Kiribati – New IP laws currently under review

It has come to our attention that new patent and trade mark laws are currently under review in the Republic of Kiribati which, once promulgated, will overhaul the current UK-based re-registration systems that currently exist there and will introduce national filing systems.

We understand that a new Trademark Act 2019 was passed by Parliament on 20 August 2019, but that the draft Trademark Regulations are currently with the Office of the Attorney General for review. As far as patents are concerned, the new Patent Act 2022 was successfully passed on first reading and has been under review by Parliament since December 2022. In addition, the Patent Regulations are yet to be drafted.

Until the new IP laws come into force, UK-based reregistration applications are still being received and processed in accordance with the current Registration of United Kingdom Patents Ordinance (Cap 87) and United Kingdom Trademark Ordinance (Cap 88).

Whilst it is not currently possible to register industrial designs in Kiribati, we have ascertained that a new Kiribati Industrial Design Act is being considered and (per information that we have gleaned from the Registry) is intended “to be implemented in the upcoming years with new legislation reflecting the national policy objectives of Kiribati”.

We understand that the Kiribati authorities are also considering acceding to various international IP treaties, including the Madrid Protocol, the Hague Agreement and the PCT. Kiribati became a member state of the Paris Convention on 5 November 2021.

We will monitor this situation closely and report further developments once the implementation of the new laws has progressed.