News

The Cayman Islands Intellectual Property (CIIPO) has appointed Omara Whittaker as the first Caymanian Intellectual Property Examiner in the jurisdiction.

"This achievement signifies the recognition of my work over the years and my potential. It motivates me to continue striving for excellence in all my endeavours. I am appreciative of my director, my colleagues and the Ministry of Financial Services and Commerce for their unwavering encouragement and support," she said.

Mrs Whittaker started her new duties on 22 July, following a recruitment process. CIIPO Director Candace Westby noted that Mrs Whittaker has been an important member of the team.

"Omara's drive, reliability, efficiency and exemplary work ethic have distinguished her within our organisation. This milestone celebrates her and reinforces our commitment to developing local expertise. As we continue to see a rise in IP applications, her addition to the examination team will undoubtedly enhance our capacity to serve our customers with excellence," Ms Westby said.

Ministry Chief Officer Dr Dax Basdeo said Mrs Whittaker's new role is the result of a strategic professional development plan.

"I am very proud of the work that the CIIPO team did to prepare her for this step in her career and I congratulate her. This is exactly how we hope to future-proof our Ministry and continue on our path to be world class.”

Mrs Whittaker started her career with the Cayman Islands Government in 2006 as a customer service officer in General Registry's corporate unit. After moving to Registry's vital records division in 2008 as customer liaison officer, she joined CIIPO's patents and trade marks section in 2015 in the same role.

CIIPO, which was initially part of General Registry, became a separate department in 2021. Mrs Whittaker served as CIIPO's Intellectual Property Registry Officer prior to her new role as IP Examiner.

In addition to understudying CIIPO IP Examiner Carolee Nunez, Mrs Whittaker also attained a paralegal certification and completed trade mark examination training by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO). She is currently undertaking an online training programme in trade mark examination offered by the EU IPO.