News: Τhe restrictions on working with intellectual property were introduced in Belize

The government of Belize has banned the use of international business companies (IBC) in the ownership schemes of intellectual property.

This decision was enshrined on January 14, 2019, by a special sub-legal regulation (the English International Business Companies (Intellectual Property Asset Prohibition) Regulations), which entered into force “retroactively” from January 1, 2019.

According to the regulations, the prohibition of intellectual property for international business companies operates as follows:

1. IBC companies registered before October 17, 2017, may not acquire, own, dispose of or otherwise deal with intellectual property, unless such action has been temporarily authorized by the International Financial Services Authority of Belize (eng. International Financial Services Commission, abbr. IFSC);
2. Temporary permits will be valid until June 30, 2021, after which the relevant companies will have to “get rid” of all their intellectual property (i.e., alienate them in any convenient way)
3. IBC companies registered on October 17, 2017, or after this date cannot acquire, own, dispose of or otherwise deal with intellectual property objects without exception.

Following Belize’s law, Intellectual Property Assets are considered to be intangible assets that are capable of generating identifiable income, including but not limited to:

• Copyrights;
• Patents;
• Trademarks;
• Trademarks/Brands);
• Technical know-how.

For violation of the new rules, the regulation provides for fines in the amount of from 25 thousand to 100 thousand US dollars.

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