The CI Government has modernised the country’s intellectual property laws in order to provide better protection of the rights of persons involved in creative and business endeavours. By improving copyright, trade mark, patent and design rights legislation, Government also has improved the local commerce framework.
Copyright protection has been significantly updated with the commencement of the Copyright Order (Cayman Islands) 2015. As of 30 June 2016, the categories of original creations that are protected in Cayman have been expanded to cover music, film, art, and other creative fields in every format – including digital.
The Trade Marks Law, an amendment to the Patents Law, and a new Design Rights Law commenced on 1 August 2017. The Trade Marks Law allows people and companies to locally register their brands and company logos. It also gives legal protection against piracy and infringement, allowing local and international companies to be confident in what they create in the Cayman Islands, while providing an incentive for local and international investors. The amendment to the current patents legislation allows patent holders to continue registering their rights in the UK and extending them to the Cayman Islands.
The completely new Design Rights Law allows design rights – the physical appearance of an industrial or handicraft item or a part of it – registered in the UK, to be extended to Cayman. The 2017 Law was repealed and replaced in May 2019 with the Design Rights Law, 2019 to allow for the direct registration of those rights in the Cayman Islands.