Empowering Creativity: How Cayman Island’s New IP Rules Will Support Domestic Entrepreneurs!

Good news for Caymanian brand owners! On 20 August 2024, the Cayman Islands Government announced its decision to amend the Trade Marks Act, 2016, and the Trade Mark Regulations, 2017, with the aim of making it more convenient and accessible for domestic entrepreneurs and creative individuals to protect their intellectual property.

This initiative is a positive step toward creating a more supportive regulatory environment, particularly for Micro^[1] and Small Business^[2] (MSB) owners. By making the process more affordable and user-friendly, the amendments are expected to encourage greater investment in and protection of invaluable intellectual property assets. The highlights being:

• Registration of IP without a registered agent: The existing act mandates all individuals and enterprises to seek assistance from an agent registered with the Cayman Islands Intellectual Property Office (CIIPO) to make any official submissions. The upcoming amendment will no longer require that they appoint a registered agent to file IP documents at the CIIPO. However, they can still choose to use an agent such as HSM IP to alleviate the administration burden and guide them through the process.

Waiver of Official Fees:

• Registration Fee: Another remarkable change is the waiver of the official registration fee of CI$200. Presently, the cost of filing a trade mark application for one class is CI$200, which must be paid by any applicant.

• Annual Renewal Fee: Under the current laws, all registered trade mark holders are required to pay an annual fee of CI$200 to maintain their trade mark rights and ensure they remain in good standing and, 10 years after registration, must renew their trade mark by paying a renewal fee. We await further details as to the extent of the waiver of ongoing fees after registration.

As a prominent advocate and supporter of local enterprise, Huw Moses, Managing Partner of HSM IP, welcomes this decision by Deputy Premier and Minister of Financial Services and Commerce, the Hon. André Ebanks MP for making intellectual property more convenient and accessible to all.

Huw is an appointed member of the Intellectual Property Working Group (IPWG), which assists the Cayman Islands Government with intellectual property guidance. HSM IP will be actively monitoring this legislative change and will be updating our clients accordingly.

[1]  ‘Micro businesses’ are those that, among other conditions, employ up to four employees (excluding the owner), and have an annual gross revenue not exceeding CI$250,000 in the preceding fiscal year.

[2] Small businesses are those that, among other conditions, employ up to 12 employees (excluding the owner), and have an annual gross revenue not exceeding CI$750,000 in the preceding fiscal year.