INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
Opposition Term |
03 Months |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
A trademark can be registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis pursuant to The Marks, Collective Marks and Trade Names Act, 2000, which provides for the registration of the local trademark applications.
Trademark applications need to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
In Saint Kitts and Nevis, the exclusive rights to a trademark are granted only by registration, as it is a “first-to-file” jurisdiction. However, in exceptional cases, well-known trademarks can be protected even if they have not been filed yet.
The 10th Edition of the International Classification system is used. Multi-class applications are allowed.
It usually takes about five (05) months for the Saint Kitts and Nevis Intellectual Property Office to process an application for registration. Paris Convention priority can be claimed. Once the registration is complete, the Office will issue a certificate of registration.
Third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within three (03) months following its publication in the official gazette.
A trademark registration is valid for ten (10) years from the filing date, after which, it can be renewed indefinitely for like periods.
The application for renewal should be filed within six (06) months before the expiration date of the registration. A grace period of six months (06), however, is allowed from the expiration date of the filing of the application for renewal upon payment of a late fee. After this period expires, a new application for registration is required. It usually takes two (02) months or less for the Office to process an application for renewal. Once the renewal is complete, the Office will issue a certificate of renewal.
It is not necessary for a trademark to be in use in Saint Kitts and Nevis to file or register it. However, if it is not used within a period of three (03) years after the registration, it will become vulnerable to cancellation actions due to the lack of use.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
A patent can be registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis pursuant to the Patents Act, 2000 (Cap. 18.25) (2002 Revised Edition) and the Patents Regulations, which provide for registration of the local patent applications.
Until mid-2020, the Saint Kitts and Nevis Intellectual Property Office was accepting, but not processing applications for registration. Applications are now being examined. Paris Convention priority can be claimed. On receipt of the application, the Office will issue a stamped copy of the application as evidence of filing.
In Saint Kitts and Nevis, an invention that satisfies the conditions of originality, novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and accordingly, national phase filing of a PCT patent is possible. The same is encouraged if the applicant is seeking coverage in another domicile. A PCT application can simplify the process of seeking a patent in countries that are party to the PCT.
A patent registration is valid for twenty (20) years. Once the registration term has expired, it cannot be further renewed.
Once a patent has been registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis, there is an annual fee payable to the Saint Kitts Government every year. The fee is due on the anniversary of the filing date. Failure to pay an annual fee will result in the rights protected by the registration being deemed to have been withdrawn and the patent will lapse. A grace period of six (06) months, however, is allowed for the late payment of an annual fee.
Industrial designs are protected under the Copyrights Act, 2000.
The maximum term of protection is twenty-five (25) years provided the registration is renewed four (04) times for successive periods of five (05) years each.
Opposition cannot be filed by a third party during the registration process.
Multiple design applications are possible if the multiple designs belong to the identical Locarno class. Such a multiple application will affect the reduction of the office fees.
Where the designer seeks protection of his right to the industrial design under the Copyright Act, the duration of protection expires at the end of fifty (50) years from end of the calendar year in which the designer dies. If the designer is not known, the protection term lasts for fifty (50) years from the end of the calendar year the design was first made available to the public.
The Copyright Act, 2002 Chapter 18.08 - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
In Saint Kitts and Nevis, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. No formality is required to be done for obtaining copyright protection.
It is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Copyright in any literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work expires at the end of a period of fifty (50) years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.
Copyright in a sound recording or film expires at the end of a period of fifty (50) years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made, or where it was made available to the public before the end of that period, the copyright protection term lasts for fifty (50) years from the end of the calendar year in which it was so made available.
Copyright in a broadcast or cable programme expires at the end of a period of fifty (50) years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was made or the programme was included in a cable programme service.
Copyright in a typographical arrangement of a published edition expires at the end of the period of twenty-five (25) years from the end of the calendar year in which the edition was first published.