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Salhi

Soraya Salhi

Associate
About

Soraya Salhi is an Associate in the Intellectual Property and Technology team in Dubai with over ten years' experience in advising clients on commercial contracts, licensing issues, as well having broad experience working on data protection issues (in the UK and in the GCC) and other intellectual property related matters. She has worked for corporate clients (from start-ups to publicly traded companies) across the media and entertainment, healthcare, technology, retail & e-commerce, and energy sectors.

Soraya has spent time on client secondments at a global e-commerce company and a start-up in the software industry.

She also worked in-House at a London based trade organization representing the interests of global software companies where she supported her organization’s members on a range of issues, including the management and protection of their intellectual property rights in EMEA.

Bar admissionsSolicitor-Advocate in England and Wales

EXPERIENCE

Regulatory and Technology

  • Advising a global e-commerce platform on the requirements to import and market new products and services in the MENA region by analyzing the regulatory framework of the target countries and working with the marketing and business teams to ensure that the initiatives taken are compliant with local laws and regulations.
  • Advising clients on various regulations in MENA to market IoT products to consumers.
  • Advising a device manufacturer on how to launch new features in the UAE by providing legal advice on various points, i.e. privacy/data protection, regulatory compliance, beta testing.
  • Advising clients on the legal and regulatory requirements to penetrate the UAE market.
  • Advising a Middle East-based app operator on the terms of use for its app, including drafting the terms and conditions on which users are granted the right to use the application, as well as the terms and conditions on which the products and services available on the app are provided.

Data Protection

  • Providing various data protection advice in relation to our clients’ activities in the UAE and in the UAE free zones (i.e. DIFC, ADGM and Healthcare City), including drafting/updating data protection policy documents.
  • Advising a corporate information service provider on compliance with data protection law in the United Arab Emirates when collecting and Processing Personal Data from public sources.
  • Managing a data breach that occurred in the GCC and advising client on its notification obligations under the UAE Data Protection legal framework.

Media

  • Advising a foreign company on advertising regulations in the UAE when marketing products and services to consumers in the UAE on social media platforms.
  • Reviewing commercial agreements on behalf of Paramount Pictures' subcontractor on the Dubai-based production elements of Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol.
  • General Commercial

  • Negotiating and drafting various commercial agreements, including marketing agreements, partnership, reseller and distribution agreements on behalf of our clients until completion.
  • Negotiating and drafting an agreement for the sale of assets between two parties in a joint venture, worth USD1bn.
  • Providing a pharmaceutical company with a memorandum of advice on the New Federal Agency Law and how to comply with its requirements as Principal in the UAE.
  • Localization of our clients' B2B and B2C terms and conditions to ensure they are compliant with UAE laws and regulations.
  • Advising a multinational furniture company on its franchising arrangements with a UAE-based conglomerate.
  • Languages
    • English
    • French
    • Arabic
    Education
    • Bristol Institute of Legal Practice, Legal Practice Course, 2014
    • Bristol Institute of Legal Practice, GDL, 2011
    • Paul Cezanne University, Masters in Pharmaceutical and Medical Law in France, 2008

    AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

    • Awards for best IPT Team in the Middle East.

    Prior Experience

    • I have worked in House for BSA the Software Alliance in London where we represented the interests of the Software industry in EMEA.
    • I worked in two law firms in the UK in the Commercial and Technology department.

    Memberships and Affiliations

    • Law Society of England and Wales since 2018

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