Trademarks and Service Marks are registered in St. Lucia under the Patents, Designs, and Trademarks Ordinance of Saint Lucia.
Below are some important definitions to make sure trademarks and services marks are clear.
1. Registration
A trademark or service mark may not be registered under the said Ordinance if it is:
identical to a trademark already on the register with respect to the same goods or description of goods
deceptive or calculated to deceive
of a scandalous design
a description of the goods to which it relates.
A trademark or service mark may consist of any of the following:
name of an individual or firm printed, impressed or woven in some particular or distinctive manner
a written signature, or a copy of a written signature, or the individual or firm applying for registration thereof
a distinctive device, mark, brand heading label or ticket
an invented word or invented words
a word or words having no reference to the character or quality of the goods, and not being a geographical name.
Classification
All international classifications are available in St. Lucia.
Requirements for Registration
Name of applicant
Address of Applicant
Nationality
Name of mark
Description of goods and services
Whether the mark is registered in UK. If yes, details and certified copy of Certificate of Registration
Six (6) prints of the mark
Documents
Statement of Application in the prescribed form
Notarised Authorisation of Agent or Power of Attorney
Where an application is being made for a trademark already in use, a description of the goods in respect of which it has been used and a statement of length of use must be included.
Procedure
After an application for registration of a trademark or service mark has been lodged with the Registrar of Trademarks in St. Lucia, together with the prescribed filing fee, the Registrar proceeds to preparing an Examination Report on the registrability of the mark in question.
The Examination Report is then forwarded to us (the Agents) with notes as to whether the mark has been accepted for registration and or why it has not been accepted. This report contains particulars of the mark to be registered, the class in which it is to be registered and the Number of the mark (if it has been accepted for registration). We then approve the Report and file same with the prescribed fee for advertisement in the St. Lucia Gazette.
A notice of the application of the mark is advertised in the St. Lucia Gazette. If after three months from the date of the publication of the advertisement there is no opposition to the application the Registrar then proceeds to issuing the relevant Certificate.
Duration
Registration is valid for fourteen (14) years and is renewable for further consecutive periods of fourteen (14) years upon payment of the relevant fee.
Future Developments
It is anticipated that the trademark and intellectual property laws of St. Lucia will be completely revised in the near future to comply with WTO’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
2. Registration under St. Lucia Registration of United Kingdom Trade Marks Act
The Registration of trademarks registered under the United Kingdom Trade Marks Act is specifically provide for by the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Ordinance of Saint Lucia.
Requirements for Registration
A certified extract of the United Kingdom trademark register showing the registration of the mark therein.
Notarised Authorisation of Agent or Power of Attorney.
The Registrar, if satisfied as to the validity of the application, will issue a certificate of registration and the applicant will then have all the rights and privileges in the use of the trademark as would be conferred on him by United Kingdom law.
The registration is valid for the reminder of the mark’s original registration period in the United Kingdom. Renewals are dependent on the renewal of the mark in the United Kingdom, and payment of the renewal fee in St. Lucia.