Government of Trinidad and Tobago approves Intellectual Property Policy

On June 20, 2008, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago approved an Intellectual Property Policy for Trinidad and Tobago. One would recall that by Cabinet Minute No. 2403 of September 18, 2003, Cabinet agreed to the formulation of a National Intellectual Property Policy for Trinidad and Tobago and the appointment by the Minister of Legal Affairs of a Committee to draft the said policy and submit it to Cabinet within six (6) months of its appointment. Following several delays, arrangements were eventually formalized and appropriate Instruments of Appointment presented to the members of the Committee by the then Minister of Legal Affairs, Senator the Honourable Danny Montano, on December 11, 2003.

The inaugural meeting of the Committee was convened in February 2004. The Committee met in four plenary sessions before separating into two working groups, each one with instructions to deal with a specific aspect of the mandate. In August 2004, two months beyond the stipulated deadline, the reports of the two working groups were consolidated into a single document representing the initial draft of the Committee’s report. However, certain administrative difficulties in respect of the membership of the Committee (including the fact that the Chairman was not officially a member of the
Committee) needed to be resolved before the Committee could complete its work and submit its report to the Minister of Legal Affairs in accordance with its mandate.

In March 2005, therefore, the Minister of Legal Affairs, acting on the advice of the Committee Chairman, made approaches to Cabinet to have the Committee regularised. Having considered the request, Cabinet, by Cabinet Minute No. 836 of March 31, 2005 agreed:

a) To the reconstitution of the Committee with effect from March 1, 2004;
and
b) That the Committee submit the Draft Policy to the Minister of Legal
Affairs by April 30, 2005, the Minister to make an appropriate submission to Cabinet thereafter.

The reconstituted Committee, led by Lester Efebo Wilkinson, submitted a Draft Intellectual Property Policy for Trinidad and Tobago, appropriately titled "Innovating for 2020 Excellence" to the Honourable Minister of Legal Affairs on May 30, 2007 which Policy was then submitted to Cabinet. By Cabinet Minute No. 2676 of October 11, 2007, the Draft National Intellectual Property Policy for Trinidad and Tobago was deferred for further consideration. By Cabinet Minute No. 493 of March 6, 2008, Cabinet referred the Note containing the Draft Intellectual Property Policy to the Finance and General Purposes Committtee for consideration.

The sub-committee established under the Finance and General Purposes Committee and chaired by Minister Christine Kangaloo reviewed the recommendations contained in the "Innovating for 2020 Excellence" policy and based on the sub-committee's recommendations and the recommendations contained in the "Innovating for 2020 Excellence" document, the following measures were adopted on June 20, 2008: -

ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL
· In relation to administrative and technical issues, Trinidad and Tobago’s
National Intellectual Property policy will address the institutional strengthening of the Intellectual Property Office, with technical assistance provided by the World Intellectual Property Organisation. This restructuring exercise will pay particular attention to: -

· An expansion of the general staff and the strengthening of the human
resource capacity of the Intellectual Property Office, in order to facilitate the projected increased activity in intellectual property matters;
· The restructuring of the business processes and the upgrade of the
information technology capabilities of the Intellectual Property Office will play a key role in the service delivery of the Intellectual Property Office;
· Continuous Public Education and Outreach will raise awareness of the value
of Intellectual Property in the economic and cultural landscape of Trinidad and Tobago, with a view to sensitizing the public and private sectors in relation to the use of intellectual property for their economic benefit and strategic advantage.

FINANCE
· Under the financial initiatives, it was agreed that a national
Intellectual Property Development Fund would be established that would work in tandem with existing facilities such as the Research and Development Facility in the Ministry of Trade and Industry to provide financial support to local inventors and other intellectual property creators.
· Furthermore, Cabinet has agreed to the expansion and upgrade of
competitive events that would encourage and foster excellence in design, innovation and inventiveness, especially competitive events for service excellence in the public sector.

ENFORCEMENT
· The enforcement aspect of this Draft National Intellectual Property Policy
advocates:
· The passage of legislation that would provide for increased penalties for
infringement and less convoluted procedures for arrest and prosecution;
· Comprehensive intellectual property training for law enforcement officers
and ongoing dialogue with the Judiciary in this regard;
· Consistent consumer education programmes that promote respect and
valuation of creative efforts.

GENERAL

· The draft Intellectual Property Policy also mandates that all contracts
for services or development projects have clauses that address the manner in which intellectual property matters will be managed particularly as it relates to ownership.
· The Intellectual Property Office is charged with the responsibility for
developing guidelines for treating with intellectual property issues that will be used by all Government Ministries and Agencies in which the Government has controlling interest.

The various aspects of the Draft National Intellectual Property Policy previously mentioned will be assigned to specific Government Ministries for implementation.