Belmopan, Belize. Mon. Sept. 13, 2021– A statement released by the Belize Intellectual Property Office (BELIPO) this week has indicated that GOB will be implementing a modern intellectual property rights system in Belize. As of September 27, 2021, Belize will be joining the TMclass and adopting the “Harmonized Database (HBD) to classify goods and services in all trademark applications.”
TMclass is a classification tool which allows users to find the appropriate terms and categories to describe their goods and services when seeking a trademark. The HBD will now serve as a portal through which customers can access BELIPO’s database, which BELIPO referred to in its release as “a great achievement for Belize and the users of our services sine the database contains more than 78,000 acceptable terms from which applicants can use to identify the goods and services they wish to seek protection for.”
The enhancement of these systems means that users will now have a broader list of options to choose from and they are now assured that their classifications will be accepted upon application if they use BELIPO’s database. According to a press release issued by BELIPO on Monday, “the adoption of the HDB by BELIPO is a concrete result of the CARIFORUM Intellectual Property and Innovation Project funded under the 11th European Development Fund and implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).”.
For years BELIPO has been providing licensing services through the issuance of trademarks which distinguish goods in the marketplace, patents which allow for the exclusive right to produce an invention for a specific period of time, protection of industrial designs, which encompass the aesthetic qualities of a product, and copyright which provides legal protection for creators of literary and artistic work.
According to BELIPO, “Trademark as an intellectual property, is a very critical element in today’s competitive marketplace and digital market space. Business enterprises use trademarks as effective marketing tools to communicate a strong and focused message about their products and services. And so, securing a registered trademark offers the protection necessary to have exclusive rights and provides them with the tools to prevent someone from using their brand or similar brand and riding off the back of your business.”