Trade and Service Marks

– Trade Marks National Ordinance 1995 (National Gazette A 1996 No. 188), effective from January 1, 2001.
– National Trade Marks Decree (National Gazette A 2000 No. 147).

Membership in International Conventions

– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act of 1967.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since January 1, 1986.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement (1994), since January 1, 1995.
– Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, since April 28, 2003.
– Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, since January 2, 2010.
– Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, since May 21, 2012 (NLC 11-2019 and NLC 11-2020).
– Trademark Law Treaty, since August 11, 2012.

Filing

Note: Curaçao has its own jurisdiction for intellectual property rights and its own independent Bureau for Intellectual Property. Internet address: www.bip.cw.  It is handling all intellectual property matters for the autonomous State of Curaçao.

All requests for renewals, assignments, changes of address, etc., concerning marks formerly registered in the Netherlands Antilles (NA) Register of Marks are accepted by BIP Curaçao without need for filing a confirmative application or the payment of extra charges. All trademarks formerly registered with BIP NA in the NA Register of Marks are thus by operation of law, and at no extra charge, assumed registered in the Curaçao Register of Marks for the remaining duration of their former Netherlands Antilles term of registration. The registration numbers of the former NA marks thus registered in the Curaçao Register of Marks have become the “new” Curaçao registration numbers of the marks concerned.

Applicant: any natural person or legal entity claiming the right to a trademark. 

Foreigners: non-residents must be represented by a registered trademark attorney in Curaçao. 

Service marks and collective marks: may be registered.

Colors and family names: may be registered. 

Definition of trademark: all designs, prints, seals, letters, figures, shapes of goods or packaging and all other symbols that serve to distinguish the products of an enterprise. 

Not registrable: (1) shapes, determined by the nature of the goods, that influence the actual value of the goods, or that yield a result in the industrial field, cannot be registered as marks; (2) signs that may deceive or mislead the public; (3) marks that infringe upon the public order. 

Priority: based upon Article 4 of the Paris Convention, priority may be claimed within six months of the filing date in any Convention country. 

Multi-class applications: possible. 

Territory covered: the island of Curaçao.

Filing requirements (to be sent to resident agent for filing an application):
1. Power of attorney (no legalization);
2. Exact name and address of the applicant;
3. Electrotype (8 x 8 cm), not required for ordinary word marks;
4. For logos, 4 prints in black and white or color;
5. The classes and specification of goods and/or services;
6. Priority document; a certified copy of home registration (not older than six months) with certified translation into Dutch, if not in English or Spanish.

Examination and Protection

Examination: as to formality of the documents, registrability of the mark, existence of prior registrations or applications or marks known in Curaçao. 

Disclaimers: not available.  

Letters of consent: are not accepted. 

Publication: in the Curaçao Trademark Gazette (“Merkenblad”) (digital). 

Delivery of document: provided that no complications occur, a typical application takes between two weeks and two months from filing to registration. 

Effect of registration: there is a presumption of exclusive rights to use the mark. 

Use: compulsory; non-use for a period of more than five years may be claimed as defense by an infringer. Use by a licensee is deemed use by the proprietor. 

Tolerated use: after five years of tolerated use of a mark subsequently registered, the holder of the exclusive right to a mark can no longer invoke the nullity of the subsequent registration. 

Nullification/cancellation: on the grounds mentioned in Article 25 of the Trade Marks National Ordinance 1995, any interested party may request the Court of First Instance (“Gerecht in Eerste Aanleg”) to nullify and cancel the registration of a mark. 

Appeal: may be filed at the Common Court of Justice (“Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie”) and at the Supreme Court of Justice (“Hoge Raad”). 

Refusal of registration: within two months after the notice of the refusal of registration, the applicant may appeal this decision before the Common Court of Justice. 

Marking: no provision. 

Duration: ten years as of the date the application was filed. 

Renewal: for periods of ten years. An application for renewal must be filed within six months prior to expiration. 

Late renewal: renewal within six months after expiration is possible against additional duties to be paid. 

Documents for renewal: same as for original application. 

Assignment: possible, with or without the business. It must be recorded. 

License: registration is not compulsory. 

Infringement/opposition: based on the exclusive right of first registration, the mark holder can oppose against: (a) any use, made in economic traffic, of the mark for the goods or services for which the mark has been registered; (b) any use of similar goods or services, if the possibility exists for the public to make an association between the marks; (c) any use, made without valid reason, of goods or services not similar, if the use of the mark can cause unjustified benefit or can harm the reputation of the mark. 

Penalties: the mark holder may claim damages for any loss and can institute a suit for payment of any profit earned in consequence of the unjustified use.