Copyright registration is not necessary for acquiring copyrights. Such rights would be acquired through the mere publication of the concerned work or the first use of the concerned work in public. However, in order to proof that one is the developer of the concerned work and consequently the copyright owner, we advise to file a so-called i-Envelope with the Bureau for Intellectual Property of Curacao (BIP). This is a special envelope available at the BIP existing in fact of two parts. Each part should contain an identical document (maximum two 2-sided pages) stating all the details/information of the concerned work. Upon receipt of the i-Envelope, the BIP will provide it with a stamp evidencing the filing date. The BIP will keep one part of the i-Envelope in its register. The other part will be kept by the applicant. Once the original i-Envelope has been opened to prove that the concerned work existed on the date of the stamp (e.g. in court proceedings), it would become invalid. Therefore, we advise not to open the original i-Envelope, unless this it would be necessary to reveal the content.

The term of protection for a copyright registration based on the aforementioned procedure with a validity of five or ten years. After the validity period of five or ten years, the registration could be renewed. In order to file the concerned i-Envelope with the BIP, we need a power of attorney simply signed stating the name and address of the applicant.