Legislation dealing with intellectual property and the modernization of the regime which includes trademarks, copyrights, patent rights, and circuitry board rights to further refine the model will be laid before the House of Assembly, Ryan Pinder, the Minister of Financial Services, said yesterday.
Pinder revealed his plans as he addressed the Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Pelican Bay yesterday.
He went on to say that to attract industry to our country, and certainly here in Freeport, the intellectual property protections must be in place to give confidence to those companies doing business here that their key assets are protected.
“Many key assets in industry right now these days in manufacturing and any businesses is intellectual property,” he said.
“Whether you are licensing a patent, whether you have a patent, a trademark or a copyright, something that identifies your product – all of these are intellectual property rights and if you can’t give the assurance to the people wanting to do business in your country that their rights and their most key assets in business is protected and the framework is in place, well they are not going to come to your country to do business.”
So he said the Government feels it’s very important to make sure that the legislative and the infrastructural regimes are in place and consistent with world standards in intellectual property.
He noted that it’s a suite of legislation that will be presented, which he said will be put forward in the next term.
Pinder said they also want to pass an investments bill that would help define the types of investments and the framework in which Government will provide support.
He said that in coming to office, his Government extended these concessions as he noted that it was reduced to a five-year concession by the prior exemptions for manufacturers under the Industries Encouragement Act to help foster and develop the manufacturing and industry sector.
Also to areas outside of Freeport he said there is to come an Industries Encouragement Act to provide tax and duty concessions to manufacturers in the country.
By: Yasmin Popescu
Source: The Freeport News
