Independent Country

British Commonwealth English Common Law Jurisdiction

The Marks, Collective Marks and Trade Names Act 1999 went into force on February 2, 2009. The act provides for trademark registrations with effect from the date of application. Service marks can now be registered under the Nice Classification and Paris Convention priority is now available. New registrations are for a term of 10 years, with renewals for a further period of 10 years. Prior use is not necessary but applicants must declare an intent to use, and failure to use a mark for a continuous period of three years following registration will make the mark vulnerable to removal for non-use.

Dominica’s newly independent trademark system protects its existing UK-based and local registrations for the full remainder of their terms (14 years for local registrations) and, during the one year period of transition which ends February 1, 2010, any applicant or owner of a UK registration may file an application to register the same mark in Dominica and thereby obtain the same filing/registration date in Dominica as for the UK mark.


The Authorisation of Agent form needs to be signed before a witness and the witness then signs before a Notary, with no need for legalization. It is essential that Authorisation forms be printed onto heavyweight A4 size (8 1/4" x 11 5/8") paper.  Applications based upon a UK application or registration must be accompanied by a Certified copy of UK application or UK Certificate of Registration, respectively.

Click here to download Power of Attorney form for Dominica