BUSINESS BRIEF: BARBADOS
Documentary requirements include a power of attorney; specification; drawings; statement of ownership or assignment; copies of any communication, decision or search relating to the invention; priority documents. All non- English words or documents must be translated into English.
Te grant lasts 20 years from the filing date. Annuities become payable from the second year aſter the filing date; late payment within six months attracts a penalty. Tere is no opposition procedure.
Licences must be registered. A compulsory licence may be granted if an invention is not being sufficiently used, eg, by importation. Proceedings for invalidation and infringement, and appeals against a compulsory licence, lie with the High Court by any interested person. Remedies include an injunction and/or damages.
What are the key threats to patent owners, and what is the best strategy if you suspect someone is infringing your patent?
Tere are few persons (if any) skilled in the art of claims writing. Within local financial circles, IP generally is not accepted for securitisation of financing.
Patent searches in the local register are done strictly by the exact title of registered invention.
COPYRIGHT What are the key challenges to copyright holders in your jurisdiction?
Lack of public awareness of the significance and value of IP is a significant challenge to maximising the return on investment, especially in the cultural industries.
Tere is no formal registration system for copyrighted materials. Local creators
are
encouraged to date a record of their creation and send it to themselves by registered post, not to be opened except in court as evidence of creation.
www.worldipreview.com the pending or
Where appropriate, creators are also encouraged to join a collective society.
How should people ensure they are protected against copyright infringement?
Rights owners seem ill-equipped or unwilling to enforce their own private rights; law enforcement agencies cannot be effective without the support of the rights owners.
Te small size of the Barbados market mitigates against enforcing relatively small incidents of infringement, on a cost/benefit analysis.
COUNTERFEITING
How big a problem is counterfeiting in your jurisdiction? Anecdotally, the cultural industries (especially music and film) seem most at risk for piracy, but there is little concrete data on the extent of the problem.
What are the best strategies for dealing with the problem?
A culture of recognition of and respect for IP rights needs to be developed. Tere are some educational and public outreach programmes in train.
GENERAL
Are there any legislative changes to the IP regime that would make life easier for businesses?
Barbados has a robust legislative framework for protecting IP rights. Te last major changes occurred in 2006. Beside patents, trademarks and copyright, the laws protect geographical indications, industrial designs, plant varieties and integrated circuits.
Te 2008 Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM states and the European Community requires Barbados to:
• Accept the Protocol to the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health; • Comply with the WIPO Copyright Treaty
and Performances and Phonograms Treaty (1996); and
• Endeavour to accede to: • Te Hague Agreement for the International Registration of Designs (1999);
Industrial
• Te Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of
the Deposit of Micro-
organisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (1977, amended 1980); and • Te Patent Law Treaty (Geneva, 2000).
Although these obligations remain outstanding as of January 1, 2014, they are under active consideration.
Comprehensive computerisation of the IPO’s records would boost access to information and processing of applications.
Rosalind Smith Millar is a partner at Clarke Gittens Farmer. She can be reached at:
rsm@clarkes.com.bb
Rosalind Smith Millar specialises in IP (especially trademark, patent and industrial design registration) and real property law. Clarke Gittens Farmer is the Barbados member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms.
World Intellectual Property Review Annual 2014 111
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