The Trade Marks Act, 2024, was passed on 26 July 2024 in the Bahamas. The Act is not yet in force and it is not yet known when it will come into effect.

One of the key changes under the Act is the introduction of protection of trade marks in respect of not only goods, but for the first time in the Bahamas, services. Brand owners providing services in the Bahamas should commence a review of their existing portfolios and check which trade marks should be re-filed to allow for service mark protection upon commencement of the new Act. Classification will be in accordance with the Nice Agreements concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, of 15th June, 1957 as revised.

The definition as to what qualifies as a trade mark has also been broadened substantially, to include, amongst others, holograms, moving images, sounds, scents, tastes and textures, and the provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of March 20th, 1883, as revised or amended from time to time, has also been fully incorporated into the new Act.