The Intellectual Property Office of Trinidad and Tobago (“TTIPO”), Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs announces the repealing of the Trade Marks Act Chap 82:81 and proclamation of Trade Marks Act No. 8 of 2015 with accompanying Regulations commencing on June 25, 2020. The Act and concomitant Regulations will modernize the current trade marks legislation providing agents and users with more efficient, cost-effective operations and convenient delivery of services as it pertains to trade mark matters.

The new Trade Marks Act No. 8 of 2015 with accompanying Regulations, will facilitate the following:

• A broader definition of a trade mark to permit, amongst other things, the filing of non-conventional trade marks under the Regulations. Please see the Caribbean Trade Marks Manual;
• Introduction of protection for Collective Marks;
• Increased protection for well-known marks;
• Entry into force of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trade Marks which promotes ease of doing business;
• The maintenance of the Electronic Online System for trade marks including electronic filing;
• The Electronic Journal for all industrial property publications including the Trade Marks Journal, published every Wednesday on our website;
• Entry into force of the 11^th Edition of the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks are available: classification assistance through the WIPO Madrid Goods and Services Manager;
• Increased regulatory functions for enforcement bodies;
• Increased border enforcement protection against counterfeit trade mark goods;
• A revised Schedule of Fees is available;
• Revised Forms are available in PDF fillable format.

Kindly note that all applications which were filed under the former Act which are pending upon the commencement of Trade Marks Act No. 8 of 2015 will be dealt with under the former Act (section 132 of the Act). This release words in tandem with Practice Direction dated March 2020 which introduced electronic filing at the TTIPO. Please also see our online training videos.