As of 12 July 2021, the Trinidad and Tobago Intellectual Property Office (TTIPO) and the Commerce and Intellectual Property Office of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (CIPO-VC) will be included in TMclass.
The TTIPO will join with the alphabetical list of the Nice classification, while CIPO-VC will use and accept the list of terms from the harmonised database of goods and services (HDB) in TMclass.
As of 5 July 2021, the Intellectual Property Office of Saint Kitts and Nevis (IPOSKN) will use and accept the list of terms from the harmonised database of goods and services (HDB) in TMclass.
Following IPOSKN’s decision to use HDB there are now 14 IP offices outside the European Union (EU), which use and accept terms from this database.
On July 9, CarIPI and the West Indies Rum and Spirits Association (WIRSPA) joined forces to host a webinar on the benefits of Geographical Indications (GIs) to the regional rum sector.
The aim of the event was to raise the awareness of regional rum producers on how IP tools such as GIs can be used to protect, brand and promote their products in the market.
The webinar also provided a platform for discussion of how rum producers can use the IP system at the national level to apply a collective strategy for the IP protection and branding of their products.
On 12 July CarIPI held a regional webinar to raise awareness among decision-makers in the CARIFORUM region, and in particular among national EPA Coordinators, on the benefits of the international registrations to facilitate international trade. Speakers from the EU and the CARIFORUM region touched upon the main IPR treaties, such as Madrid, Hague, Lisbon, and UPOV explaining why it is beneficial for the CARIFORUM States to join them. The membership experience from different countries in the region was shared.
On 22 June CarIPI hosted a regional workshop on the classification tool (TMClass) in which the first Caribbean regional interface “Caribbean TM Class” was presented. The occasion also served to share practical knowledge and experience on TMClass with a specific focus on the benefits for IPOs and IP system users, particularly SMEs. Among these benefits, it is clear that a list of accepted terms which are public and clear to all applicants, lead to less errors in the application process and reduce workload for the examiners.
From organic beauty products to aged rum and hot pepper sauce, CARIFORUM producers have a lot to offer to the international markets. To achieve greater market presence, there is a need for CARIFORUM Origin-Linked Products (OLPs) to be better branded, marketed and promoted. CarIPI is currently collaborating with experts from the region to produce evidence-based data and training targeting BSOs and businesses on how to unlock the potential added value of CARIFORUM Origin Linked Products through the use of branding and marketing strategies.
CarIPI hosted a webinar to promote the Madrid International Registration System for SMEs in Trinidad and Tobago, in collaboration with TTIPO. This comes timely after the country’s recent accession to the Treaty, which gives national businesses the possibility to register their trade marks globally.
On the occasion of World IP Day (26 April), the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) and the EU-funded CarIPI project are organising the IP Week ‘IP & MSMEs: Taking your ideas to market’.
This Booklet is launched today, in celebration of World IP Day, April 26th 2021, the theme for which is “IP and SMEs: Taking your ideas to market.” It is hoped that this Booklet can assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Trinidad and Tobago on World IP Day and beyond to have a strong grasp over the Madrid System and its exponential benefits.
As of 2021, Trinidad and Tobago implements the Madrid protocol, which gives national businesses the possibility to register their trade marks globally. Local brand owners in Trinidad and Tobago can now use the Madrid System to protect their trademarks in the 122 territories of the System’s other 106 members by filing a single international application and paying a single set of fees.