New Trade Mark Law: A Step Nearer to Modernisation

The new and long-awaited Trade Marks Act has recently been published and provides significantly increased clarity and protection for individuals and businesses. The award-winning intellectual property lawyers at ParrisWhittaker are highly experienced in advising clients on IP, trademarks, and trade names.

The Trade Marks Act 47 2024 will, once in force, consign to history the current trade mark legislation which is already well over a century old. The new legislation reflects the modern era in which business is conducted and brings the law in the Bahamas into line with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (an international agreement) and the TRIPs agreement on intellectual property.

However, it is not in force yet, and it is not known when it will be introduced.

What’s new?

Once in force, no one will be entitled to institute any proceedings to prevent or to recover damages for the infringement of an unregistered trade mark. Below are some of the key headlines to note from the new Act:

Expanded definitions – for example, ‘sign’ is now defined so as to mean a word, a personal name, a design, a letter, a numeral, a colour, a figurative element, a three-dimensional shape, a hologram, a moving image, a mode of packaging goods, a sound, a scent, a taste, a texture, and the positioning of a sign.

‘Registrable trade marks’ – to register a trade mark, the mark must be ‘distinctive,’ i.e., capable of distinguishing the goods or services of the proprietor of the trade mark from those of other persons. There are also prohibitions, such as those that are identical to an earlier trade mark and its goods/services, made in bad faith, or to facilitate unfair competition.

Registration and examination – the Act sets out the process of registration, including examination, withdrawing or amending an application, opposition and rival claims to an application, advertisement of the application, written decisions, etc.

Expiry and renewals of registrations – the term for renewals is now 10 years, reduced from 14 years, on an application and payment of renewal fees. Registration will lapse without an application for renewal (though the owner will be notified before this happens).

The new legislation also covers matters ranging from categories of trade marks, e.g., those incorporating colour, associated trade marks, and collective marks. It also governs rights conferred by a registered trade mark, ownership of registered trade marks, and acts amounting to infringement of a trade mark and infringement proceedings.

For more information and expert legal advice on trade marks and how you can best protect your interests, we strongly encourage you to take specialist advice on how the new legislation will impact you and your business.

We can help you apply for trade mark registration today to avoid any risks of being unable to start legal proceedings in respect of unregistered marks.

We can help you

We have years of intellectual property expertise working on behalf of individuals and business organisations. Contact ParrisWhittaker today on +1.242.352.6112.