Icondia is the first company to be granted the registration of a 'corporate personality' under Guernsey's image rights legislation.
Icondia's registration was approved on 22 July 2013 by the Guernsey Registry and is the first registration of a commercial entity following the recent reduction of registration fees for 'legal persons' to £2,000.
The Image Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2012 law uniquely permits 'personality' to be registered as an item of intellectual property.
Keith Laker, CEO at Icondia, said: "Registration provides a potentially far-wider degree of protection than the traditional - but limited - options such as registered trademark protection. We view the corporate registration of personality as the best possible protection for any company with an evolving brand image and corporate identity. In the case of Icondia - as a newly formed company seeking global recognition - that's important to us"
Icondia's business comprises the registration and management of image rights for an international customer base and views Guernsey's new law as the first of many to come.
"In 10 years time we expect the concept of 'registered personality' to have become widely accepted in many different jurisdictions, all offering competing registers. Corporations have long since recognised the value of identity. Ordinary individuals are now beginning to realise that they too have potential value in their identity, which can be protected by this legislation," said Mr Laker.
Corporate registration is only one aspect of this new law, which has a much larger market for individuals. Aspiring or established sports personalities, musicians, actors and anyone in the public eye can all potentially benefit by registering their personality. It also covers fictional personalities such as cartoon characters and digital avatars.
Mr Laker said: "As far as we are aware, we are the only business focusing exclusively on image rights advice management and implementation right across the spectrum of potential customers using the image rights ordinance. It is our aim to be the preferred choice for individuals, brands, corporate entities and professional advisors with an interest in protecting their or their clients' personality under this unique law."
For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.guernseyfinance.com.
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