Licensing of Intellectual Property rights

The licensing of Intellectual Property rights is a so-called qualified exempt activity for the Aruba Exempt Company.

Developing, acquiring, holding, maintaining and licensing of intellectual and industrial property rights, similar rights and usage rights.

The rights that are included in this description includes, amongst others, copyrights, neighboring rights, trade name rights, brand names (word rights, image rights, taste rights, smell rights, shape rights, sound rights), model rights, patent rights, image rights, rights regarding musical compositions and lyrics, photographs, pictures ,movie images (including advertising), (industrial) design, fashion design, software, recitals, including music recordings, inventions, theater and cabaret etc., plant species, chips, semi conductors, portraits, personal names,  etc.

Contrary to the Aruban Exempt Corporation, IPC’s can also be used for the development of such rights.

Aruba is a contracting state for several international conventions on Intellectual property:

Intellectual Property

• Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883);

Copyrights

• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886);

Brand rights

• Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the purpose of Registration of Marks;

Patent Rights

• Patent Cooperation Treaty;
• Strassbourg Agreement concerning the International Patent Classification;
• Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure;

Industrial designs

• Locarno Agreement establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs.

The Aruba Bureau of Intellectual Property is a governmental agency which is in charge of the registration of intellectual property in Aruba, and the protection of the registered rights.

The Aruba Bureau of Intellectual Property is independent in its decision making. Appeals can be filed at the Bureau or in court.

In Aruba the following intellectual properties can be protected:

• Trademarks and service marks;
• Patent rights;
• Copy rights;
• Industrial design.