Haiti IP Office Reopens (And Now Under New Management)

Haiti’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI), responsible for the management of Haitian industrial property rights, resumed all intellectual property services as of June 4, 2024. The Ministry had been closed since February 29, 2024 due to ongoing civil unrest in the country.
 
All IP deadlines falling during the closure (February 29 – June 3) were extended until July 4, 2024. Nevertheless, delays should be expected due to the downtime, to add to an existing backlog. We are working to ensure that no active client cases drop off the IP Office’s radar following this hiatus.
 
Haiti also installed a new Minister of Commerce and Industry, James Monazard, on June 13th. This is a particularly significant development for IP in Haiti, since Monazard has a legal background and spent close to five years as Head of Industrial Property within MCI’s Legal Affairs Directorate. He previously served as the Director General of the MCI, and in taking the top position at the Ministry, he will be overseeing all Haiti’s trade and industrial policies which by extension includes control of the IPO.