Protecting intellectual property, be it a trademark, brand name or a creative work such as a book, poetry, music or even tea-towel designs, is the daily mission of a team of six in the Intellectual Property department within the Office of the Registrar General.

Headed by Registrar General Marlene Christopher, the unit is responsible for overseeing the registration of trademarks and brand names, such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Starbucks Coffee and company names within Bermuda so that others cannot fraudulently use those names or designs.

The unit also works with Bermudians to register and protect their intellectual property (IP) — everything from works of literature to Bermudian designs on tea-towels — from being plagiarised or copied by others. To mark World Intellectual Property Day the Government will today issue a declaration of its intent to continue to uphold the principles of IP protection within Bermuda's borders.

"Intellectual property is the creation of the mind. Our department is responsible for the regulation for the protection of those considered IP works for the owners," explained Mrs. Christopher.

"The majority of the work we do is in terms of trademark registration, such as labels or devices on goods that signify a particular brand or trademark."

Companies like Starbucks, The Body Shop, Coca-Cola and others will work through a law firm on the Island to register their trademarks and brands through the IP department.

The department is also proactive and alert to any attempt by someone on the Island to register a trademark or brand that is known to exist in other countries.

With so much insurance and reinsurance interests on the Island the question of protecting business models also crops up.

Mrs. Christopher said: "We follow UK IP law, which does not have patent protection for business model 'ideas' but protection can be sought for an actual business model document."

Bermuda is in the process of updating its laws to keep it in line with international treaties.

This year's World IP Day is themed "encouraging creativity" and will aim to raise public awareness of the importance of giving protection to creativity in all its forms, from invention to trademark, original design or practical application of a good idea.

Mrs. Christopher said the contribution of writers to Bermuda's culture, such as the historical works of Cyril Outridge Packwood, were of great importance to the Island and needed to be protected from copying. She urged other writers, poets and musicians to consider protecting their works through the department.

Examples of protected Bermuda products and techniques of international renown include the unique Bermuda-created SKB roofing system, which is patented on the Island.

Patent protection gives the originator many years to recoup their initial investment through sales of their product before the patent is opened up to the rest of the world. Copyright protection of artistic works, such as books, lasts for up to 50 years beyond the author's death and that is soon to be extended further.

Bermuda's IP department has also assumed responsibility for the issuing of ".bm" internet site domain addresses, of which 4,300 have so far been registered. It is hoped that more Bermuda companies and organisations will opt for the ".bm" domain rather than .com or .org.

At the moment the Bermuda-cetric domain addresses, currently only for bona-fide businesses, vendors and charitable organisations, are free.

Anne Marie Omed Joseph, assistant registrar general, said there were more and more IP protection applications each year for the team to handle, but even so she wanted more citizens to become aware of the importance of protecting their designs and works. The IP team is based on the fourth floor of the Government Administration Building.

[bul] A representative from the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for the global co-ordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers, including domain names and addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols, will be in Bermuda on May 10 and 11 and will be involved in an open meeting to talk about the internet and its future directions.