Sint Maarten: opening of Bureau for Intellectual Property

The National Ordinance for the Bureau for Intellectual Property went into force on October 1, 2015. The Bureau for Intellectual Property of Sint Maarten (BIP SXM) in cooperation with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) started receiving applications on registration of national and international trademarks via the online registration system. 

On April 8, 2016, BIP SXM celebrated its official opening.

BIP SXM has a legal status of an independent governing body and falls under the jurisdiction of the Sint Maarten's Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication.

Acting as a back office of BIP SXM, BOIP administers trademark applications for Sint Maarten and oversees that online trademarks register is fully available to the public. In its turn, BIP SXM takes care of the assessment of the trademark applications on absolute grounds and delivers the titles.

BIP SXM also launched i-Envelope method for recording and proving already existing ideas or creations. 

Author: Lynda Miller