In March 2022, the Madrid Protocol came into effect in Jamaica. This brings the island in line with others in the international community and in the region — including Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago — which are already under the system. The Madrid obligations may require the...

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In March 2022, the Madrid Protocol came into effect in Jamaica. This brings the island in line with others in the international community and in the region — including Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago — which are already under the system. The Madrid obligations may require the country to become more transparent around stealth filings. As it stands, the Jamaica IP Office (JIPO) does not reveal unpublished marks to third parties conducting proprietor searches without counsel. This enables brand owners to file marks of interest unnoticed and then use these filings for later priority claims around the world. Other notable news includes the launch of a Caribbean regional interface of TMclass, the classification tool developed by the EUIPO and IP offices of EU member states. It provides free access to the lists of terms accepted as suitable to identify goods and services for the purposes of trademark registration — multiple Caribbean countries have since joined the TMclass program.

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