Bahamas Trade Marks Regulations update

Brand owners looking to strengthen trade mark protection in the Bahamas and protect service marks using the new trade marks law now have some regulations to follow.

In our previous update, we discussed the implementation of the Bahamas Trade Marks Act, 2024 (the Act) on 1 February 2025, which at the time was unaccompanied by any regulations. Accompanying Trade Marks Regulations, 2025 (the Regulations) were published in May 2025. The Regulations bring about change to previous practices while leaving other aspects unaddressed. In particular:

• the Regulations don't empower the Registrar to make any amendments to outdated classifications to align with the new Classification system (being the latest version of Nice) in respect of existing trade mark registrations. The Act provides scope for such regulations to be made, but these were not included in the Regulations published to date
• the opposition period has been extended from one month to two months, giving opponents more time to assess their prospects and prepare opposition papers
• the new trade mark application form (Form 2) does not cover all requirements of the Act and Regulations. In particular, there is no place to provide:
  • an indication as to use / intent to use the mark as so required by Section 11 (3) of the Act
  • a transliteration and / or translations of non-Roman characters and / or words
  • details as to any colour claims

Applicants should include all key filing details as required by the Act and Regulations on application to avoid delays.

• Regulation 21 also indicates that three specimens of use / proposed use should be provided regardless as to the filing basis, which seems counterintuitive. Where the Registrar sees fit to reject a specimen a period of 15 days is given for resubmission. It will be interesting to see how this is addressed in practice.
• The Registrar has discretion to allow use of electronic means to communicate with agents, as well as deliver and serve documents. The Registrar may also opt to accept electronic signatures on application forms. We hope that a practice direction will be issued to this end soon as electronic filings and communications would be welcomed by all stakeholders.
• Somewhat out of keeping with the potential move to electronic communications, Regulation 30 states that if a trade mark application is rejected by the Registrar, it will be deemed withdrawn, unless the applicant applies for a hearing within 60 days from the date the statement of the objections is served on the applicant. It seems odd that the applicant would need to apply for a hearing in such circumstances as opposed to the filing of written submissions whether by electronic means or otherwise.

We will monitor how new applications are processed and keep an eye on developments should the Bahamas Intellectual Property Office publish some more practice directions to give practical guidance on certain aspects of the Regulations.

Reach out Ogier's Intellectual Property partner, Sophie Peat, with any questions.

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Disclaimer

This client briefing has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Ogier. The information and expressions of opinion which it contains are not intended to be a comprehensive study or to provide legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations.

Regulatory information can be found under Legal Notice