Trademarks
Registration in the Netherlands Antilles
Registering trademarks in the Netherlands Antilles
The trademark serves to distinguish products from each other, not only products that differ from each other, but also from comparable products. The law of trademarks has a twofold objective:
Protect the interest of the holder of the trademark. As the owner of the trademark that has been deposited, the holder has an absolute right, by which others cannot benefit--without his permission--from the reputation built by means of his large investments.
Protect the interest of the consumer by preventing misrepresentation and confusion.
The Trademark Law
In the Netherlands Antilles the law of trademarks is regulated by the 1995 National Trademark Ordinance (National Gazette 1996, No. 188) and the National Trademark Decree (National Gazette 2000, No. 147). A condition for acquiring a right to a trademark within the Netherlands Antilles is to make the initial deposit. A deposit is an application for registration of a trademark.
How to register a trademark
The deposit is made by filing a document, which may be filed in various languages, i.e. Papiamento, English, Spanish or Dutch, mentioning:
- Name and address of the depositor,
- The picture of the mark,
- A statement of the colour or colours, if the depositor wishes to use such colour(s) as distinctive features of the mark,
- When applicable, the statement that the mark or part of the mark is three-dimensional and, among other things, consists of the form of the commodity or the packaging ,
- The statement of the commodities and services for which the mark is intended,
- When applicable, the statement that it is a collective mark,
- The signature of the depositor or his proxy,
- A description of the object for which the exclusive right is applied for
The Bureau is the only official body designated by law for the registration of marks in the Netherlands Antilles.
What rights does one obtain by registering a trademark?
By means of the deposit and registration one acquires the exclusive right to the trademark, which implies that, with regard to the commodities and services for which the trademark has been registered, one is entitled to oppose any use of the mark by others in economic transactions.
It is possible to register trademarks, after completing the forms and deliver it at the Bureau. You can also download the forms from our site, complete it and deliver it at the Bureau.
We recommend you to fill out the forms with printed letters and in common with the explanation.
Click here to download the application form
