BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Judith Whitehead KC, Graham Thompson
Under the Trade Marks Act, persons shall only be entitled to institute proceedings to prevent or recover damages for the infringement of a regis - tered trade mark. In any legal proceeding in which the validity of the registration of a registered trade mark comes into question and is decided in favour of the pro - prietor of such trade mark, the Supreme Court may certify the same, and if it so certifies, then in any subsequent legal proceeding in which such validity comes into question, the proprie - tor of the said trade mark, on obtaining a final order or judgment in their favour, shall have their full costs, charges, and expenses as between attorney and client, unless in such subsequent proceedings the court certifies that they ought not to have the same. Similarly, in addition to the statutory penalties of a monetary fine or the forfeiture of all goods in respect of which an offence was committed, the Supreme Court can make such order as it sees fit with respect to suitable remedies. 7.3 Industrial Design The definition of “design” for the purposes of the Industrial Property Act means features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament of an article, or features of a pattern or ornament applicable to articles insofar as such features appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. Generally, design copyright in a design exists for five years from the date of deposit. However, applications for extensions can be made under the Industrial Property Act. Every claim for design copyright in a design must be accompanied by a representation or, at the Registrar General’s option, a specimen of the design, and must include certain informa -
tion as specified by the Industrial Property Act. It is anticipated the Industrial Property Act will be amended to reflect applications the new regime and for applications to be made to the Industrial Property Office Similarly, there are various remedies available through the Supreme Court and applicable to patents under the legislation. 7.4 Copyright A copyright is a property right that, unless spe - cifically excluded by the Copyright Act, may subsist in the following categories of work of authorship: • literary works; • musical works inclusive of any accompanying words; • dramatic works inclusive of any accompany - ing music; • artistic works; • motion pictures and other audio-visual works; • choreographic works; and • sound recordings. Generally, copyright in any work expires after 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies, save for those limited excep - tions outlined in the Copyright Act when the period varies. Although there is no formal system for copyright registration, this is usually made by the owner of the copyright or of any exclusive right in the work, together with the application and the appli - cable fee for examination and consideration. An infringement of copyright shall be actionable at the suit of the copyright owner, and, subject to the Copyright Act, any action for such infringe -
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