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Bahamas

(THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS)
(WIPO code: BS)
(latest review October 2023)
by KATZAROV SA, Geneva, Switzerland

Area

11,400 sq. km.

Population

358,508 (2023).

Capital

Nassau.

Currency

Bahamian dollar = U.S. dollar.

Language

English.

Industries

Tourism, rum, cement, banking and pharmaceuticals.

Chief crops

Citrus and vegetables.

Minerals

Salt and aragonite.

Other resources

Lobsters.

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas became independent from Great Britain on July 10, 1973, and is now an independent member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The Bahamas comprises an archipelago, which encompasses 700 islands and bays extending over some 100,000 square miles of land and water. From the north of the chain which lies some 50 miles off the coast of Florida, U.S.A., they stretch in the south-easterly direction to about 150 miles north of Haiti.

The islands of the Bahamas are relatively low-lying with the highest elevation some 200 feet above sea level. On the eastern side of Andros, the largest of the islands, is the famous Tongue of the Ocean, a trench some 6,600 feet deep. Along this trench is a barrier reef, which is estimated to be the world’s third largest. This area is a great attraction for deep-sea divers, oceanic researchers and scientists. Nassau, the capital city of the Commonwealth, is situated on the island of New Providence. Very good roads extend throughout this island and throughout the Commonwealth’s second city, Freeport, on the island of Grand Bahama. There are good roads to all settlements on the Family Islands, as the other inhabited islands in the chain are called.

The major industry of the Bahamas is tourism, which accounts for approximately 70% of the gross national product and 60% of its total revenue. Supporting industries are agriculture, commercial fishing and finance. The Bahamas is one of the World’s premier offshore financial centers, employing more than 10% of the country’s labor force. It has one of the highest living standards in the Caribbean.

The sands of the beaches of the Commonwealth are rich in aragonite and this mineral is mined from underwater dunes in large quantities for industrial purposes.

Table of Contents

Patents of Invention

– Industrial Property Act, 1965, as amended.
– Industrial Property Rules, 1967, as amended.

Membership in International Conventions

– Paris Convention.

Filing requirements
– The specification in duplicate;
– Drawings, in duplicate, 13 x 8 to 8 1/4 or 16 to 16 1/2 inches;
– Priority document (within three months);
– Declaration signed by inventor(s) before a Notary Public, stating that he/she/they consent to filing of the application (within three months);
– Form 1 (“Application for a Patent”), preferably printed double-sided on legal paper and signed on behalf of the applicant.

Remarks

Validity: valid for 16 years, extension not possible.
Annuities: at the expiration of the fourth year the patent must be renewed annually in order to be kept in force.
Opposition: there is no provision for opposition to the grant of a patent. Revocation by the Registrar General where the invention was unlawfully obtained or by the court.

 

Trademarks

– Trade Marks Act, 1906, as amended.
– Trade Marks Rules, 1948, as amended.

Note: the Trade Marks Act 47 of 2024 was published in the Official Gazette and replaces the Trade Marks Act of 1906, however it is not yet in force.

Membership in International Conventions

– Paris Convention.

Filing requirements
– Authorization of agent, unlegalized;
– 5 representations of the trademark;
– Certified copy of basic application, if priority is claimed, with verified English translation (if applicable).

Remarks

Duration – renewals: fourteen years from the filing date; can be renewed indefinitely for further periods of fourteen years.
Obligation to use the registered mark: any aggrieved person may apply to the court for the removal of the mark from the Register in the case of non-use for a period of five years or more.
Opposition: must be filed with the Intellectual Properties Section of The Registrar General’s Department within one month from the date of the advertisement of the application in The Journal.

 

Industrial Designs

Legal Basis

– Industrial Property Act, 1965, as amended.
– Industrial Property Rules, 1967, as amended.

Membership in International Conventions

– Paris Convention.

Filing requirements
– 3 identical representations or specimens of the design, on paper of approx. 13 x 8 inches;
– In Convention cases: (a) number, date and country of the basic foreign application; (b) a certified copy of the basic application; may be filed within three months; if not in English, it must be accompanied by a certified translation.

Remarks

Duration: after formal examination: 5 years from the filing date, renewable for two further terms of five years each.
Opposition: possible, to the Registrar General on advertisement of a request for correction of a clerical error in claim for design or in the representation of the design; by application for cancellation to The Supreme Court.

 

Domain Names

Filing

ccTLD: .bs
Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
Local presence: not required.

Remarks

Duration – renewals: one to two years, renewable.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: available (ICANN UDRP model) before WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.

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