In Curaçao, exclusive rights to a trademark are granted only by registration, as it is a “first-to-file” jurisdiction. This means that, regardless of who uses the mark first, the person or company who files the application first will generally have the stronger legal position.
Trademark applications must be filed locally with the Bureau for Intellectual Property of Curaçao BIP.
Curaçao is also a member state of the Madrid Protocol, so you can extend an international registration via the Madrid System to cover Curaçao. We offer services for trademark filing through the Madrid System.
An important advantage is that registering a trademark in Curaçao also grants protection in St. Maarten (Sint Maarten), giving you coverage in both territories with a single registration.
If you register a combined trademark (word + figurative/logo) in Curaçao, your exclusive rights are limited to that exact configuration. To protect the word element and the logo independently, it is recommended to file separate applications for each element.