Caribbean IP Part 23: Sint Maarten

ISO 3166 country code: SX.

Sint Maarten was a part of the Netherlands Antilles up until its dissolution on 10 October 2010. Much of what was written about Curaçao applies to Sint Maarten.

For a transitional period of one year the Sint Maarten Bureau of Intellectual Property was to be managed in Curaçao (by what was the former Bureau of Intellectual Property of the Netherlands Antilles). Effectively, the laws for Sint Maarten and Curaçao were to remain the same and the Registers would have operated in parallel. Owners of existing Netherlands Antilles registrations were automatically considered to cover both Sint Maarten and Curaçao. Of course, from 10 October 2010 it has been possible to file or renew in Curaçao only, or in Sint Maarten only.

The one-year transitional period in which Sint Maarten should have began operations of its own IP Office has now passed and I am not aware that this Office has been established in the St Maartener capital of Philipsburg or elsewhere in the country. Once this happens then we may see a divergence in practice and timelines compared to the Office in Curaçao.

Caribbean IP Part 11: Curaçao

ISO 3166 country code: CW.

Do note that Curaçao was the main island (in population and where the capital was located) of the now dissolved Netherlands Antilles. The ISO 3166 country code for the Netherlands Antilles was AN.

As an example of the latter's continued use, the Bureau for Intellectual Property still uses a domain name with the .an suffix. It was formerly the IP Office for the Netherlands Antilles and being located in the Curaçaoan capital of Willemstad has continued as the IP Office for Curaçao.

The Office has a useful website which details the various IP rights available. It also provides an 'i-Envelope' service for establishing the date of creation of an idea; this appears similar to - and possibly modelled on - the 'i-DEPOT' facility provided by the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property.

Curaçao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of The Netherlands which has extended most of its international treaties to Curaçao. Of particular note is the Madrid Protocol being available for Curaçao; the country must be designated separately and it requires the payment of Individual Fees.

The Bureau for Intellectual Property encourages use of the Madrid Protocol for local applicants and even for foreign applicants who may incorporate a company in the island, which could be beneficial from a tax perspective.

Applications can be made in English, Dutch, Papiamentu or Spanish although a local representative is required. It is also possible to register industrial designs locally, but International registration is not possible as the Hague Union has not been extended to Curaçao by the Dutch Government.

Curaçao boasts an efficient IP Office and with Madrid Protocol applications available to foreign brand owners is an easy Office to deal with. However, as it is not a member of the Madrid Protocol in its own right the country is not listed in the members list provided by WIPO; information on Curaçao is in the small print at the bottom of the list. Therefore, don't forget that it is available through the Madrid Protocol as part of any international trade mark filing strategy.