From its base in West Palm Beach, Florida, the ‘incredibly knowledgeable and responsive’ team at Caribbean IP is singled out by clients for its ‘very unique service’ with ‘great attention to detail, diligent responses and a friendly service’. The practice provides trade mark and patent portfolio management services across 28 Caribbean jurisdictions and is also increasingly active in infringement and enforcement work. The team leverages its expertise in the pharmaceuticals sector to act for a client roster which includes global pharmaceutical companies; it is also a go-to name for corporates in the tech, media and entertainment spaces. Katherine Hely is the key contact for filing and prosecution matters and is praised for being ‘very responsive and always willing to jump straight in and help’, while Patrick Hely leads on the contentious front and is ‘very well connected and very friendly’.
Intellectual property in Cross-Caribbean expertise
Caribbean IP
Practice head(s):
Katherine Hely; Patrick Hely
Testimonials
‘The team are incredibly knowledgeable and responsive. They are my preferred firm for Caribbean matters, by far!’
‘Katherine Hely is excellent. A pleasure to work with: knowledgeable and efficient.’
‘Katherine Hely and Patrick Hely are updated, very well connected and very friendly. They are both very academic, a lot of IP background.’
Key clients
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Boult Wade Tennant, LLP
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Work highlights
- Representing a luxury fashion brand on its initial entry into the Caribbean region, including advising on protection strategies for its non-traditional trade marks.
- Acting as the go-to agent for stealth filings in Jamaica for media companies and celebrities.
- Providing trade mark prosecution, litigation and enforcement support to a globally-known musical artist/celebrity across multiple Caribbean jurisdictions.
Miniño Abogados
The ‘highly responsive and thorough’ specialist IP team at Miniño Abogados is a key one-stop shop for IP issues across the entire Caribbean region, handling a varied mix of trade mark and patent protection and enforcement work alongside assisting with portfolio management and registration projects. The Dominican Republic-based practice acts for a global client roster including high-profile names in the tech sector; Netflix, Amazon and Meta are notable examples. Urko Ochoa heads up the ‘attentive, fast and very knowledgeable’ group, which also includes firm managing partner Orietta Blanco, who also excels in data protection mandates; senior associate Arlene Herrera, who focuses on trade mark issues; and associate Yvie François, who focuses on patent prosecution and litigation work.
Practice head(s):
Urko Ochoa
Other key lawyers:
Orietta Blanco; Arlene Herrera; Yvie François; Pamela Hernandez
Testimonials
‘The colleagues who work there are very attentive, fast, and very knowledgeable.’
‘They are specialists in the field, have great knowledge of the subjects and are very attentive and fast. They give a great follow-up to the matters.’
‘This practice is unique as the team is highly responsive and thorough. They deliver quality assessment on risks and advantages on trade mark-related matters and portfolio strategies.’
Key clients
Netflix
Amazon
Meta Platforms
Philip Morris
Sanofi
E. & J. Gallo Winery
Starbucks Corporation
Mondelez International
Fresenius
Sercotel, S.A. de C.V.
Sandvik AB
Salesforce, Inc.
Vrio Corp.
Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
New Balance Athletics, Inc.
Work highlights
- Advising on the consolidation of the trade mark portfolio of Starbucks across the entire Caribbean region including clearance, prosecution and enforcement advice.
- Providing full-scope trade mark support to multinational food and beverage giant Mondelez across 20 Caribbean jurisdictions.
- Providing full-scope trade mark support for Red Bull across the entire Caribbean region, including significant enforcement activities.
HSM
As the only specialist IP firm in the Cayman Islands, HSM has been notably active in advising the Cayman government on its IP legislation as well as assisting a broad range of clients with trade mark, design and patent prosecution matters across the entire Caribbean region. The group also has experience in IP infringement and enforcement work and counts Fortune 500 companies, global law firms and specialist IP practices on its client roster. Firm managing partner Huw St. J Moses, OBE leads the practice alongside IP manager Kate Cleary, who clients praise as ‘extremely responsive and easy to deal with’.
Practice head(s):
Huw Moses; Kate Cleary
Testimonials
‘The team is extremely responsive and able to provide practical, commercial guidance where necessary.’
‘Kate Cleary is extremely responsive and easy to deal with.’
‘HSM is known for its trade mark representation in the Caribbean region. They are one of a few firms that specialise and excel in this region’
Ogier
Ogier’s Caribbean-based IP practice was substantially bolstered in 2022 following the recruitment of Sophie Peat from HSM to lead the team; she is praised by clients as ‘proactive, positive and pragmatic’ and handles the full spectrum of IP clearance, prosecution, exploitation and enforcement work. The group’s expertise encompasses brands and trade marks, copyright, industrial designs and patents, and the team is particularly noted for its knowledge of multi-jurisdictional mandates. The practice also leverages the wider experience in the firm’s dispute resolution, corporate and regulatory teams as well as its global network of offices to provide comprehensive advice.
Practice head(s):
Sophie Peat
Testimonials
‘Sophie Peat is proactive, positive and pragmatic which are hugely valuable skills.’
‘The entire intellectual property team has been excellent to work with. The communication is timely, and the staff are able to explain anything asked and are truly a pleasure to work with.’
‘Sophie Peat is extremely knowledgeable about the various Caribbean countries. Her knowledge has truly helped to guide us along the way where we now have trade marks in multiple countries.’
Work highlights
- Representing a multi-national US food and beverage company brand in trade mark prosecution, dispute resolution and enforcement matters throughout the Caribbean region and in Central and Latin America.
- Acting as Caribbean trade marks adviser for a leading international music and entertainment company wishing to protect and enforce its rights in the region.
- Providing trade mark clearance and prosecution strategy advice and support to a female-owned Caribbean feminine care product company expanding operations throughout the Caribbean.
VANEPS
VANEPS is singled out by clients as ‘the leading IP law firm in the Dutch Caribbean’, acting for a client base of national and international corporates and government bodies on transactional and contentious mandates. The group’s knowledge spans the full breadth of trade mark, copyright, domain name and patent work including registrations, protection issues, maintenance work and renewals. Corporate counsel Diek Fabius, who is praised for his ‘clear, practical advice’, leads the ‘efficient’ team and is also a member of the firm’s Suriname desk. Other key contributors to the practice include associate Ruthnialys Mogen, who specialises in privacy law; and IP officers Rianda Neman-Ferreira and Tania Martis-Ogenia, who excel in trade mark issues.
Practice head(s):
Diek Fabius
Other key lawyers:
Ruthnialys Mogen; Rianda Neman-Ferreira; Tania Martis-Ogenia
Testimonials
‘In our experience VANEPS is the leading IP law firm in the Dutch Caribbean. They respond quickly and provide clear practical advice.’
‘We work with Diek Fabius who is easily contactable and provides clear practical advice. While he makes sure to consult with us before taking decisions, he is proactive and advances our matters without having to be chased.’
‘The team stands out for providing the best service.’
‘The attention of the personnel that work in the company is efficient, the response times are appropriate, the service they provide is excellent.’
‘The quick turnaround time and responses are highly appreciated.’
‘Tania Martis-Ogenia always replies quickly and to the point.’
Key clients
Scotch Whisky Association
Castlegate
The Cadushi Distillery
Miu Epstein Law
NLO Shieldmark B.V.
Cedeño & Méndez
LatinTLD, Inc.
Chiever B.V.
Gatti & Asociados S.A.
Johnson, Camacho & Singh
Work highlights
- Advising Castlegate, a large international online gaming company, on trade mark defence across the world on the basis of a Curaçao basic application.
- Successfully advised and assisted a multinational conglomerate engaged in the design and sale of furniture, appliances and home accessories to take action against the use of trade marks by a Curaçao company.
- Advising The Cadushi Distillery, which has been confronted with infringement of its trade mark rights and copyrights applied in relation to its spirit line Spirits of Bonaire; successfully enforcing a cease and desist by the infringing party and eventually agreeing a settlement agreement.