The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ELECTED officials debated a compendium of bills that seek to better protect the work of musicians, authors, photographers, filmmakers and other creatives.

Acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper hailed the intellectual property rights legislation as transformative, saying it will make the Bahamas more appealing for both foreign and direct investments.

He said: “We are a financial services leader. We are a tourism mecca. And over the past three years, due to the efforts of this administration, we have become one of the regional hotspots for major investments. It was past time for our IP framework to be transformed.”

“Fortunately, after many, many years of industry observers calling for change, an administration is finally in place that has done the necessary work to bring our IP laws fully into the 21st century.”

He said the legislative package, consisting of the Patent Bill 2024, Copyright Bill 2024, Trademark Bill 2024 and others, offers protections to Bahamians from “shady business practices” and copycat IP infringements locally and abroad.

He said the existing laws were outdated and not up to international standards.

“These bills modernise our approach to addressing copyright, trademark, and patent protections, including areas like geographical indications, false trade descriptions, and new plant varieties,” Mr Cooper added. 

“Currently, our framework is non-compliant with CARIFORUM-EU EPA and WTO guidelines. At the end of this process, our IP laws will be fully compatible with the highest international standards.”

He said the government had targeted 11 new international conventions the country can join, including the Patent Cooperation Treaty; the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks; the Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks; and the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks.

“While the legislative changes will strengthen and modernise our laws and indicate our willingness to comply with international standards, there is deeper work that must be done locally to ensure compliance,” he added.

Mr Cooper said one way the government is improving efficiency is by launching a dedicated intellectual property office, which requires separating this function from the Registrar General’s Office and introducing a standalone IP office.

He added that with the passing of these bills, writers, artists, musicians, producers, and others would be able to receive royalties from those using their intellectual property for the first time.

“Junkanooers will be able to protect their iconic patterns and designs,” he said. “Manufacturers creating products with specific formulas made from local crops like cascarilla bark and cerasee will be able to protect those products. The same goes for local jam, jelly, and hot sauce creators, local salt production techniques, and iconic local brands.”

“We’d like to create a future where we make the term a ‘Made in The Bahamas:’ a global brand representing high-quality and specialised cultural and indigenous products that truly represent our strengths as a nation in the same way that ‘Made in the USA’ or ‘Made in China’ are recognisable all over the world.”

The Patent Bill 2024, which repeals the Patent Act 2015, includes provisions that would establish the Office of the Registrar of the Intellectual Property Office and enable a patent owner to request the Comptroller of Customs to treat imports as prohibited goods.

Meanwhile, the Copyright Bill 2024 lets a copyright owner apply to a court for appropriate measures when an infringement occurs. It also clarifies the circumstances in which a performer’s rights could be infringed.

The Trademark Bill 2024 protects government agency trademarks and empowers the courts to order relevant information related to trademark infringements.

“The two additional bills before us today, the Registrar of Records Bill (2024) and the Registrar of Companies Bill (2024), will facilitate the splitting of the Registrar General into a Registrar of Companies and a Registrar of Records,” Mr Cooper added.

“This split will expedite the reforms we are working on, ensuring that there are specialised staff and resources to perform these two distinct functions. This transformation will bring about an unprecedented improvement in service delivery, setting a new standard for our country.”