 3 months after the deadline are a surcharge-free grace period. Once those 3 months pass, a monthly fine is added.
| Period | Surcharge | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Due date ~ +3 months | No surcharge | Only the normal fee is paid |
| After +3 months have passed | Monthly fine: individual AED 200 / corporate AED 400 | Capped at 10 months' worth ⚠️ |
The fine rates differ for individuals and corporations. For Korean clients' foreign corporations, the corporate rate generally applies.
5. Lapse and Restoration
According to the available materials, a restoration procedure after lapse exists in the UAE. However, since the conditions and timing are not confirmed values, deadlines must not be operated on the assumption that restoration is available.
- Period
- 9 months after lapse ⚠️
- Cost
- AED 5,000 + accumulated fines ⚠️
6. Reductions
Individuals, UAE SMEs and academic institutions are charged 50% of the corporate rate. However, the SME and academic reductions are limited to UAE-based institutions.
7. Prepayment and Bulk Payment
The UAE uses an annual annuity system, and no separate provision regarding a prepayment window or multi-year bulk payment is confirmed in the materials provided. The management default is therefore "one payment per year, made individually based on the anniversary date."
If circumstances require multi-year prepayment, please confirm its availability individually with the local agent. Until confirmed, it is safer to run the schedule solely as annual events.
8. Official Fees
The amounts below are the rates effective from 2024-01-15. The currency is AED, and the amounts are annual figures per annuity year band.
| Annuity year band | Individual・SME・academic (AED/year) | Corporate (AED/year) | Effective date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years 1–5 | 100 | 200 | 2024-01-15~ |
| Years 6–10 | 500 | 1,000 | 2024-01-15~ |
| Years 11–15 | 1,250 | 2,500 | 2024-01-15~ |
| Years 16–20 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2024-01-15~ |
| Item | Amount | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Grace period fine (individual) | AED 200 per month | After the 3-month surcharge-free period · capped at 10 months' worth ⚠️ |
| Grace period fine (corporate) | AED 400 per month | After the 3-month surcharge-free period · capped at 10 months' worth ⚠️ |
| Restoration | AED 5,000 + accumulated fines | 9 months after lapse ⚠️ |
The individual・SME・academic rates apply only where the UAE-residence requirement is met. Items marked ⚠️ are values requiring verification, so when reflecting them in a quotation, base them on what the local agent has confirmed.
9. Management Checklist
Fields That Must Be Filled In on the Case Docket
- Filing date — all UAE deadlines derive from this date. If this field is blank, the entire set of 19 deadlines from year 2 onward cannot be calculated. It is the first field to fill in when taking on a new case.
- Whether the case is a PCT case and the international filing date — for cases going through the PCT, the international filing date is the anchor date. Mistakenly using the national phase entry date will throw off all deadlines.
- Annuity years subject to retroactive settlement upon PCT entry — determine how many annuity years have already elapsed at the time of entry and reflect this in the quotation.
- Right holder category (individual / UAE SME・academic / corporate) — both the official fee and the fine rate turn on this. The default is the corporate rate.
- Registration date — it is not used in deadline calculation, but is needed to indicate the status, i.e. whether the case is pending or registered.
- Whether a locally registered agent has been appointed — without an agent, payment cannot proceed at all.
- History for the 2019 to 2024-01 period — non-payment during this period is not a default. Leave a separate note when entering it retroactively.
Annual Payment Cycle
- 60–90 days before the deadline: extract the target cases. Determine the annuities falling due that year based on the anniversary of the filing date.
- 45 days before the deadline: calculate the fee based on the right holder category and annuity year band, and confirm the client's intention to maintain or abandon.
- 30 days before the deadline: instruct the local agent to pay. Since there is no office notice, record the expected date of the agent's reply for each case.
- On the due date: confirm the payment receipt. Any unconfirmed case is immediately switched to grace-period management.
- Deadline +3 months: first alert. Monthly fines begin from this date.
- Deadline +6 months: second alert. Since fines are accumulating, reconfirm whether to maintain the right.
- Deadline +9 months: third alert. As the final alert assuming exhaustion of the restoration window, a conclusion must be reached before this point.
- After payment is completed: create the next annuity event on the same anniversary date, and update the remaining number of payments by comparing against the term expiry at filing date + 20 years.
Sources, cut-off date and disclaimer
This manual is based on iphere's August 2026 survey of country-by-country overseas maintenance rules, together with values produced by the deadline engine that runs on those same rules. Official fees and deadline rules change by office notice, so please confirm against the official source and your local agent before any actual payment or filing.