CAYMAN ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Daniel Lee, Sophia Scott, Kimberly Robinson and James Turner, Maples Group
any actions occurring prior to the local exten - sion. Relevant local fees must be paid to main -
for injunctions, other equitable relief, or damages (including aggravated and/or exemplary damag - es). The Cayman Islands is a “costs-shifting” or ”loser pays” jurisdiction: that is, the losing party typically is obliged to pay the legal costs (or a proportion of them) of the winning party. 7.2 Trade Marks The Trade Marks Act (As Revised) (the “Trade Marks Act”) provides for the registration of trade marks, certification marks, and collective marks (collectively the ”Marks”) in the Cayman Islands. The Trade Marks Act defines the different types of Marks as: • “trade mark” any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of another under - taking and may consist of words, designs, numerals, letters or the shape of goods or their packaging; • “certification mark” a mark indicating that the goods or services in connection with which it is used are certified by the proprietor of the mark in respect of origin, materials, mode of manufacture of goods or performance of services, quality, accuracy or other character - istics; and • “collective mark”a mark distinguishing the goods or services of members of an associa - tion which is the proprietor of the mark from those of other undertakings. Applications are made to the CIIPO, which main - tains the Trade Marks Registry, by a local regis - tered agent. It is no longer possible to extend UK or EU Marks to the Cayman Islands. Subject to payment of relevant fees (including relevant annual fees), the rights of the mark reg -
tain the extension. Extension process
A patent owner, acting through their local regis - tered agent, may apply to the Registrar of Pat - ents to have their patent rights extended to the Cayman Islands, by submitting: • a copy of the certificate issued by the UK or other qualifying registry (such as the details of a patent’s particulars as obtained from the UK Intellectual Property Office); • the form of application as prescribed in the Patents Regulations (As Revised); and • registration and Cayman Islands Gazette fees. If the Registrar of Patents is satisfied that the application is in order, they will record the exten - sion of the patent accordingly. All owners of patents which are (or will be) recorded at the CIIPO must have a registered agent in the Cayman Islands. The CIIPO main - tains a list of approved registered agents for this purpose. Disputes/enforcement Disputes related to patent infringement (or any other patent-related matter affecting rights or remedies) are heard in the Grand Court. Typical remedies for infringement include declarations, injunctions, damages, or an account of profits, though the full suite of remedies (as would be available in the UK) are available in the Cayman Islands. If a bad faith assertion of patent infringement is made by any person (including, normally, the owner or licensee), an aggrieved party may bring a claim against the person making the assertion
163 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook