Patents

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his/her assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an invention. The procedure for granting patents, the requirements placed on the patentee and the extent of the exclusive rights vary between countries according to the national laws and related international agreements.

An Agency of the Ministry, the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), processes all applications for Patents in Jamaica. At present, the Patents issued in Jamaica are applicable only in Jamaica. The current Patents Act is dated 1857. A Patent and Industrial Designs Act has been drafted and this legislative change is being pursued that will make the process WTO-compatible, as well as consistent with the provisions of the bilateral Intellectual property Agreement with the USA.

The Legal Department of the Ministry has oversight functions for intellectual property administration.