Your U.S. Counterpart for Caribbean Clients
Su contraparte en Estados Unidos para clientes del Caribe.
Caribbean trademark practice spans many small offices, several languages, and a mix of Madrid members and non-members. We act as one U.S. counterpart for clients across the region, in English and Spanish, from Miami, the region's main commercial gateway to the U.S.
Trademark activity across the Caribbean and at the USPTO
The Dominican Republic runs the region's busiest trademark office, and Jamaica and Cuba follow. At the USPTO, Caribbean-domiciled owners filed 6,042 applications from 2021 to 2025, 66% of them from holding companies in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Trademark filings at Caribbean offices, 2024
Class counts in applications filed at each national office, direct and via Madrid. Bahamas figure is for 2022, the latest reported.
View data table
| Office | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Madrid member |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican Republic | 13,509 | 13,095 | 15,776 | 16,677 | 16,508 | 17,012 | No |
| Jamaica | 6,380 | 6,726 | 6,795 | – | 9,338 | 8,001 | Yes |
| Cuba | 7,965 | 6,304 | 5,662 | 6,516 | 6,108 | 6,229 | Yes |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2,534 | 2,553 | 4,498 | 6,577 | 5,246 | 4,345 | Yes |
| Antigua and Barbuda | – | 1,872 | 2,197 | 2,051 | 1,715 | 1,609 | Yes |
| Bahamas | – | 870 | 1,081 | 1,306 | – | – | No |
| Barbados | 1,031 | 899 | 987 | 1,344 | 1,129 | 1,108 | No |
Madrid designations received, 2025
Designations of each Caribbean Madrid member recorded by WIPO in 2025, from all origins. Grenada's membership took effect in March 2026.
View data table
| Designated party | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | By U.S. holders, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | – | – | 724 | 1,130 | 1,204 | 1,142 | 172 |
| Cuba | 1,427 | 1,386 | 1,258 | 1,116 | 1,111 | 1,052 | 97 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | – | 687 | 1,018 | 934 | 808 | 835 | 165 |
| Belize | – | – | – | 600 | 832 | 798 | 128 |
| Curaçao | 678 | 719 | 739 | 792 | 810 | 742 | 98 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 620 | 647 | 662 | 594 | 574 | 522 | 92 |
U.S. applications by Caribbean owners, 2021–2025
USPTO applications naming an owner with an address in each jurisdiction. Offshore holding domiciles lead.
Caribbean filings at the USPTO by year
All Caribbean jurisdictions combined. The 2026 bar covers January to late October.
How we counted. National-office class counts from the WIPO IP Statistics Data Center (May 2026 update). Madrid figures are WIPO counts by date of receipt through 2025. USPTO counts are applications by filing date where a listed owner's address is in the jurisdiction, from USPTO records retrieved October 28, 2026; Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are U.S. jurisdictions and are excluded. Bermuda is not counted as Caribbean.
The U.S.-attorney rule across the Caribbean
Since August 3, 2019, applicants and registrants domiciled anywhere outside the United States, including every Caribbean jurisdiction, must be represented before the USPTO by an attorney licensed in a U.S. state. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are U.S. jurisdictions and are not covered by the rule.
Madrid membership in the region is uneven. Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Belize, and now Grenada are members, and the Dutch Caribbean is covered through the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Bahamas, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti are not members, so clients there file directly with the USPTO.
What this means for your firm
- You keep the client relationship and the strategy
- We are attorney of record and correspondence address at the USPTO
- Every USPTO notice comes to you with our recommendation
- We send U.S.-originated work in the Caribbean back to you
What we handle for your Caribbean clients
The full U.S. life of a mark, from the first filing to enforcement, under your instructions.
Direct U.S. filings
Use, intent-to-use, Section 44(e) home-registration, and Section 44(d) priority applications.
Madrid refusals
Responses to USPTO provisional refusals of designations of the United States.
Office actions
Arguments and amendments on likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness, specimens, and identification.
TTAB matters
Oppositions, cancellations, ex parte appeals, letters of protest, and expungement or reexamination petitions.
Maintenance
Section 8 and Section 71 declarations, Section 15 affidavits, Section 9 renewals, and docketing every U.S. deadline.
Recordals
Assignments, mergers, and name changes recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch.
Enforcement
Cease-and-desist letters, U.S. Customs recordation, Amazon Brand Registry, and coordination with litigation counsel.
Built for the instructing firm
- Conflict checkWe clear conflicts before any substantive work, usually within one business day.
- Associate agreementA short written agreement sets reporting, billing, and client-contact rules.
- InstructionsBy email, in English or Spanish. We confirm receipt and the deadline the same day.
- ReportingWe report to your firm, not to your client, unless you ask us to copy the client.
- FeesFixed fees for standard actions, invoiced in U.S. dollars with wire instructions; government fees at cost.
Where U.S. filings from the Caribbean go wrong
The issues we see most often in U.S. matters sent by Caribbean firms, and how we deal with each.
Offshore holding companies
Brands owned by holding companies in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, or Barbados are often used in the U.S. by operating affiliates. If the holder does not control quality, the U.S. filing can be challenged.
We document the licence and control arrangement before filing.
Choosing Madrid or a direct filing
Owners in member states can designate the U.S. through their national office, but a small basic filing can limit U.S. coverage.
We compare the routes for each brand.
Tourism and place names
Island, beach, and resort names are often refused as geographically descriptive for travel, hospitality, rum, and food goods.
We build the application around a distinctive name and disclaim place terms.
Rum and spirits
Rum brands from the region are frequent targets of copies in the U.S. A registration supports CBP recordation and marketplace takedowns.
We record registrations with CBP once they issue.
U.S. use at years 5 to 6
Registrations based on home filings or Madrid require U.S. use to survive the Section 8 or Section 71 declaration.
We docket the deadline and ask for U.S. evidence early.
Work flows both ways
U.S. brand owners designate Caribbean Madrid members in hundreds of filings each year and file directly in the non-member states. We refer that work to the Caribbean firms that send us U.S. matters.
We do not practice Caribbean law. When a U.S. client needs protection in the Caribbean, the matter goes to Caribbean counsel, and we report the result to our client.
What to send with an instruction
- Client name, entity type, and country of organization
- Full address of domicile (street address, not a P.O. box)
- The mark as filed at home, with any color claim and translation
- Home filing or registration number and date (for priority or Section 44(e))
- Goods and services, ideally already in U.S. ID Manual wording
- U.S. use dates and a specimen, if the client already sells in the U.S.
- For Madrid refusals: the WIPO notification and the USPTO refusal
- The response or filing deadline you are working to
Frequently asked questions
Which Caribbean jurisdictions can use Madrid to reach the U.S.?
Among others, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Belize, Grenada (in force March 2026), and the Dutch Caribbean through the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Confirm current membership on WIPO's list before filing.
Do clients in Puerto Rico need you as U.S. counsel?
Not under the foreign-domicile rule, because Puerto Rico is a U.S. jurisdiction. We still represent Puerto Rico brand owners, but the requirement does not apply.
How are your fees structured for associate work?
Standard actions, such as a new application, a response to a routine refusal, or a Section 71 declaration, carry fixed professional fees, listed in our associate fee schedule. Contested work is billed by the hour or on a quoted budget. Government fees are passed through at cost, and invoices are in U.S. dollars.
How quickly do you act on an instruction?
We confirm receipt and the deadline the same business day and clear conflicts before substantive work. For urgent deadlines, tell us the date in your first email.
Do you work in Spanish?
Yes, for the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and other Spanish-speaking clients. French and Dutch documents are handled through qualified translators.
Will you contact our client directly?
No, unless you ask us to. We report to you and copy the client only on your instruction.
Request our associate fee schedule
Our schedule lists fixed fees for the U.S. actions Caribbean firms send most often, with our instruction checklist and a short guide to the most common USPTO refusals of filings from abroad.
- Direct USPTO applications
- Madrid provisional refusals
- TTAB oppositions and cancellations
- Section 8 and Section 71 declarations