IP ArchIPelago

  Non-Conventional Trade Marks:  Scents, Tastes and Sounds Grace Bhagwandeen LLB LLM LEC and Brandon Jadoonanan LLB LLM LEC BA BSc Introduction Non-conventional marks are a new category of trademarks which do not fall under the traditional types of trademarks. These non-traditional marks include sound, scent, taste, motion and texture. The protection of non-conventional marks is a hotly disputed matter in the law. The approaches in the EU and the Caribbean differ, since the EU has removed the need for graphical representation while the Caribbean has retained this requirement. Under the EU approach, the mark must satisfy the  Sieckman  criteria, [1]  i.e. the mark is clear, objective, precise, self-contained, durable, intelligible and easily accessible. After this criteria is met, non-conventional marks can be registered under the EU approach. Notwithstanding that the  Sieckman  criteria is recognised in the Caribbean, the trademark legislation in Trini...

 Neighbouring Rights:  Protecting The Life Of The Party Aliyah Clarke  LLB LEC People attend parties and events to be entertained, to experience something that will arouse their interests and keep them occupied. One way to make it memorable, fun and successful is to have live entertainment, showcasing music, dance or theatre. Performers give life to the literary and artistic works created by authors. The authors of these works are protected by copyright. But what about the performance itself? Are performers not deserving of similar protection as authors?  A performance involves significant creative effort and technical skills but it is still not technically compatible with  the traditional notion of copyright authorship and, as such, does not necessarily fit well within the purview of and qualify for copyright protection. All hope is not lost however. It was felt that these works, because of their nature, were still deserving of some form of protection against c...

  Why We (Legally) Can't Have Nice Things: A Dive Into The World Of Patents Alexandra Ghany “Patent pending”, or “patent protected”. We’ve all heard these phrases before whether it was in real life, a TV show, or movie, and it’s usually preceded by an invention of some kind. Of course, everyone knows inventions are protected by patents. But what does that mean? Is there a limit?    Firstly, patents don’t just cover invented products, they also protect processes as well, and these products or processes have to be new and offer a new technical solution to a problem. [1]  But what’s the Achilles heel? Well, the exclusions to subject matter can vary by jurisdiction, nevertheless, locally, you cannot apply to get a patent for a discovery, scientific theory, mathematical method, surgical methods, etc. [2]  Moreover, a patent will not be granted where commercial exploitation of the subject matter would be contrary to public order or morality. [3] ...

  Introduction to Plant Variety Protection Malcolm Superville Plant variety protection is a form of intellectual property right which grants protection to the breeders of new varieties of plants. [1]  Plant breeding allows for the discovery or creation of genetic variation in plant species and the selection from within those variations of plants with desirable traits that can be inherited in a stable fashion. [2]  In other words, in a world shaped by increasing population growth and environmental degradation, the ability to sustainably produce more food is of utmost importance.  The best way to ensure the creation of more plant varieties is to incentivise plant breeders to produce improved varieties of a wide selection of plant species without the risk of any unauthorised exploitation. [3] The result is a  sui generis  regime tailored to the characteristics of plant varieties that also satisfies the needs of breeders, growers, and traders. [4] The plant bre...