WILLEMSTAD – On Friday, March 10, the Curaçao Intellectual Property Office (BIP) organized two events as part of the series of activities related to the celebration of the 130th anniversary of the trademark registration in Curaçao in combination with a visit from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) and the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). The first event was a private round table discussion specially organized for trademark attorneys, representatives of EZK and BOIP. The second activity was an educational session for entrepreneurs and start-ups on the importance of intellectual property protection. Mr. Shalton Hato, Minister of Justice, was also present on this occasion.
Round table discussion for trademark attorneys
The main speaker for the private session was Mrs. Camille Janssen, representative of BOIP. BOIP is the body that, in addition to the Benelux, is also responsible for trademark protection on Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. Since 10 October 2010, they have been responsible for this task on behalf of and on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. Because most trademark attorneys have lived in Curaçao since the time of the Netherlands Antilles, BIP organized this interesting event to exchange information, among other things.
In his dissertation, Mrs. Janssen, based on statistics and experiences of BOIP employees, updates regarding the activities of users and BOIP that took place over the past years on the Dutch Caribbean islands. Mr. Janssen also gave a look at future development plans at BOIP, to support professionals who use the BES Trademarks Act to protect their brands on Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. The BOIP is also responsible for, among other things, trademark registration for the countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in the Benelux constellation.
During the round table discussions, subjects related to trademark protection were exchanged. Topics covered in this section included brand protection strategies, recent legal developments regarding the BES trademark law, BES Trademarks Act, and the means to control the use of trademarks. The Q&A session discussed the challenges faced in communication between the client and the agency and possible solutions to them. Representatives of Legislation and Legal Affairs of Curaçao and the Court of Justice of Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba were also present during this event.