Representatives from CIIPO (the Cayman Islands Intellectual Property Office)<http://www.ciipo.gov.ky/> will attend the invitation-only International Trade mark Association (INTA) Leadership Meeting on 15-18 November in Hollywood, Florida.

The meeting will feature more than 1,200 intellectual property (IP) experts from international law firms and IP offices. CIIPO’s Donnell Dixon and Candace Westby will join discussions on current challenges affecting brand owners and the entities that assist them in protecting their brands; and also give INTA feedback on initiatives that support IP-related business.

‘This is an opportunity for us to promote Cayman’s IP framework to some of the leading minds in the industry’, Mr Dixon said. ‘The timing of this gathering is phenomenal as the Legislative Assembly just passed a new trade marks law, revised patents law, and new design rights legislation in October that will encourage more international companies to do business in Cayman’.

Government created CIIPO in May 2016 to register IP, including trade marks, which need to be recorded as part of its legal protection. It also provides information locally and globally about the full range of IP protection in Cayman.

Since its formation, CIIPO has launched a public education campaign and is helping to prepare Government officers to handle their roles under the new IP laws.

For example, in May Mr Dixon and Ms Westby exhibited at Cayman’s Small Business Expo to showcase the importance of IP to local businesses; and in August, with the assistance of local expertise, they facilitated training for employees of Customs, the Department of Commerce and Investment, and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service on enforcement powers under the copyright law, which came into effect on 30 June.

‘Also in May, CIIPO publicised Cayman’s IP protections at INTA’s Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida’, Mr Dixon said. ‘To now be invited to INTA’s leadership conference, just six months afterward, speaks volumes to CIIPO’s significance in the minds of brand owners from major corporations’.

General Registry oversees CIIPO, as part of its financial services and commerce role. For more information visit www.ciipo.gov.ky<http://www.ciipo.gov.ky> or email[email protected]<mailto:info@ciipo.gov.ky>.