Trademark application procedure

Your trademark will be registered at the Bureau for Intellectual Property Sint Maarten (BIP), the organization that handles trademark registration for country Sint Maarten, implementing the National Ordinance on Trademarks. 

The time from the date of receiving your trademark application until the registration of your trademark can take up to 3 months.  This term can be extended in certain cases. (Art. 10 par. 3 Trademark ordinance  jo art. 4 par. 2 Trademark decree (exceptions may apply). A standard trademark application costs ANG 750 (USD 417). 
To the fees

The registration is valid for a period of ten years. Your trademark will be protected for the duration of this period. You can then renew your registration at the end of the ten-year period. To retain/preserve the right to your trademark, you need to take active steps. 
More about monitoring a trademark

When your application has been received, BIP SXM records the date and time of receipt, of which you will receive a confirmation. The data as stated on the application form is entered in our system.
Before further proceedings, a preliminary check is performed to determine whether your application meets the minimum requirements, which is the first phase of the legal requirements:

• Is the trademark clearly represented?
• Has the name of the applicant (person or company) been stated?
• Are the goods and services clearly described? 
• In the event of a collective trademark, have the regulations for use been attached?
• Have the fees been paid?

These are the legal requirements that must be fulfilled; if they are not, your application is inadmissible. In other words, no application is deemed to have taken place. The filing date is the date on which these requirements are fulfilled and is important for determining priority of your trademark versus the rights of others.

Read more about the Legal requirements

It is essential that the payment is received by BIP SXM at the same time as the application. If not received simultaneously (payment and application), the filing date will be postponed to the date of receipt of your payment.

Once the filing date has been determined, your application will be further handled and processed. When all the requirements have been monitored and are fulfilled, the goods and services referred to will then be arranged into classes in accordance with the international Nice classification. If any additional information and/or details are required, a member of our office will contact you.

If your application meets the various requirements, your trademark will be registered and afterwards published. A certificate of registration will be issued to the trademark holder or their representative, as stated on the application form.
To maintain this exclusive right, you must use and monitor the trademark, ensure timely renewal of your registration and keep the information up to date (if you change your logo, you must submit a new application).

The filing date is important when it comes to determining the priority of your trademark with respect to the rights of others.

Nice Classification

When applying for a trademark, the products and/or services for which it will be used have to be specified. All products and services are divided into categories 45 (classes). 
Classes 1-34 include goods and classes 35-45 include services. This system allows users seeking to trademark a good or service to choose from these classes as deemed appropriate. Since the system is recognized in numerous countries, it makes applying for trademarks internationally a more streamlined process. The classification system is specified by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 
Read more about the Nice Classification