Caribbean

Spoor & Fisher Jersey offers a comprehensive intellectual property service in the Caribbean  - a diverse group of island states and dependencies set within 970,000 square miles of ocean, forming part of  the North American geographical zone. There are no regional IP organisations, and in IP terms, the Caribbean comprises 22 separate territories where rights must be registered nationally.

With a shared colonial heritage, there are strong synergies between the trade mark systems of the Caribbean and those of many African countries. It was, therefore, logical that Spoor & Fisher Jersey should use its extensive knowledge and experience of IP matters in the African continent to establish a strong practice in this part of the world.

Collectively, most of the Caribbean territories fall within the British West Indies, which comprises the independent states of Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago, and the remaining British colonies of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks & Caicos Islands. Traditionally, IP legislation has been modelled on that of the United Kingdom, and the re-registration of UK rights still forms the basis of protection in several instances.

The IP map of the Caribbean is completed by the Dutch dependencies of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, the US dependency of Puerto Rico, and the independent states of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Although geographically outside the region, by virtue of their former colonial status our Caribbean practice also covers the South American territories of Belize, Guyana and Suriname.   

 

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