Legal Services

Every business, regardless of industry, can benefit from a corporate structure review to, among other things, ensure tax efficiency and limit legal liability. To be most effective, corporate planning must be done in anticipation of future events, rather than a reaction to current events.

Our experienced legal advisors can help you determine your business’s appropriate corporate structure based on your specific goals and needs. Our primary aim is to enable you, as the Expatriate Business Owner, to gain complete control over your business’s shareholding and decision-making.

ADGM
SPV

ADGM SPV

Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) are passive holding companies established for the purpose of isolating financial and legal risk by ring-fencing certain assets and liabilities.

Typical uses of SPV:

  • Holding shares of operating companies
  • Holding real estate investments
  • Holding intellectual property
  • Single Family Offices
  • Securitization of loans
  • Ring-fencing investments
  • Risk sharing through Joint Ventures
  • Raising capital independent from parent firm

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is an International Financial Free Zone where for the first time Common Law is directly applied in the Middle East. ADGM is overseen by three independent authorities: The Registration Authority, The Financial Services Regulatory Authority and The ADGM Courts.

There are multiple benefits of having the SPV registered in a jurisdiction based on Common Law, such as, similarity to English Courts, being previously tested, having ongoing regulatory development, having a sense of familiarity and being able to take decisions with certainty.

BENEFITS OF ADGM SPV

  • Based on English Common law
  • No attestation required for documents
  • Multiple classes of shares
  • UAE Tax Residency and access to UAE Double Tax Treaty network
  • No physical office space requirement
  • No minimum share capital
  • No maximum number of shares and shareholders
  • No restriction on nationality of ownership
  • Migration and continuation of existing corporate entities
  • Ability to customize Articles of Association
  • Minimum requirement of only one shareholder and one director
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ADGM legal services

ADGM
FOUNDATIONS

ADGM FOUNDATIONS

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is an International Financial Free Zone where for the first time Common Law is directly applied in the Middle East. ADGM is overseen by three independent authorities: The Registration Authority, The Financial Services Regulatory Authority and The ADGM Courts.

There are multiple benefits of having the Foundations registered in a jurisdiction based on Common Law, such as, similarity to English Courts, being previously tested, having ongoing regulatory development, having a sense of familiarity and being able to take decisions with certainty.

BENEFITS OF ADGM FOUNDATIONS

  • Flexibility to amend governance structure once established
  • Low set-up cost
  • Commit initial assets of as little as USD $100 to the foundation
  • No physical office requirement
  • No requirement for a Founder or Foundation’s officers to be based in the UAE or maintain residency in the UAE
  • All Foundation roles can be individuals or body corporates
  • Limited public disclosure with no individuals’ names on public register
  • Migration of foundations into and out of ADGM allowed
  • Shariah-Compliant Planning Strategy
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TRUST AGREEMENTS

TRUST AGREEMENTS

A Trust Agreement is a legal agreement created to secure assets and capital of the expatriate whereby the expatriate appoints a UAE National to act is the capacity of a Trustee via a Holding Structure incorporated within Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

ADGM is a Financial Free Zone established in the UAE with its regulations governed by English Common Law. A Holding Structure established in ADGM allows the expatriate business owner to beneficially hold the assets and capital of the UAE National via an arrangement registered with the Authority and enforceable under Law.

BENEFITS OF OUR SOLUTIONS

  • All profits and assets are protected through ADGM’s SPV incorporation process
  • The share capital comprising the Nominee Shares is protected under legally binding agreements registered with ADGM
  • The expatriate will have full control over the company’s assets, finance and share capital.
  • Share transfers and restructuring can occur without obtaining the consent of the Emirati Local Partner.
  • The risks associated with the potential application of inheritance rules under Shariah, if the UAE sponsor dies or becomes incapacitated, are either eliminated or considerably mitigated.
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CORPORATE STRUCTURING

CORPORATE STRUCTURING

Our understanding of the relevant legislation and its practical interpretation by the relevant governmental officials and legal departments, ensures that we can devise and implement optimal structures for our clients.

Our relationship with relevant licensing authorities works to accept our various corporate structures on the principle that such structures are devised with the objective of attracting and facilitating foreign investment into the country.

We allow our clients to focus on their business and have a corporate structure that they know is robust and flexible enough for their short, medium- and long-term objectives.

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PATENT REGISTRATION

PATENT REGISTRATION SERVICES

Inventing something new, including a new process or a novel item is often the first step in developing a company and launching a brand-new opportunity for an individual or a group.

Each country is responsible for patent registration within its area. In the United Arab Emirates, patent registration is managed by the UAE Ministry of Economy, also known as MOE. Specifically, patents are managed by the Intellectual Property Protection Department, which is also the ministry and department which approves patents.

In the UAE, patents have to meet specific standards to be registered. They must meet the criteria of novelty, non-obviousness, and industrial applicability. In other words, the patent must be for something that is unique, inventive and also has an actual application within a specific industry or across more than one industry.

With a valid patent in place in the UAE, no other company may produce or copy the invention. This provides the opportunity for the inventory or the company assigned the rights to the invention to fully develop the invention and create a market for their product or service.

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sz legal trade mark services

TRADEMARK

TRADEMARK & COPYRIGHT SERVICES

Most businesses are aware of their brand or branding and rightly see it as their corporate image and know it is of vital importance to their business, but often do not realize how vulnerable it is at the same time. In order to protect it properly, it should be registered as their trade mark.

Benefits of Trademark Registration:

  • It helps you to protect your business identity.
  • It protects you against others using the same or similar trademarks.
  • It provides “concrete proof” of your legally protected rights.
  • It removes the need to rely on “common law” rights (passing off).
  • Registration protects against others who trade in the same, but defective goods/services.

This may lead to your reputation being ruined.

  • It is an asset, it has value:
  • It may be licensed
  • It may be franchised
  • It may be sold

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Copyright does not protect ideas, but only their expression or fixation.

Copyright in UAE is protected under the Copyright and Authorship Protection Law No.7 for the year 2002. Protection is granted to authors of literary, artistic and scientific works of whatever the value or kind or purpose or way of expression is. Protection is provided for works whose means of expression is writing, sound, drawing, image, motion pictures, creative titles or computer software translation of works is also protected.

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