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The Jamaica Intellectual Property Office has just released a Draft of its new Fee Schedule which should come into effect on or before December 1, 2022.

Spoiler alert: the price increases are substantial, but the new fees are still within International norms.

For example, the JIPO fee to file a new trade mark application has increased from J$7,800 for the first class to J$13,700 and the publication fee (due on acceptance of the application, usually about six months after filing) has increased from J$10,000 to J$13,700. The fee for each additional class would move from J$2,200 to J$4,200 – almost a 90% increase.

The JIPO fees for a hypothetical three class application, assuming no amendments required, will move from J$22,200 to J$35,800 – an overall increase of more than 60%.

The new Trade Mark Rules will also provide a trade mark owner the ability to Request Expedited Examination – for a hefty fee! A Request for Expedited Examination will cost J$30,000 for the first class and J$15,000 for each additional class; a Request for Expedited Processing will cost J$20,000 – and both of these are in addition to the regular fees. So if you wanted to expedite that same three class application, you’d be looking at total fees of J$115,800. Typically, a trade mark application takes 10-12 months to register, assuming no amendments or refusals from JIPO; it is unclear how much faster an “expedited” application will move through the system.

These fee increases are part of the new Trade Mark Rules necessitated in part by Jamaica’s accession to the Madrid Protocol. But it should be noted that while the increases appear to be steep, the new fees are still well within International norms, and trade mark fees in other countries can be significantly higher – in the US, for example, that same hypothetical 3 class application could cost between US$825 and US$1,050 in USPTO fees – and there is no option to expedite, so the application will take between 10-12 months regardless.

So, if you are considering filing a new Jamaican trade mark application on a budget, you might want to file sooner rather than later, to take advantage of the lower fees before the increases take effect.  

– Sarah Hsia

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of Rockstone Legal and do not constitute legal advice.

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