Trademark registration in Sint Maarten

The trademark office and official links

Trademarks in Sint Maarten are registered by the Bureau for Intellectual Property Sint Maarten (Bureau Intellectuele Eigendom Sint Maarten) (BIP SXM).

• Trademark office: Bureau for Intellectual Property Sint Maarten (Bureau Intellectuele Eigendom Sint Maarten) (BIP SXM)
• Law: Merkenlandsverordening (Trademark National Ordinance of Sint Maarten), consolidated text

Official fees in Sint Maarten

The office does not publish an up-to-date fee schedule we could verify. Ask firms that cover Sint Maarten for a quote that shows official and professional fees separately — post a request or compare packages.

How to register a trademark in Sint Maarten

1. Search the Sint Maarten trademark register for earlier marks (searches can be requested from the Bureau for a fee).
2. Complete the BIP SXM application form with the mark, the applicant's details and address, and the goods/services by Nice class.
3. Submit the signed form to the Bureau (the 2022 explanatory notes specify email to [email protected]) and pay the fee in USD or NAf by bank transfer on the same day to keep the filing date.
4. The Bureau examines the application on absolute grounds, such as lack of distinctiveness, misleading signs or public order.
5. If no refusal is issued, the mark is entered in the register; the registration date is the filing date.
6. Renew every 10 years, within the six months before expiry or within six months after expiry with a surcharge.

Examination, publication and opposition

• Examination: The Bureau examines absolute grounds only; conflicts with earlier rights are not examined ex officio and are handled through nullity actions. A refusal can be appealed to the Court within six weeks.

Protection, renewal and use

• Term: 10 years from the filing date, renewable.
• Late renewal: 6 months after expiry, with an additional fee
• Use requirement: a registration can be challenged after 5 years of non-use.
• Rights system: first to file.

Filing from abroad

• Local agent: Using a representative is optional under the ordinance; if one is used, they must have a residential or business address in Sint Maarten and be recognised by the Bureau. The applicant must give an address for the register.

Firms on TrademarksHub that cover Sint Maarten can act as your local agent — see firms.

Madrid Protocol

Sint Maarten is a member of the Madrid System (in force since 2003). You can designate it in an international application filed through your home office, or file a national application directly. A local firm can advise which route is cheaper for your classes and timeline.

Trademark classes

Nice Classification (45 classes); the basic filing fee covers up to three classes, with an extra fee for each further class. One application can cover several classes. Not sure which classes you need? See all 45 classes or classes by business type.

How Sint Maarten compares

• Renewal: every 10 years; grace period 6 months after expiry, with an additional fee — compare all countries
• Foreign owners: not required (local address needed) — rules in every country

Guides: registering in any country · costs by country · Madrid

Good to know in Sint Maarten

• Sint Maarten has its own trademark register and ordinance, separate from the Benelux system; a Benelux registration does not cover Sint Maarten.
• The Madrid Protocol, extended by the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Netherlands Antilles from 28 April 2003, continued to apply to Sint Maarten after the Antilles were dissolved on 10 October 2010.
• There is no ex officio examination of earlier rights; owners of earlier marks must act through nullity proceedings, so watching new registrations matters.
• Fees can be paid in US dollars or Netherlands Antillean guilders by bank transfer and must be received the same day as the application to keep the filing date.
• A mark in one of Sint Maarten's commonly spoken languages also covers its translation into another such language.

Questions