HAITI Law and Practice Contributed by: Vanessa Abdel-Razak, Ludsen Saint-Phar and Webster Registre, Cabinet Abdel-Razak & Associés
Abdel-Razak & Associés 19, rue Moïse, Petion-Ville, Haïti Tel: +509 3819 9200 Email: administration@cabinetabdelrazak.com Web: abdel-razak.com
1. Trade Mark and Copyright Law 1.1 Governing Law Trade marks and copyrights in Haiti are governed by statutory law. Trade marks are primarily governed by the Law of July 17, 1954 on trade marks (and relat - ed regulations/practice before the Haitian IP office), while copyright and related rights are governed by the Decree of 12 October 2005 on Copyright and Relat - ed Rights. Together, these texts form the core legal framework for intellectual property in Haiti, setting out the rules on ownership, protection, enforcement, assignments and licensing. 1.2 Conventions and Treaties/Rights of Foreign IP Holders Haiti is a member of several key international treaties and conventions governing trade marks and copyright, including the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention for the Pro - tection of Literary and Artistic Works, the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organi - zation (WIPO), and the TRIPS Agreement under the World Trade Organization. These international instru - ments are generally considered self-executing in Haiti upon ratification, although their practical application and enforcement are carried out through domestic legislation and administrative practice. The rights of foreign trade mark and copyright holders in Haiti are governed by these international treaties, which ensure national treatment, as well as by Haitian statutory law, notably the Law of July 17, 1954 on Trade Marks and the Decree of 12 October 2005 on Copyright and Related Rights, which grant foreign right holders the same substantive protections and enforcement mech - anisms available to Haitian nationals.
2. Trade Mark Ownership, Protection and Rights 2.1 Types of Trade Marks In Haiti, trade mark protection is available for a wide range of signs, provided they serve to identify the commercial source of goods or services and are not functional or misleading. Word marks and service marks are the most common types of trade marks in Haiti. These include names, slogans or combinations of words used to identify goods or services. Service marks are expressly rec - ognised and are protected under the same legal prin - ciples as trade marks used for physical products. Design marks and logos are also widely protected. These include stylised words, symbols or graphic elements that distinguish a brand visually. In certain cases, logos may benefit from both trade mark protec - tion and copyright protection, provided they meet the originality requirement. Product marks, labels and packaging may be regis - tered as trade marks if they function as indicators of origin. Packaging and labels are commonly protected in Haiti, particularly in the food and beverage sec - tor. However, protection is limited to features that are distinctive and not dictated by technical or functional necessity. Trade dress, understood as the overall look and feel of a product or its packaging, may be protected where it is distinctive and consumers associate it with a specific source. Haitian law applies a functionality restriction, meaning that elements necessary for the
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