#BTColumn – Business protection and IP strategy
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July 1, 2021
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today Inc.
by Dr Erica Smith
Hollywood star Michael B. Jordan recently caused a stir for cultural misappropriation when he applied to register the trademark, “J’ouvert” for use on rum. This flagged two important issues.
The first is that frequently an issue arises in the international market where something of cultural significance in the Caribbean is misappropriated and we react with anger and disappointment for a while but then we move on. The second concerns that of rum and our failure to date to establish geographical indications for the rum of the region and effectively claim it as ours.