The Supreme Court found against a registered trademark in the UAE incorporating the word “MAKKAH” and found that the name MAKKAH represents a religious symbol which is incapable of registration and use.

This Court decision, which is binding on the lower Courts in the UAE, addressed for the first time in detail, a specific example for trademarks that represent or incorporate a religious symbol. For some brand owners, this judgment came as a shock after many years of using and commercializing trademarks incorporating the word mark “MAKKAH”. It was also a shock that such ruling was not issued by the Saudi Arabia courts nor by the Al Azhar Islamic Shari'a scholars in Egypt.