Trading Places
Russell Woolford, general counsel at Arvato Mobile, tells Ryan Harrison that the Burj Khalifa trademark dispute will kick-start a glut of similar actions over the next 12 months.
If there was ever an example of how important intellectual property has become to UAE businesses then the launch of the renamed Burj Khalifa, and the subsequent scramble for its internet domain name, is it.
Protecting trademarks, particularly online, has become essential in safeguarding brands and businesses in the UAE, a trend that is likely to intensify if the Burj Khalifa domain name wrangle is anything to go by.
Packing punches
Keeping a close eye on the debate as it unfolds is Russell Woolford, general counsel at Dubai-based Arvato Mobile, a digital media company that creates and acquires content such as music, films, games and news, and distributes it online and on mobile phones. The firm also develops the technology to allow telcos to do the same for their customers. In a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi Media Company – the firm that owns The National newspaper – Arvato Mobile also runs iTunes-style download site Getmo.
Woolford expects a spike in the number of trademark disputes in the emirates over the coming year as companies work harder to protect their identities in a broader bid to shore up their finances in the wake of the financial crisis. “For companies that have done well before and during the crisis and are embedded in the UAE that want and need to protect themselves, those issues will come up.
“As you see in Europe, there are more trademark infringement cases than have traditionally been seen here, but that may change as more people are inclined to protect a lot more what they’ve got and spent a great deal of time, effort and not least money creating,” he adds.
In the past, he says, entrepreneurs in the UAE acted in haste to set up companies to capitalise on the boom, where it was seen as a luxury to kick up a fuss over IP infringement. “But that will change, particularly as regards to trademark infringement,” believes Woolford. As part of the general move towards recognising IP infringement, people now need to create more of their own IP and find successful ways to protect it, he says.
Woolford, who qualified as an intellectual property lawyer in the UK and came to Dubai in October 2006 to work for Rouse & Co International from Shoosmiths, joined Arvato Mobile in the last quarter of 2009 after an 18-month stint at broadcaster MBC.
His purview is Arvato Mobile’s worldwide operations in south-east Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, India, and China. Currently the firm has offices in Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, Brazil, Italy, India and Dubai. “I provide a very general in-house role. But I was brought onboard because of my previous experience in the media and the intellectual property specialism. But it seems, like any in-house role, since I’ve been here I’ve had to be adaptable to any and all weird and wonderful situations. My work is split proportionately along the lines of intellectual property, general commercial, corporate and general day-to-day issues of a business, which include employment.”
In October 2009, Arvato Mobile had relocated its head of legal from Dubai to oversee its growing Brazilian operation, which opened the door for Woolford. He says: “We also have counsel in Germany and Italy, and we use external counsel as and when required. But the breadth of my role – with the exception of Germany, because I wouldn’t cover it per se as I’m the counsel of the head office on issues that emanate from here – is dealing with things in places such as South Africa, Russia, India, and looking at the bread and butter work of the business.”
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