His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, enacted a new Intellectual Property Law for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) on 21 November 2019 under DIFC Law No. 4/2019 DIFC Intellectual Property Law. DIFC Law No. 4/2019 was introduced by the DIFC Authority and is intended to encourage the innovation economy within the DIFC by improving the protection and ease of enforcement of intellectual property rights.Prior to the promulgation of DIFC Law No. 4/2019, intellectual property laws and regulations for the entire United Arab Emirates (UAE) (including the DIFC) operated at both the federal and local levels while disputes regarding intellectual property in the DIFC were dealt with within the civil law system operated by the UAE Federal or other local Courts.