BARBADOS-Barados looking to patent box to drive innovation.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC—The Barbados government plans to introduce a ‘patent box’ regime that “drives innovation moving forward” to encourage research, development, and innovation in the country.

Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Ryan Straughn, tabling the Corporation Top-up Tax Bill and the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, shared that the patent box initiative would not only attract more research and development to these shores but also open doors for businesses to expand their potential with patents and innovation through collaborations with creatives across the world. This move is expected to bring about a wave of optimism and hope for the future of innovation in Barbados.

A patent box is a tax incentive that allows companies to apply a lower corporate tax rate to profits earned from patented inventions and other intellectual property.

“We must make sure we create a framework within which our innovation is captured, and our skills are honed on the island,” Straughn said as he highlighted the island’s history of innovation, particularly in agriculture, briefly noting century-old contributions in sugarcane breeding.

He told Parliament the importance of “not only being consumers of technology but also being the engineers, designers, and app developers bringing products to the fore,” expressing optimism about Barbadians’ participation in emerging fields like artificial intelligence (AI).

“The battle in the AI space is intense, and Barbados has an opportunity for Barbadian designers and entrepreneurs to collaborate with others globally to create a third party.

“There are opportunities within this space where I believe Barbadians working collaboratively can explore. Therefore, We are creating the appropriate tax structure to do that,” Straughn said, citing the protection of intellectual property rights as a priority.

“Protection is important, but equally important is who you collaborate with to ensure rights are protected, the product and service get into the marketplace, and the right ecosystem is in place from a tax reporting perspective and also in terms of financing. We have to make sure those things are in place.”

He also spoke of the crucial role of strategic collaborations in safeguarding rights and facilitating product commercialization within an appropriate tax and financing ecosystem. This emphasis on collaboration is intended to make the audience feel included and integral to the innovation process.