Cayman Islands Patent Guide

Registered Agent
Under section 6 of The Patents Law, 2011 as amended by The Patents and Trade Marks (Amendment) Law, 2016 only a registered agent may transact business with the Cayman Islands Patents & Trade Marks Registry. A registered agent must be legally and ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands.

The owner of a patent must appoint a registered agent upon the next dealing with the Registry or upon payment of the next annual fee.

Registration
A patent can be registered in the Cayman Islands pursuant to The Patents Law, 2011 which only provides for applications to extend rights under an existing UK or European Patent (EP (UK)) registration. An application for registration cannot be based on a pending UK or EP (UK) patent application.

The only information required is the UK or EP (UK) registration number. No further documentation is required.

It usually takes two months or less for the Registry to process an application for registration. Paris Convention priority cannot be claimed. Once the registration is complete the Registry will issue a Certificate of Recording.

Patent Cooperation Treaty
The Cayman Islands are not a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). National phase filing of a PCT patent is not possible.

Searches
It is generally not necessary to conduct a search in the Cayman Islands to ascertain that there will be no difficulty with the application for registration because of the requirement that there be a pre-existing UK or EP (UK) registration. If, however, a search is required, the result can usually be provided within three working days.

Annual Fees
Once a patent has been registered in the Cayman Islands there is an annual fee payable to the Cayman Islands Government in January each year.

Unless otherwise instructed, we will send you a reminder in October of the preceding year in relation to the annual fee due the following January. If instructed to pay the annual fee we will issue an invoice and upon payment we will pay the annual fee to the Registry and forward the official receipt.

Failure to pay an annual fee will result in the rights protected by the registration being placed in abeyance. This will effectively prevent any enforcement action being taken. There is a penalty for the late payment of annual fees where payment has not been received by the Registry before 1 April each year.

The Registry may cancel the record of a patent for failure to pay annual fees and penalties for 12 months.

Expiry
A patent registration is valid for the same period as specified on the underlying UK or EP (UK) registration on which it is based.

Cancellation
A patent record may be cancelled by the Registry for failure to pay annual fees and penalties for 12 months or failure by the proprietor to appoint a new registered agent where the previous registered agent has resigned. In these instances it is possible to make an application to the Registry to re-register a cancelled patent.

If, however, the underlying UK or EP (UK) registration is cancelled the Cayman Islands registration will also be cancelled.

Abandonment
Please inform us as soon as possible if you wish to abandon your patent or allow it to lapse so that we can update our records and advise the Registry accordingly. This will avoid us sending out unnecessary Reminder Notices regarding annual fees etc.

Reactivation
It is possible to make an application to the Registry to reactivate an abandoned patent upon payment of a reactivation fee and any unpaid annual fees and penalties.

Certificates of Good Standing
The Registry may issue a Certificate of Good Standing to evidence that a patent has been recorded in the Cayman Islands and that all applicable fees have been paid.

Assignment
Please inform us as soon as possible if the patent has been assigned so that we can file an application to record the assignment in the Cayman Islands (and the UK if necessary).

Any change in the underlying UK or EP (UK) registration must be recorded in the Cayman Islands within two months of the change being recorded in the UK. If the change is not recorded within this time then the rights protected by the registration will be placed in abeyance. This will effectively prevent any enforcement action being taken.

It usually takes two months or less for the Registry to process an application to record an assignment. Once the recording is complete the Registry will issue a Certificate of Recording.

Change of Particulars
Please inform us as soon as possible if there is any change to the registration so that we can file an application to record the change in the Cayman Islands (and the UK if necessary).

Any change in the underlying UK or EP (UK) registration must be recorded in the Cayman Islands within two months of the change being recorded in the UK. If the change is not recorded within this time then the rights protected by the registration will be placed in abeyance. This will effectively prevent any enforcement action being taken.

It usually takes two months or less for the Registry to process an application to record a Change of Particulars. Once the recording is complete the Registry will issue a Certificate of Recording.

Security Interests
The Registry does not provide for the formal recording of security interests.

A security interest may be recorded against the underlying UK or EP (UK) registration, however, and a certified copy of the UK register, showing the security interest, may be lodged at the Registry so that anyone inspecting the public record is put on notice.

Licences
There is no provision under Cayman Islands law for the recording of licences. The only way a licence can be protected is by:

1. registering the patent in the Cayman Islands and recording the licence in the UK.
2. ensuring that the licence either requires the proprietor of the patent to take legal action if necessary to protect the rights of the licencee or gives the licencee the right to sue in the Cayman Islands in the name of the proprietor to protect their interests.
3. lodging a copy of the UK registered entries, including details of the licence,at the Registry. This is not the same as recording the licence, but does put anyone inspecting the public record on notice.