The Caribbean: ready to separate trade mark registration

Thanks to Katherine Van Deusen Hely who  brings us a report from the Caribbean

Since the Netherlands Antilles dissolved in 2010, all trademark filings for St. Maarten have been handled by the Bureau for Intellectual Property Curacao. Over the last several years, St. Maarten has been preparing to handle their own trademark and other IP filings. As of October 1, 2015, Curacao is no longer handling St. Maarten trademark matters – all filings now go directly through the Bureau for Intellectual Property St. Maarten. The fees have increased pursuant to this change. Registration fees have gone up by approximately 33% for an application filed in up to three classes, and additional class fees (after the third class) have doubled. Besides the change in fees, most everything else remains the same. Trademarks in St. Maarten are protected on a first-to-file basis, and the term of registration is still 10 years.

Katherine Van Deusen Hely can be contacted at
Caribbean IP
Katherine Van Deusen Hely, P.L.L.C.
224 Datura Street, Suite 513
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
T: (561) 283-1800
E: Katherine@Caribbean-IP.com
W: www.Caribbean-IP.com