New Intellectual Property Regime

The Trade Marks Law 2016, the Patents and Trade Marks (Amendment) Law 2016 and the Design Rights Registration Law 2016 came into force on 1 August 2017, introducing a new intellectual property regime in the Cayman Islands.

Trade Marks

Under the previous legislation, trade mark protection in the Cayman Islands was obtained by extending the rights of a UK or EU registered trade mark. The Trade Marks Law 2016 establishes a stand-alone trade mark registration system for the Cayman Islands which no longer allows for the extension of UK or EU registered trade mark, and provides its own system of registration.

A local register of trade marks will be maintained by the Cayman Islands Intellectual Property Office (Register).