Intellectual Property & Trademark in Seychelles

Being an archipelago of 115 small islands and located at the northeast of Madagascar, Seychelles offers a plethora of advantages to the business owners. In fact, this country has been renowned as the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Africa.

This place is also considered as a member of the African Union. Even though the official languages of Seychelles are Seychellois Creole, English, and French, the English language is used in the sector of government and business.

Seychelles is also famous among the business owners because of its most important industries such as tourism and the financial services sector. Seychelles has also grown into a competitive location for offshore company incorporations after the introduction of the International Business Companies Act in 1994.

And due to this act, this place has become one of the best places to set up an offshore company. With the advent of technology and global opportunities, the corporate and financial sectors of Seychelles are showing a high trend.

As a matter of fact, every place has some advantages associated with it while setting up the business; similarly, this place is also offering some benefits. They offer:

• Sound asset protection.
• Excellent tax.
• Limited confidentiality.

Seychelles follows territorial taxation, in short, only locally-sourced income will be taxable to the business owners. Moreover, there is no estate or property taxes, and capital gains taxes. The foreign-source income is also untaxable in Seychelles. What’s more, Seychelles has also signed over 30 tax treaties with partner countries, including China, out of which 21 are currently in force.

Apart from these benefits, Seychelles is also offering facilities like  High-speed broadband, and good telecommunications infrastructure. And if you are thinking about the factor of travel, then you don’t need to worry about this too. Because the country also has a modern international airport with regular services to Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

So, do you want to incorporate your business entity in Seychelles? Well, then you must be aware of the fact that while setting up the business, you need to have a trademark, patent, or copyright for your business.

But do you know that Seychelles respects intellectual property (IP) rights? In fact, the officials of this place also regard laws and other measures in order to protect them as crucial for long term economic development. There is no denying the fact that to promote foreign investment in the country, adequate and effective protection of Intellectual Rights is considered vital and in Seychelles, these factors are of the utmost importance.

Despite the IR, the protection of local businesses, and the transfer and dissemination of technology also facilitate the integration of Seychelles’ economy into the regional and global economies. As per the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), Seychelles is nominated as the most important member.

Do you want to start a new business in socio-economic areas of the world? If so, then you should know about the procedure of applying for the trademarks, patent, and Intellectual Property in Seychelles so that you can avoid any regulations problems.

Trademark in Seychelles

As a matter of fact, a trademark is a symbol, design, word, or even a combination of all these things, which is used to differentiate the services or goods of the organizations or the person from others in the competitive business world.

To be more precise, the trademark is used to present an identical image of the business among loyal customers so that they can choose them over their rivals.

That was the definition of a trademark; so, do you want to know the procedure and what are the things that you need to have in order to apply for a trademark in Seychelles?

Let’s gather information about this factor–

As per the Trademark Registry, in Seychelles, it typically takes 9 to 12 months in order to get processed and registered trademark of a particular business.  Well, usually, the trademark registration is for 10 years from the date of filing, and it needs to be renewed for consecutive periods of 7 years after that. 

As you know that in order to operate a business smoothly in a specific region, it is always advisable to hire a professional, especially for registering trademarks, patents, and Intellectual Properties.

Need of Professionals

We will provide every opinion on the selection, availability, and even registrability of trademarks. Moreover, we also pay attention to help you in getting enough knowledge about the validity, infringement/non-infringement opinions, and regulations, due diligence reports.

Once you deliver all the required documents to us, we will help you to apply with the Trade Mark Registry, however, an application number is issued within a week. During this period of time, the trademark office processes the application.

As soon as your application gets approved, a notice of publication will be issued. We will take care of this notice and will forward it to the Official Gazette in Seychelles under the registration fee.

Within two months from the publication date in the official Gazette, opposition proceeding should be initiated. But you don’t need to worry about this factor because our firm makes an application for a Certificate of Registration after the 2 months. Therefore, the validity of your business trademark in Seychelles takes effect from the date of the filing date of the application.

Now, you must have a profound idea about the procedure of trademark in Seychelles and our company’s role for registering it with the trademark registry.  

Once you appoint our Firm as your trademark agent in Seychelles, you need to provide us with a duly certified/Notarized authorization of agent.

In fact, a power of attorney must be attached and submitted with the trademark application. Other than this, if you are claiming colour priority on the application it is recommended you submit eight (8) original representations of the mark for each application.  Trademark applications and all required documents have to be in the English or French language, otherwise must be accompanied by a certified translation.

Patent in Seychelles

The next section of this article will let you understand the procedure and required documents for applying and registering a patent in Seychelles.

Let’s start with the definition of a patent.

Basically, the patent is the granting of a property right by a sovereign authority to an inventor.  Due to this grant, the business owners get the exclusive rights to the patented process, design, or invention for a designated period concerning the exchange for a complete disclosure of the invention.

So, do you also want to register a patent for your business entity in Seychelles? If yes, then below shared are the documents that you need to prepare.

In order to apply for a patent application, all the entrepreneurs are required to prepare the documents along with the prescribed fee. They are as follows-

• Title of invention
• The company shall be indicated by their full, official designations, and the name of the natural person must be written in the document.
• Addresses, telephone, fax, and email
• Describe the nationality (name of the country where the person is a national) or state of incorporation of an entity or registered office)
• The residence address of a person
• Specify the technical field to which the invention relates
• Indicate the background art of the applicant which can be regarded as useful for the understanding, searching, and examination of the invention and preferably, like the documents reflecting such arts.
• Disclose the invention in such terms only which can be understood.  Moreover, also mention the benefits of it while submitting it concerning the background art.
• If there is any figure in the drawings, then briefly describe it.
• Also put some examples, when it is required, concerning the drawings, for the mode for carrying out the invention
• When it is not apparent from the description or nature of the invention, how the invention is industrially applicable, and how it can be made and used, then indicate it specifically.

That was all about the documents which you have to prepare for the registration of a patent in Seychelles.

Let’s dive deeper into the second part of this section-

How to present the form?

Well, the patent application must be presented in writing in the prescribed and must include-  

• A request
• A description
• Mention one or more claims

• An abstract
• One or more drawings (where required)

Note- If you are making any drawing in any part of the application form for the patent, then make sure that it is formed on the sheets. And remember that the surface area of the drawing should not exceed 26.2cm by 17cm.  Don’t include any frames around the usable or used surface. More importantly, the minimum margin area shall be: top – 2.5cm, left side – 2.5cm, right side – 1.5cm, bottom – 1.0cm.

Procedure for Applying for a Patent in Seychelles Concerning the International Business Owners

If you are not residing in Seychelles, and still wishing to operate a business over there, then you need to have an agent appointed via Power of Attorney. In fact, the documents of the company ought to be signed on behalf of the body corporate and must bear the seal of the body corporate (the Registrar may request evidence of authorization to sign the document).

Even though the official languages of Seychelles are Seychellois Creole, English, and French, still all the applications are required to be prepared and submitted in the English language only, approximately in three sets.

And if somehow you are forming the documents for the application of a patent in Seychelles, and submitting to the Registrar, then you need to attest a translation of these documents in the English language. More importantly, the translation in English must be certified by the Translator who knows each and every clause of the application in order to avoid any further constraint.

What are the documents that you need to submit with the Registrar?

The Registrar shall require:

• A copy of the patent granted based on foreign patent application;
• A copy of any communication received by the applicant concerning the result of any search or examination carried out in respect of the international application.
• A copy of the final decision refusing the grant of the Patent or rejecting the foreign application as per the request in the foreign application.

Once you submit all the documents mentioned above with the Registrar, then they will examine whether the application complies with the requirements of section 10(2) and (3).  

What will happen when a patent is granted?

When a Patent is granted, the Registrar shall do the following things:

• Issue the publication number of the Patent
• Publish a reference to the grant of the Patent in the Gazette
• Issue a certificate of the grant of the Patent and a copy of the Patent
• Record the Patent; and
• Make available copies of the Patent to any person on payment of the prescribed fee.

More importantly, a company will have a patent for a valid period of 20 years commencing from the filing date of the application for protection. But one thing that you need to make sure that you are paying the annual fees in advance for each year starting from the very first year after the filing date of the application for grant of Patent.

Got an idea about the procedure and documents required for register a patent in Seychelles? Well, if you find any difficulty, then you should hire a professional like Startupr Hong Kong Limited. We offer a range of services in the field of Intellectual property and International Business, Offshore Trusts, Ship registration amongst others at the highest level of professionalism.

International Application for Applying a Patent In Seychelles

In Seychelles, an international application comes under the act of an international filing date accorded under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Moreover, the applicants are also required to file the form in the English language only with the prescribed fee, within one month of receipt of the international application.

Application to be filed along with :

• The description
• The claims
• Any text matter of the drawings
• The abstract

Final Thoughts!

By now that you must have profound knowledge about the trademark, a patent, and the Intellectual property in Seychelles, and the procedure which you need to follow for the registration of these assets for your business. If you find any difficulty, feel free to contact Startupr Hong Kong Limited.

Startupr helps the business owners to incorporate their business in Hong Kong, we help entrepreneurs in following the procedures and measures dealing with infringement of intellectual property rights. In fact, we pride ourselves on the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of the services we usually offer to them while conducting the business.

We aim to provide clients with a highly individualized focus on their matters in an efficient cost-effective manner. Whether you are seeking help for getting patents, industrial designs, and trademark registration, or portfolio management, we will assist you in every stepping stone of your business.

Let us help you!