HAITI Law and Practice Contributed by: Vanessa Abdel-Razak, Ludsen Saint-Phar and Webster Registre, Cabinet Abdel-Razak & Associés
or storage rights, provided these are expressly stipu - lated in the licence agreement. Trade mark applications may be licensed in Haiti. A licence may cover a pending application as well as a registered mark, subject to the same formal require - ments, and such licensing is commonly used in com - mercial arrangements pending registration. 6.3 Registration or Recording of an Assignment or Licence An assignment or licence does not need to be record - ed to be valid between the parties, but recordal with the Trade Mark Office is recommended to make it enforceable against third parties. If it is not recorded, the assignee or licensee risks not being recognised as the rights holder vis-à-vis third parties, and a later assignment or licence that is duly recorded in good faith may take priority. 7. Initiating Trade Mark and Copyright Lawsuits 7.1 Timeframes for Filing Infringement Lawsuits An assignment or licence of a trade mark does not need to be registered or recorded to be valid between the parties, but recordal with the Trade Mark Office is strongly recommended to make the transfer or licence enforceable against third parties. If an assignment or licence is not recorded, the assignee or licensee may face difficulties asserting rights against third parties, including in enforcement actions, and the Trade Mark Office may continue to recognise the original owner as the rights holder on record. 7.2 Legal Claims for Infringement Lawsuits and Their Standards Infringement claims are available for both regis - tered and unregistered trade marks and copyrights, although registration significantly strengthens enforce - ment. For trade marks, a registered mark benefits from presumptions of ownership and validity, while unregistered marks may be enforced primarily through unfair competition and prior use principles. Copyright protection arises automatically upon creation, and infringement claims do not depend on registration.
The types of infringement recognised are primarily direct infringement; concepts akin to contributory or vicarious infringement are addressed through general civil liability principles rather than as formally codified categories. Trade mark infringement in Haiti consists of the unau - thorised use in commerce of an identical or confusing - ly similar sign in relation to identical or similar goods or services, where such use is likely to cause confu - sion as to source, sponsorship or affiliation. To suc - ceed, the claimant must generally establish ownership or prior rights in the mark, unauthorised use by the defendant, and a likelihood of confusion. Copyright infringement consists of the unauthorised reproduc - tion, representation, distribution, adaptation, or com - munication to the public of a protected work. The claimant must prove ownership of copyright, copying or use of protected elements of the work, and lack of authorisation. Where third parties facilitate or benefit from infringement, liability may arise under general fault-based or complicity principles, though the core elements remain centred on unauthorised use and resulting harm. Haitian law does not expressly codify dilution by blur - ring or tarnishment as standalone statutory claims, nor does it contain a specific cyber-squatting stat - ute. However, protection against such conduct may be pursued through broader trade mark infringement doctrines, unfair competition, bad faith registration principles, and civil liability under general law, particu - larly where a well-known or famous mark is harmed or exploited without authorisation. With respect to copyright, additional claims may arise from the removal or alteration of copyright manage - ment information and from acts facilitating infringe - ment, in line with Haiti’s adherence to international copyright principles. Copyright management infor - mation is generally understood to include information identifying the author, the work, the rights holder, and the terms of use. Remedies for misuse or removal of such information, as well as for unauthorised tech - nological circumvention, are pursued through civil actions based on infringement, unfair competition and general civil liability, rather than through a detailed
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