Business View Caribbean | December 2019

3 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN DECEMBER 2019 O p e n i n g L i n e s D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 By Marsha S. Cadogan, Bsc. LLB. LLM. PhD Canaan Bridges Consulting; MSC Intellectual Property and Technology Law T he World Intellectual Property Organization, the body that governs intellectual property laws globally, recently published a report on the most innovative cities in the world. The report indicates that innovation is dispersed across the globe and is no longer centred in any one area or region. Innovation involves new or refined ways of doing things, whether in manufacturing, services, or in the development of technologies. This trend in the geography of innovation brings to fore the relevance of intellectual property to the sustainable growth of Caribbean businesses. Intellectual property rights are the benefits bestowed on the owners or licensees of intangible assets, based on the creativity and innovation that DOES YOUR BUSINESS HAVE AN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STRATEGY? was involved in the creation, fixation, invention, design, or production of a product or service. This benefit includes the right to prevent others from making, selling, using, leasing, or developing the owners’ product without their authorization. The forms of intellectual property protection differ, based on the right that is protected. However, all countries that are members of the World Trade Organization offer minimum standards of protection for all major forms of intellectual property. Examples of intellectual property include trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, trade secrets, and confidential information. Is your business developing, fully capturing, and protecting its intellectual property? There is hardly any business that cannot benefit from an effective intellectual property strategy, whether the business uses intellectual property, or generates intellectual property from its activities.