New Act to enable international protection for industrial designers

the Patents and Design Act 2020, which takes effect by the end of the year, has paved the way for Jamaica to sign on to the Hague system, which will enable local industrial designers to secure international protection for their work in multiple jurisdictions.

The legislation, passed in Parliament in January of last year, repeals and replaces the Patent Act of 1857 and the Designs Act of 1937.

“Basically, one of the effects of the new legislation is that it is modernising our design system here in Jamaica,” said trademark designs and geographical indications manager, Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), Adrienne Thompson.

“It is introducing a lot of concepts… for example, it is going to introduce a new classification system — the Locarno Classification System — but also, it has provisions that will allow Jamaica to accede or join the Hague System,” she said, noting that the country is seeking to join this system by the end of the year.

The Hague System, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), provides a mechanism for registering an industrial design in several countries by means of a single application, filed in one language, with one set of fees.

“What the Hague System does is it allows for the international registration of designs. We are really excited… that local designers will have an easier time if they want to protect their designs worldwide,” the JIPO official said.

The Locarno Classification is an international system used to classify goods for the purposes of the registration of industrial designs.

Thompson was addressing JIPO’S Designs Day webinar on Tuesday, under the theme ‘IP and MSME’: Taking Your Ideas to Market’.

The event was part of activities to mark Intellectual Property Week 2021 from April 23 to May 2.