Dubai Chamber & Du collaborate to raise awareness to brand protection

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Centre for Responsible Business’s ENGAGE Dubai programme in partnership with Du organised a workshop entitled ‘How can community organisations legally protect their brands?’ at the Dubai Chamber HQ on April 20, 2016.

The workshop, the first this year and third in the series, dealt with the legal aspects of different forms of intellectual property, Cyber Crimes Law, data protection and privacy with a focus on the community sector.

The workshop was conducted by Candice Kloes, senior legal counsel of Du and Dino Wilkinson, partner of Norton Rose Fulbright (Middle East) LLP. They talked about the legal aspects covering brands and electronic communications including social media using case studies, group execises and and global examples to illustrate their presentations. Kloes introduced the attendees to Intellectual Property Rights with an insight into licensing and third-party use of brand. While Wilkinson elaborated on the legalities involved in social media, Cyber Crimes Law and website T&Cs.

Dr. Belaid Rettab, senior director, Economic Research and Sustainable Business Development Sector, Dubai Chamber, stated that with the ever increasing globalisation of electronic communication, the use of online PR and social media is a hot topic for organisations who can either gain a competitive edge through online PR and social media, or expose themselves to serious reputational risks if they do not protect themselves correctly. “Therefore, in today’s fast-paced business and community services scenario strategic communication and public relations play an important role for community organisations to create awareness of their organisations’ profile and the causes they promote,” he said.

Anneliese Reinhold, general counsel and SVP Legal & Regulatory Affairs, Du, said, “As a leading operator in the telecoms and digital space, and the Dubai Government’s official Strategic Partner for its Smart Dubai Platform, du recognises the vital role community organisations play in the UAE’s economic development. Empowering these organisations to optimise their online PR and social media usage for competitive advantage not only supports the Government’s Smart Dubai vision, but is also a tangible way for du to give back to the community. du’s Legal team is therefore thrilled to be able to support Dubai Chamber in this exciting ENGAGE initiative!”

The ENGAGE Dubai programme, which has 103 corporate members and 39 community partners, connects businesses to community partners to get their support on different community projects. The main objective of ENGAGE Dubai programme is to stimulate corporate involvement in community development through employee volunteering. Launched in 2008 by the Centre for Responsible Business, ENGAGE Dubai is part of an international network of businesses and community organisations that collaborate to support the development of healthy and sustainable communities through increasing the quality and quantity of employee involvement and volunteering in their local communities.