INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN VANUATU

The Vanuatu Trademarks Act 2003, which came into force on 8th February 2011, forms the legal basis of trademark registration.
Vanuatu is not a member of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol.
Trademark protection is obtained by registration in the nation.
For getting a trademark registered in Vanuatu, an application has to be filed with the Registrar of Trademarks, located at the Vanuatu Intellectual Property Office (VIPO).
Vanuatu follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are acceptable.
The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within twenty-eight (28) days following its publication date in the official gazette.
In Vanuatu, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is three (03) months.
The period for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.

Vanuatu isn't a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
At present, a UK registered patent can be used as the basis for patent protection in Vanuatu, provided that it is registered in that country within three (03) years of its date of grant.
However, Vanuatu is in the process of enacting its own intellectual property laws, and the provisions allowing re-registration of UK-based patents will likely be removed in the fairly near future.

At present, a UK registered industrial design can be used as the basis for design protection in Vanuatu.
However, Vanuatu is in the process of enacting its own intellectual property laws, and the provisions allowing re-registration of UK-based designs will likely be removed in the fairly near future.

Vanuatu is a member of the Berne Convention and the TRIPS Agreement.
The Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 (Vanuatu) - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Vanuatu.
The standard copyright protection term lasts for the lifetime of the author plus fifty (50) years following his death. However, the duration of copyright protection varies depending on the type of work.
A collective work (other than a work of applied art) and an audiovisual work is protected for fifty (50) years on and after the date on which the work: was made; or first made available to the public; or first published; whichever date is the latest.