Legislation
Legislation
Set out below is a list of the enactments and conventions which are currently administered by the Department. For convenience, the enactments have been classified under three (3) sub-headings, A, B and C with the conventions being found under subheading D.
Acts available online for viewing are hyper-linked at the end of the brief description.
A. GENERAL
- Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Act, Cap. 21A
An Act to provide for the establishment of the Office of Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property and setting out the enactments for which the Department is responsible.
- Public Documents (Exemptions from Diplomatic or Consular Legalization) Act, Cap. 122
An Act providing for the issuance by the Registrar of an Apostille certificates certifying the authenticity of certain public documents in accordance with Barbados’ obligations under the 1961 Hague Convention.
- Stamp Duty Act, Cap. 91
An Act to impose certain stamp duties on various categories of commercial documentation.
- Property Transfer Tax Act, Cap. 84A
An Act to provide for the imposition of a tax on the disposal of land and company shares and for related matters. The Registrar functions as an adjudicator of property transfer tax.
B. CORPORATE AFFAIRS
- Companies Act, Cap. 308 and the Companies Regulations, 1984
An Act to revise and amend the laws relating to companies and to provide for related and consequential matters. View the Act. View the Regulations
- Societies with Restricted Liability Act, 1995-7
An Act to provide for the organisation of societies with restricted liability with full corporate personality and for related matters. View the Act.
- Private Trust Companies Act, 2012-2
- Limited Partnerships Act, Cap. 312
- Registration of Business Names Act, Cap. 317
An Act to provide for the registration of firms and persons carrying on business under business names and for related matters.
- Bills of Sale Act, Cap 306
An Act for preventing frauds upon creditors by secret bills of sale of personal chattels.
- Charities Act, Cap. 243
An Act to provide for the registration of charities and related matters.
- Electronic Filing Act 2014 – 16
- Caribbean (CARICOM ENTERPRISES) Act, Cap. 14B
An Act to provide for the implementation by Barbados of the agreement for the establishment of a Regime for CARICOM ENTERPRISES and for related matters.
- Registration of Newspapers Act, Cap. 302
An Act to provide for the registration of newspapers.
C. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- Patents Act, Cap. 314 and the regulations made thereunder
An Act to provide for protection of inventions and which sets out the procedure for making patent applications and the grant of patents.
Scroll to top- Trade Marks Act, Cap. 319 and the regulations made thereunder
An Act to provide for the protection of trade names, logos, slogans, brands and other marks used in connection with goods and services and which sets out the procedure for making trade mark applications and for the grant thereof.
- Industrial Designs Act, Cap. 309 and regulations made thereunder
An Act to provide for the protection of designs of industry and handicraft and which sets out the procedures for making industrial design applications and for the grant thereof.
- Copyright Act, Cap. 300
An Act which introduces modern provisions for the protection of rights in literary, artistic, dramatic and musical works and other protected works.
- Geographical Indications Act, Cap. 320
An Act to protect indications which identify goods as originating in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin (e.g. Champagne for wines and spirits).
- Integrated Circuits Topography Act, Cap. 320A
An Act to provide protection for the layout designs of integrated circuits and which sets out the procedures for making applications for protection of rights in layout designs of integrated circuits and for the grant thereof.
- Protection Against Unfair Competition Act, Cap. 329A
An Act to provide for protection against unfair competition within the context of Barbados’ obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization.
- Protection of New Plant Varieties Act, 2001-17
An Act to provide protection for plant breeder’s rights and which sets out the procedures for making applications for protection of such rights and for the grant thereof.
- Intellectual Property Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2006-2
D. OTHER ACTS
- Bills of Sale Act
A bill of sale is a written document given by way of security for the payment of money by which one person (“the grantor”) transfers to another person (“the grantee”) property he has in specific goods or ‘personal chattels’ together with a right or power to seize or take possession of the goods or personal chattels in the event of non-payment of the debt or loan.
“Personal Chattels” are defined in the Bills of Sale Act, Cap. 306 to mean goods and chattels such as household effects and articles capable of complete transfer by delivery. These are mainly motor vehicles or household furniture.
An important feature of a bill of sale is that while property in the goods or chattels specifically mentioned in the document is assigned or transferred to the grantee, physical possession of the goods or chattels is retained by the grantor.
The following formalities should be observed in respect of bills of sale:-
- Prescribed format of bill of sale to be followed: Section 24 of the Bills of Sale Act, Cap. 306 provides that every bill of sale made or given by way of security for the payment of money by the grantor shall be void and of no effect unless made in accordance with the Form set out in the Third Schedule to the Act. The essential features of the prescribed Form include, inter alia, the date of execution of the document, the names and addresses respectively of the grantor and grantee, a statement as to the consideration received by the grantor for the bill of sale, words of assignment or transfer to the grantee, a promise to repay the debt together with interest at an agreed rate and at stipulated times and a Schedule or Inventory setting out the specific goods or chattels comprised in the bill of sale;
- Stamp duty to be paid on original bill of sale: Section 8A of the Bills of Sale Act, forbids registration of a bill of sale unless the original bill of sale is stamped in accordance with the Stamp Duty Act, Cap. 91;
- Prescribed mode of attestation and registration to be observed: Section 10 of the Bills of Sale Act, Cap. 306 requires the execution of a bill of sale to be witnessed by one or more credible witnesses who are not parties to the document. Section 10 also requires the bill of sale together with the Schedule or Inventory, a true copy thereof and an affidavit of execution containing certain statutory particulars to be presented to the Registrar within seven (7) clear days of the date of its execution;
Section 8 of the Bills of Sale Act, Cap. 306 provides that a bill of sale shall be void in respect of the personal chattels comprised therein unless it is duly attested and registered in the manner prescribed within seven (7) clear days of its execution, and unless it truly sets forth the consideration for which it was given.
The following documents must be presented to the Registrar for registration within seven (7) clear days of the date of creation of the bill of sale:
- The original instrument creating the bill of sale signed by the grantor, duly attested by a credible witness and stamped with stamp duty;
- A Schedule or Inventory annexed to the bill of sale or written thereon, containing a list and description of the personal chattels comprised in the bill of sale [N.B. in the case of a motor vehicle, the chassis number, engine number and vehicle model must be stated];
- A sworn Affidavit of the attesting witness who witnessed the execution of the Bill of Sale;
- A copy of the original bill of sale verified by a Justice of the Peace as being a true copy of the bill of sale referred in the affidavit of the witness who attested the signature of the grantor on the Bill of Sale.
On receipt of the above documents, the officer responsible for adjudicating the same does a formal examination of these filed documents to ensure that they are:-
- filed within the statutory period set out in Cap. 306 [7 clear days]. What is meant by “clear days”? Section 39 (7) of the Interpretation Act, Cap. 1 states that both the first day and the last day excluded from the computation of the period. [N.B. If the Bill of Sale is dated the 6th day of the month, the last day for filing will be the 14th of the month.]
- stamped in accordance with the Stamp Duty Act, Cap. 91 [i.e. $6.00 per thousand dollars or $3.00 in every five hundred dollars or part thereof.]
- signed by the grantor or grantors.
- duly attested by the witness or witnesses.
- submitted with the Schedule or Inventory annexed. If the grantor is a company, the bill of sale must be signed by one of the directors on behalf of the company and the company’s seal must be affixed next to the director’s signature.
If the above requirements are met, the bill of sale is then adjudicated and registered. The prescribed particulars of the bills of sale are entered in the Register for Bills of Sale, and indexed in an Index for Bills of Sale for search purposes.
- The Registration of Newspapers Act, Cap. 302
The Registration of Newspapers Act, Cap. 302 requires that the printers and publishers of every newspaper (including magazines) submit to the Registrar of the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office, a document which contains the title of the newspaper or magazine and the names of all the proprietors of the newspaper together with their respective occupations, places of business (if any), and places of residence.
This information is required to be updated annually by the printers and publishers of these publications and the information is kept by the Registrar for the information of the public, customs and police authorities and any other interested persons who may require the information.
- The Pharmacy Act, Cap. 372D
The Pharmacy Act, Cap. 372D requires that no person shall operate a pharmacy on any premises unless the premises have been registered for the purpose of operating a pharmacy.
Registration of such premises may be obtained by presenting to the Registrar of the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office, a certificate obtained from the Ministry of Health certifying that the premises have passed an inspection.
Upon the payment of the prescribed fee to the Registrar, a certificate is issued in respect of the premises.
- The Trade Unions Act, Cap. 361
The Trade Unions Act, Cap. 361 requires that an application for registration of a trade union be made to the Registrar of the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office.
The application must be accompanied by a list of the titles and the names of the officers of the trade union and be accompanied by the rules or constitution of the trade union.
- The Public Documents (Exemption from Diplomatic or Consular Legalization) Act, Cap. 122
Barbados is a party to the 1961 Convention abolishing the requirements of diplomatic or consular legalization for foreign public documents. (i.e. The Hague Convention). The Hague Convention has legal effect in Barbados by virtue of the Public Documents (Exemption from Diplomatic or Consular Legalization) Act, Cap. 122.
- The Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office Act, Cap.21A
The Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office Act, Cap. 21A is the enactment which formally established the Department under the law. Passed in 1988, the Act provides, inter alia, that the Registrar is responsible for the administration of the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office, assisted by the Assistant Registrar and such other officers as are necessary “…for the purpose of carrying out the functions of the Registrar under the Act and under any other enactment vesting duties, authority and responsibility in the Registrar”. Currently, the Registrar is responsible for administering some twenty-nine (29) enactments. (See LEGISLATION)
The Registrar is assisted by three (3) legally qualified Deputies Registrar, an Assistant Registrar and a staff of approximately 25 other persons. The Department is also required to perform notarial acts.
E. CONVENTIONS
- Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization
https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/convention/ - Paris Convention for the Protection of industrial Property, 1883 as revised in 1967
https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/paris/ - The Nairobi Treaty for the Protection of the Olympic Symbol
https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/nairobi/ - The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), 1970
https://www.wipo.int/pct/en/treaty/about.html - The Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of Registration of Marks, 1967
https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/classification/nice/ - The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1986
https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne - The Rome Convention for the Protection of Performances, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, 1961.
https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/rome/ - The Geneva Convention for the Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication
https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/phonograms/ - The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation For Foreign Public Documents, 1961
https://fifthworld.fandom.com/wiki/Hague_Convention_Abolishing_the_Requirement_of_Legalisation_for_Foreign_Public_Documents - The WTO/TRIPS Agreement on the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property.
https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/trips_e.htm
Please click on the Corporate Affairs tab to access forms associated to the services of the Corporate Registry which have not been automated in our portal. - Trade Marks Act, Cap. 319 and the regulations made thereunder
- Societies with Restricted Liability Act, 1995-7
- Public Documents (Exemptions from Diplomatic or Consular Legalization) Act, Cap. 122
