The Bahamas’ New IP Laws Become Effective Without Notice
Implementation of new trademarks law in The Bahamas becomes effective without warning.
Bahamian IPO not currently processing trademark applications as a result.
Reform to significantly modernize Bahamian trademark system, bringing it into line with much of the rest of the world.
Service marks to be accepted in the country for the first time.
On the afternoon of Tuesday February 25, 2025, the Bahamian IPO (BIPO) made a surprise announcement to local practitioners that the new IP laws for Trademarks, Patents, and Copyright became effective retroactively as of February 1, 2025. The announcement was made without prior notice to practitioners. Of particular note, the Trade Marks Act, 2024 introduces service marks and international classification.
Importantly, however, the Bahamian government has not implemented subsidiary legislation (i.e., regulations) or new fees. The transitional provisions of the 2024 Act indicate that the prior regulations will stay in force until repealed by regulations adopted under the 2024 Act. The antiquated, existing regulations may present significant challenges when paired with the 2024 Act. Until regulations are passed, the BIPO is not currently processing applications. They are however accepting applications to accord filing dates, which will then be processed once the new regulations are in place.
To remind readers, as part of a wider reform of the entire framework of Intellectual Property (IP) in the Bahamas, the Bahamian Parliament passed new trademarks legislation last year, the Trade Marks Act 2024, but the secondary legislation required for its implementation was conspicuous by its absence. There was some trepidation among practitioners, given the prior Trade Marks Act 2015 was never implemented. This announcement then to some extent is a positive development, but the current reality on the ground is a lot of uncertainty and scrambling.
Despite the issues, it is worth recapping that the standout change in the new law is provision for protection of service marks, which to date has not been possible in The Bahamas. In fact, for a country that relies on tourism and other service-oriented industries, the new law will allow many brand owners to properly protect their commercial interests in The Bahamas for the first time. The longtime workaround protection for “services” has been to file in local class 39 for paper goods and the like, or to file for goods related to the services of interest (for example, filing for towels and robes if operating a spa). This left some brand owners feeling uneasy about the limits on the scope of their protection.
Regarding other changes, the new provisions as a whole bring trademark law in The Bahamas into line with much of the rest of the world. In addition to the introduction of service marks, the new laws move away from an antiquated classification system based on 1938 UK trademark laws, to the international classification system. The Bahamas is also expected to move from a single- to a multi-class registration system, though the final confirmation of this will come with the regulations.
Further key changes (but very much familiar ground for the international trademark practitioner) include the following:
Provision for both certification and collective marks (currently only certification marks are possible).
Registration terms will follow the international standard of 10 years with further 10-year terms, rather than the current 14-year renewal term.
Paris Convention priority – although priority claims are currently recognized, they are now formally recognized in the law, providing for the usual six-month term within which to claim the important priority right.
Definition of a ‘sign’ now explicitly provides for registration of a color, three-dimensional shapes, holograms, moving images, sounds, scents, tastes and textures.
Although the changes in The Bahamas are more about a long-needed update to the law rather than being ground-breaking in and of themselves, and notwithstanding the current confusion, the introduction of service marks is a significant step forward so brand owners should still be actively evaluating their needs for new trademark filings in The Bahamas, particularly for services, to ensure their trademark portfolios are robust and up-to-date.
We welcome your questions or concerns about these developments, which you can email to katherine@caribbean-ip.com. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide additional updates as more information becomes available.