JIPO Encourages Inventors and Entrepreneurs to Protect their Works

Inventors and entrepreneurs are being urged to protect their intellectual properties from exploitation, by using patents.

Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, Executive Director, Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), Lilyclaire Bellamy, noted that individuals and businesses often do not secure their handiworks and ideas.

A patent, which is an exclusive right granted for a product or process that offers a new solution, generally spans two decades.

With this, the owner can prevent or stop others from using the protected inventions for commercial use.

Any inventor, or anyone who has the inventor’s permission, can obtain a patent by complying with the requirements of the Patents and Design Act 2020.

“We love to share our information; [but] JIPO is encouraging you not to do that. When you come up with an idea, keep it as a secret. If you come up with an invention or the solution to a problem, run to us… and make an application to protect your invention,” Ms. Bellamy emphasised.

She added that individuals and businesses also have the option of seeking assistance from private attorneys-at-law who deal with intellectual property.

“The important thing is to make an application, and this becomes your notice. But if you don’t, and you share the information, someone else may get to JIPO before you and say that they invented it,” Ms. Bellamy pointed out.

To obtain a patent in Jamaica, the invention must be novel and provide public utility.

However, naturally occurring things, scientific principles, business methods, weapons, computer programmes, and schemes are not patentable.