Trademarks Registration in the BVI

British Virgin Islands Trade Mark Registration

A trade mark is a sign which can distinguish your goods and services from those of other traders. A sign includes, for example, words, logos, pictures or a combination of these. You can use your trade mark as a marketing tool so that customers can recognise your products or services.

As a general rule, a trademark can be: words or combination of words, including those that serve to identify persons; images, symbols and graphics; letters, figures and combinations thereof, when made up of distinctive elements; three dimensional forms, including wrappings, containers, shape of a product or presentation thereof and holograms; colors and combinations thereof or any other medium which, by its very nature, is capable of individualizing a product or service in the market.

The Registrar of Trade Marks of British Virgin Islands may register a trade mark on application by or on behalf of any person, claiming to be the proprietor of a trade mark. We offer Trademark Registration and Protection services in the BVI. Our company offers trade marks registration in BVI, help on drawing up of the application, check on identity and submission of necessary documents in Patent department.

For the registration of a trade mark in the BVI the following documents are required:

• Statement by the Applicant. This statement must contain the following:
  • The name and address of the applicant, and
  • The description or reference to a description of the trade mark to be registered,
  • The class or classes of goods, and
  • The particular description or descriptions of goods in such class or classes.
  • In case of a trade mark already in use, the length of time during which it has been in used.
• Declaration by applicant. The declaration must verify the statement and declare that, to the best of the applicant’s knowledge and belief, he is lawfully entitled to use the trade mark. The declaration must accompany the Statement. Declaration must be acknowledged by a Notary Public, and where signed outside of the British Virgin Islands MUST be duly authenticate by Apostille or the closest British Consulate.
• Power of Attorney must be acknowledged by a Notary Public, and where signed outside of the British Virgin Islands MUST be duly authenticate by Apostille or the closest British Consulate.
• In case the trade mark consists of a distinctive device, mark, brand, heading, label or ticket, an ink stamp showing the trade mark must be supplied.

The application for registration of a trade mark is filed with the Registry of Trade Marks of the BVI and published in the BVI Official Gazette twice.

Three months after the date of the first publication (within which opposition against th application may be filed by anyone claiming to have that right), the Registry shall grant registration of the mark for a renewable period of fourteen (14) years and shall cause the corresponding certificate of registration.

Trademark Search Report

By ordering Coddan’s trademark search report, you will be able evaluate the probabilities of registration without problems. Approximately one third of all trademark applications globally are never completed because of objections that normally arise during the registration process because of similarities to other registered trademarks. Along with the registration search and recommendations, the Coddan search presents a completed form on how and where the trademark should be filed. By allowing Coddan to complete the registration process you can ensure that your trademark has been registered correctly.

Registering the International Trademark

The Madrid Protocol is a system for the international registration of trademarks, of which over 77 countries are currently members. Individuals or companies in any of the member countries of the Madrid Protocol may apply for registration of a trademark in other member countries on the basis of a national application or registration of a trademark.

It is easier and cheaper to submit one international application via the Madrid Protocol than to apply separately in each country. The number of member countries is constantly increasing. A registration under the Madrid Protocol will enable the holder to extend this registration at a later date to apply to new member countries.

European Community Trademark (CTM)

A CTM application and a CTM are valid in the European Community as a whole. The application and the ensuing registration extend automatically to all 27 Member States of the European Community indivisibly. It is not possible to limit the geographic scope of protection to certain Member States. Furthermore, there is one single registration procedure, which is centrally handled before the OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market). No actions before the national industrial property offices are necessary. In addition, invalidation, a refusal or the expiry of the CTM necessarily applies for the whole of the Community. Lastly, the CTM is one single asset of property. It can only be transferred for the whole of the Community and not with respect to individual countries. However, territorially or otherwise limited licenses, even limited for a particular Member State, are possible.

A CTM may consist of any signs capable of being represented graphically, particularly words, including personal names, designs, letters, numerals, the shape of goods or of their packaging, provided that such signs are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.

The procedure for the registration of a CTM is an examination procedure which comprises the following three main parts:

• Examination of the application, which includes whether or not a filing date may be accorded, the formalities examination and the examination as to absolute grounds for refusal, during which search reports are established.
• Publication of the application.
• The procedure up to registration which may comprise opposition proceedings.

On the basis of one application, protection may presently be obtained in Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Registering Trademark in the USA

If you sell your goods or services in the United States you are strongly advised to obtain a US trademark. Coddan can assist with the preparation and filing of trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as well as assisting with the digitalization, color adjustment and compilation of specimens and designs.

Order Trademark Registration in the BVI: BVI Trade Mark Registration - £696.00

Please contact us for more information. If you have any queries, please call us during business hours and speak to one of our highly trained incorporation specialists. You can call us by phone 800-081-1510 or + 44 (0) 207.935.5171, or make an initial consultation request.