A representative of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has spent the last two days meeting with government, law enforcement and cultural officials, seeking ways to strengthen The Bahamas’ intellectual property regime.
Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson explained that among the most immediate benefits of the WIPO collaboration will be the installation of WIPO-developed software in The Bahamas Registry in October.
“An important feature of this new system is that gazettes (of copyrights and trademarks) will be able to be printed out immediately ﾖ and I do want to stress immediately ﾖ and those who are involved in the protection of intellectual property at the moment will recognize that our gazetting is significantly behind and has been for some time,” she said.
“So we foreshadow that in short order, we will be enabled to produce gazettes immediately.”
The WIPO advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Sonia Cruickshank, has also advised the Commissioner of Police on enforcement matters. She has given advice to the Registrar Generalﾒs staff on training, as well as the prosecutors in the Attorney Generalﾒs office, police and customs officers, and judges.
WIPO has also advised The Bahamas government machine on updating IP laws, protection of traditional knowledge and folklore, the mechanics of whether copyright registration should include a deposit of IP materials locally or elsewhere and enabling IP preparation for accession to the World Trade Organization.
Registrar General Shane Miller explained how a strong intellectual property (IP) regime would be vital as a tool of economic development. He used the example of the “Gucci” trademark in the manufacturing sector.
“For investors at that level to want to come and protect not only their investment in terms of tourism and other traditional methods of investment, but manufacturing and other interests that they may be involved with, they would want to know that they are coming to a regime where you have a strong base protection of their primary service ﾖ which would be [in this case] manufacturing goods, Gucci bags, etc,” Mr. Miller said.
“And so the move forward now is that by strengthening our regime, we are actually making ourselves look very positive in the minds of international individuals who would want to further increase investment [in] those things in The Bahamas.”
Attorney General Maynard-Gibson explained that a strong IP regime is one of the most important things foreign investors look for in a jurisdiction. She disputed the idea that updating IP legislation is merely “cosmetic.”
“When one decides whether oneﾒs going to invest in a country, the investor looks at things like political stability, respect for law and order, ease of access to information and many other things,” she said.
“When I speak about the law and order regime, I want to ﾖ in respect of intellectual property ﾖ indicate that not only are we indicating a respect for property rights, but we are also sending a message about law and order. And the fact that weﾒre doing it in a 21stt Century wayﾅalso sends a message [that] the government takes this matter very seriously.”
“So I donﾒt think thereﾒs anything cosmetic about it at all,” Mrs. Maynard-Gibson added.
Ms. Cruickshank explained that it was the IP regime in Ireland that attracted world computer giant Dell to locate its international headquarters in that country.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
