Bermuda - Protection of Property RightsBermuda - Property Rights
Real Property
Bermuda law recognizes and enforces secured interests in movable and real property. The Registry General, the Land Tax Office and the Land Valuations Office regulate the acquisition and disposition of property, including land, buildings, and mortgages. The Land Title Registration Act 2011 moved Bermuda from a deeds-based property transaction to a parcel-based land registration system. However, the new registration system has not yet been implemented. Until implementation - expected in 2016 - land owners must retain a Bermuda lawyer to research the history of the property and ensure there are no third party claims. A deed of conveyance or a mortgage is recorded each time real estate changes hands.
Intellectual Property Rights
As an Overseas Territory of the UK, Bermuda may not enter into international treaties independently unless the UK expressly authorizes it to do so and judges Bermuda’s implementing legislation to be compliant. The UK extended the right to Bermuda to join the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which requires its signatories to recognize the copyright of works of authors from other signatory countries (known as members of the Berne Union) in the same way it recognizes the copyright of its own nationals.
In 2014, the GOB reviewed its intellectual property legislation and in 2015 began dialog with the UK Intellectual Property Office to extend to Bermuda, as a UK Overseas Territory, the right to join the WTO's Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, the Madrid Protocol, the Paris Convention, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and the Hague Agreement. Bermuda has yet to sign the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) internet treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), or the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
For additional information about treaty obligations and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/.
Counterfeit goods are not a problem in Bermuda. About 70 percent of imported goods derive from the United States.
Resources for Rights Holders
Not applicable.
For a list of lawyers in Bermuda, visit http://hamilton.usconsulate.gov/uploads/images/IArYD95iFDV3mD7eqH9sww/lawyerslist2010B.pdf.
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.
Bermuda law recognizes and enforces secured interests in movable and real property. The Registry General, the Land Tax Office and the Land Valuations Office regulate the acquisition and disposition of property, including land, buildings, and mortgages. The Land Title Registration Act 2011 moved Bermuda from a deeds-based property transaction to a parcel-based land registration system. However, the new registration system has not yet been implemented. Until implementation - expected in 2016 - land owners must retain a Bermuda lawyer to research the history of the property and ensure there are no third party claims. A deed of conveyance or a mortgage is recorded each time real estate changes hands.
Intellectual Property Rights
As an Overseas Territory of the UK, Bermuda may not enter into international treaties independently unless the UK expressly authorizes it to do so and judges Bermuda’s implementing legislation to be compliant. The UK extended the right to Bermuda to join the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which requires its signatories to recognize the copyright of works of authors from other signatory countries (known as members of the Berne Union) in the same way it recognizes the copyright of its own nationals.
In 2014, the GOB reviewed its intellectual property legislation and in 2015 began dialog with the UK Intellectual Property Office to extend to Bermuda, as a UK Overseas Territory, the right to join the WTO's Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, the Madrid Protocol, the Paris Convention, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and the Hague Agreement. Bermuda has yet to sign the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) internet treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), or the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
For additional information about treaty obligations and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/.
Counterfeit goods are not a problem in Bermuda. About 70 percent of imported goods derive from the United States.
Resources for Rights Holders
Not applicable.
For a list of lawyers in Bermuda, visit http://hamilton.usconsulate.gov/uploads/images/IArYD95iFDV3mD7eqH9sww/lawyerslist2010B.pdf.
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.