PATENTS

Patent Procedure under the Patent Act 1857

1. Petition, Declaration and specification prepared and filed;

2. Letter of Acknowledgement issued stating date of filing and application number.

3. Power of Attorney and Assignment of invention from inventors to applicant to be obtained, processed and filed during the course of the application. No deadline.

4. Application to be advertised in the Daily Newspaper and Gazette for 4 consecutive weeks. Copies of advertisements to be filed with the Registry.

No deadline.

5. Application remains in abeyance pending proof of grant of a corresponding application in an industrial country. Once this occurs the information is sent to the Registry and the application will be recommended for grant. Local examination will be waived. If this cannot be shown the application has to be sent to a local examiner. Examination by a local examiner can take many years. In recent times the Attorney General’s Chambers has been issuing requests for local examination.

6. Once the application has been recommended for grant Letters Patent is prepared for signing by the Governor General.

7. The Letters Patent is returned to the Registry for recordal.

8. Upon recordal the Letters Patent is sent to the agent.

9. The term of a Patent is 14 years. The term can run from the date of the application of from any date between the date of the application and the date of sealing.

The term is subject to an earlier date of expiration , as the Patent Act 1857, provides that the Jamaican patent shall cease to be in force after the expiration of a corresponding patent granted in a foreign country and where there are more than one such patent, then immediately upon the expiration of the term which shall first expire.

Patent Applications

A. Re-registration of a foreign patent

1. A simply signed power of attorney.

2. A certified copy of a foreign patent.

B. Communication from abroad.

1. Specification, claims and abstract

TRADEMARKS

Trade Mark Applications in Jamaica

Step 1 - Filing

Applications are filed upon receipt of instructions

No supporting documentation is required for filing

The Registry will issue an official receipt to the agent usually within 14 days of the date of filing

Step 2 - Examination

The trade mark applications are examined on relative and absolute grounds. An examination report usually issues within 3 – 5 months

Step 3 - Response to Official Action

If the Registrar accepts the trade mark for registration, a notice will be issued to the agent requesting that balance of fees be paid within 2 months of the date of the notice

The balance of fees covers publication fee, registration fee and certificate fee

If the Registrar does not accept the trade mark, a notice will be issued to the agent outlining the Registrar’s reason for not accepting the trade mark along with a deadline to respond to the Registrar’s objection. The deadline is usually 2 – 3 month(s) from the date of the notice.

Step 4 - Publication

Upon payment of the balance of fees, the application will be published in the Trade Marks Journal usually at the end of the next calendar month

The opposition period will then start running and will expire at the end of two months from the date of publication.

Step 5 - Registration

If no opposition was filed during the opposition period, the trade mark will proceed to registration

The certificate of registration is usually issued within 4 – 6 months after the expiration of the opposition period

The processing time from first filing to registration is approx. 12 to 18 months.

Classification

Nice classification, 11th edition (specify each goods and services)

Trademark Duration

A trademark registration is valid for 10 years. Renewal is possible for periods of 10 years.

New Practice Direction on Class Headings

On February 4, 2015, the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) issued a practice direction on class headings which became effective on March 4, 2015.

The effect of the practice direction is to prohibit the filing of trade mark applications which designate international class headings as specification of goods or services. Accordingly, a trade mark applicant is now required to provide the specific goods or services for which trade mark protection is being sought.

Trademark Applications

Multi-class filing system and International Classification are used.

Service classes are accepted.

Simple signed Power of attorney