Fall Update 2017

1. TRINITY TERM 2017 UPDATE

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Contents
Page 3: First Impressions
An introduction to this Update from Etienne Blake
Page 4: Distinguishing Marks
Etienne Blake registers iconic logo for the National Flag Carrier of the
Cayman Islands in first registrations under new Trade Marks Law, 2016
Page 6: Standing for Election
Etienne Blake Partners appear in first cases interpreting new pre-
election declaratory process, introduced by section 29A of the
Elections Law (2017 Revision), for determining whether a nominated
candidate is qualified to be elected to the Legislative Assembly
Page 8: Rising Stock
Etienne Blake hosts Managing Director of NASDAQ Global Corporate
Client Group for presentation in the Cayman Islands and lights up
Times Square on reciprocal visit to New York
Page 10: Growing Gains
Etienne Blake makes high profile appointment and further enhances its
regulatory and advisory team
Page 11: Enterprising Cayman
Etienne Blake formalises long-standing relationship with Cayman
Enterprise City and looks forward to the diversification of the Cayman
Islands economy

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First Impressions
The Trinity Term of the law year and subsequent summer of 2017 are
notable for the number of firsts that we have experienced at Etienne
Blake and we are pleased to be able to share these with you in pages
of this Update.
In “Distinguishing Marks”, we highlight our involvement in the
registration of the first marks under the newly implemented Trade
Marks Law, 2016; while in “Standing for Election”, we explore Etienne
Blake’s participation in the first cases interpreting new provisions
concerning the eligibility to stand for election to the Cayman Islands
Legislative Assembly that are now contained in the Elections Law
(2017 Revision).
Both of these new legislative developments are important in the context
of the Cayman Islands economy. The Trade Marks Law, 2016 is part
of a package of intellectual property reforms designed to support the
diversification of the Cayman Islands economy, which is a theme that
we often discuss at Etienne Blake and is also referenced in
“Enterprising Cayman”; while any amendment to our Elections Law is
particularly significant insofar as free and fair elections and certainty in
the outcome thereof are a prerequisite for the continuing success of
one of the existing pillars of the Cayman Islands economy, namely the
jurisdiction’s financial services sector.
This is therefore a “double first” of which Etienne Blake is rightly proud,
not least because it showcases both the excellence of our litigation
team and the additional capacity that we can now draw upon following
the recruitment of Paul Parker at the start of 2017 to lead our corporate
and transactional practice. We are also pleased to report that our team
continues to expand with the addition of another highly experienced
new team member as revealed in “Growing Gains”.
While we are unable to say with complete confidence that we are the
first Cayman Islands law firm to be featured on the NASDAQ ticker in
Times Square (although we believe this to be the case), something that
we are certain of is that first impressions count and in “Rising Stock”

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we see how this has informed our relationship with NASDAQ Managing
Director of the Global Corporate Client Group, Robert F. Phillips, as we
trace this relationship from a boardroom in the Cayman Islands to
perhaps the most famous noticeboard in New York.
Reflecting on these firsts, Etienne Blake’s founding Partners, Anthony
Akiwumi and Vaughan Carter noted that:
“These highpoints illustrate one of the things that we believe makes
Etienne Blake different. When we introduce our firm by saying that –
we are an independent, modern and progressive law firm, serving our
local and international clientele with a competitive, first class legal
service – we really do believe that we have a viable proposition for both
markets. We are not merely an offshore firm, which predominantly
looks outward for its business; nor are we just a local firm struggling to
break the stranglehold that the multi-jurisdictional firms have
increasingly exercised over offshore work. Instead, we service both
markets and we believe that there is value in this. Our offshore clients
are reassured by our real, practical local knowledge, while our clients in
the Cayman Islands benefit from our international exposure. Put
simply, we are equally at home in Heroes Square, downtown George
Town, as we are in Times Square, New York – and proud of it.”
Distinguishing Marks
Sir Turtle, the much-loved iconic mascot of the Cayman Islands and its
national airline, Cayman Airways Limited (“CAL”), recently reached
another distinguished milestone, when the Sir Turtle logo became the
first brand to be protected in the Cayman Islands under the newly
implemented Trade Marks Law, 2016, which came into force on 1
August 2017.
Previously, registering a mark in the Cayman Islands first required a
registration in the UK or the EU and then a subsequent application to

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have that registration extended to the Cayman Islands. The process
has now been streamlined and the Trade Marks Law, 2016 establishes
a bespoke system for the registration of marks in the Cayman Islands.
Commenting on the new arrangements, Etienne Blake’s Paul Parker,
who acted for Cayman Airways in the registration of its Sir Turtle logo
and other marks in this first tranche of registrations, advised that:
“Not only will this benefit local trade mark owners, like Cayman
Airways, who were hitherto exposed to a potential challenge to their
mark in the UK or the EU under the system of extension, it should also
facilitate business with our established trading partners in North and
South America who can now safeguard their rights without the prior
registration.”
Interestingly, not one but two Sir Turtle logos have in fact been
registered and this provided an early examination of the process for
distinguishing between similar marks under the new legislation. With
his aviator’s scarf proudly blowing in the wind, the Cayman Airways Sir
Turtle was considered to be sufficiently distinguishable from the regular
Sir Turtle and both were duly registered.
The implementation of the Trade Marks Law, 2016, together with the
Design Rights Registration Law, 2016 and the Patents and Trade
Marks (Amendment) Law, 2016, represent a concerted effort by the
Cayman Islands to modernise its legal framework for the protection of
intellectual property. In so doing, the jurisdiction is now even better
placed to market the benefits of Cayman Enterprise City, its pioneering
Special Economic Zone; to expand its involvement in the emerging
FinTech market; and to establish itself as an important offshore centre
for developing and leveraging the commercial benefits of intellectual
property rights.
If you have any enquiries regarding the new legislative framework for
intellectual property in the Cayman Islands, your first port of call should
be Paul Parker at paul.parker@etienneblake.com.

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Standing for Election
The right to stand for election is a fundamental democratic right and
any potential limitations on this right should be monitored closely. It is
in this context that an important amendment to the legislative
framework for the conduct of elections in the Cayman Islands fell to be
considered in three landmark cases that were brought before the
Grand Court immediately prior to the May 2017 General Election in the
Cayman Islands.
Following a 2016 amendment to the Cayman Islands Elections Law,
which is now contained in section 29A of the Elections Law (2017
Revision) (“the Elections Law”), the Supervisor of Elections was
empowered to apply to the Grand Court to seek declarations as to the
qualification or disqualification of a nominated candidate pursuant to
sections 61 and 62 of Schedule 2 to the Cayman Islands Constitution
Order, 2009 (“the Constitution”). Three such applications were issued
by the Supervisor of Elections and two of the Respondents, Mr Nickolas
DaCosta and Mr Alric Lindsay, engaged the Public Law Team at
Etienne Blake to represent them in these novel proceedings.
While the Hon. Chief Justice, Anthony Smellie QC, was sympathetic to
the Respondent In The Supervisor of Elections v Nickolas DaCosta
(Judgment of the Grand Court issued on 17 May 2017, Cause No. G 61
of 2017), he was ultimately constrained by the composition of the
relevant constitutional provisions; unable in the circumstances to apply
a purposive interpretation of the same; and thus regrettably compelled
to conclude that this Respondent was not a qualified citizen on account
of his foreign citizenship acquired by descent. Given that the DaCosta
scenario, where the Respondent was declared unqualified, even
though he was born in the Cayman Islands and had not himself sought
any other citizenship, does not sit well with the earlier decision of the
Grand Court on related matters in Hewitt v Rivers 2013 (2) CILR 262,
in which a successful candidate who was born overseas and who held
dual citizenship survived a post-election challenge, there are
compelling reasons for the constitutional provisions pertaining to

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standing to be revisited and revised prior to the next General Election
in the Cayman Islands.
In The Supervisor of Elections v Alric Lindsay (Judgment of the Grand
Court dated 20 April 2017, Cause No. G 60 of 2017), the Hon. Chief
Justice advised that the Supervisor of Elections should not adopt an
unduly rigid approach in his consideration of sections 61 and 62 of the
Constitution for the purpose of determining whether there was sufficient
evidence to activate the declaratory process introduced by section 29A
of the Elections Law. In the Lindsay case, it was therefore impractical,
unreasonable and contrary to the broad language of the Constitution
for the Supervisor of Elections to undertake an arithmetic tabulation of
every day of absence from the Islands over the course of the seven
years preceding nomination day with a view to seeking a declaration
that the Respondent was automatically disqualified from standing for
election. Instead, the Supervisor of Elections should be sensitive to
absences that are, inter alia, beneficial for the purposes of work, leisure
or business abroad and these should not be automatically regarded as
the kind of absence contemplated by the Constitution to be
disqualifying.
Mr Lindsay, who had spent significant periods outside of the Islands in
the preceding seven years enhancing his linguistic skills and which if
strictly computed would have exceeded the threshold for
disqualification, was duly permitted to stand for election; and, on the
basis that the issue of absence as a potentially disqualifying
consideration could have been resolved without bringing an application
under section 29A of the Elections Law, the public purse was ordered
to bear the ordinary costs of this Respondent.
Although the decisions in DaCosta, Lindsay and the third case in the
triumvirate - The Supervisor of Elections v Candidate X (Judgment of
the Grand Court dated 18 April 2017, Cause No. G 60 of 2017) - are
instructive, there are a number of significant issues with section 29A of
the Elections Law that will likely attract further attention in due course.
These include (i) the limited period within which a candidate has to
respond to any concerns prior to an election when challenged; (ii) the
fairness of the Supervisor of Elections raising a range of concerns in
respect of a candidate, only to climb down from some of these at or
immediately before an application is heard by the Grand Court; the

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appropriate burden and standard of proof; and the proscription of any
right of appeal from a decision of the Grand Court in section 29A(2) of
the Elections Law.
It is also apparent that rules for the effective operation of the
declaratory process introduced by the new section 29A of the Elections
Law, as envisaged in subsection (3) thereof, are urgently needed. The
effects of this deficit having been exposed, the Hon. Chief Justice in the
course of handing down his decision in Lindsay invited Etienne Blake
Partners, Anthony Akiwumi and Vaughan Carter to consult with other
participants in all three of these cases to prepare draft rules for
transmission to and consideration by the Grand Court Rules
Committee.
More information on Etienne Blake’s signature Public Law practice is
available under Practice Areas on our website: www.etienneblake.com.
If you have questions regarding any aspect of the Cayman Islands
Constitution, Anthony and Vaughan may be contacted at
anthony.akiwumi@etienneblake.com and
vaughan.carter@etienneblake.com.
Rising Stock
In June 2017, Etienne Blake proudly co-hosted, together with Jacob
Law, a presentation from the Managing Director of the Global
Corporate Client Group at the NASDAQ Stock Market, Robert F.
Phillips, who was kind enough to share insights from his long career at
NASDAQ with a range of invited local financial services professionals.
NASDAQ is a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange
technology, listing, information and public company services. Through
its diverse portfolio of solutions, NASDAQ enables customers to plan,
optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using

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proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for
navigating today's global capital markets.
As the creator of the world's first electronic stock market, NASDAQ’s
technology powers more than 90 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1
in 10 of the world's securities transactions and NASDAQ is home to
3,800 total listings with a market value of US$11 trillion.
Thanking Robert for his presentation, Etienne Blake Head of Corporate
Finance, Paul Parker remarked:
“We are delighted to have had a speaker of Robert’s calibre visit the
Cayman Islands in order to give this presentation. Robert’s obvious
passion for the industry and his thorough knowledge of the subject
matter have engaged us all and we look forward to continuing this
conversation in the future.”
The conversation has indeed
continued and on a recent
visit to New York Etienne
Blake were the guests of
NASDAQ, where Paul was
welcomed by Robert in
uniquely NASDAQ style.
While it’s not everyday that
your name is emblazoned all
over Times Square, Paul
simply noted that:
“This is another good
indication of just how Etienne
Blake’s stock is rising.”
For information and advice in
respect of listings on
NASDAQ and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange, please contact
Paul at paul.parker@etienneblake.com.

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Growing Gains
Etienne Blake is pleased to announce the appointment of Justice
Marlene Carter, formerly of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, as
Of Counsel to the firm. Immediately prior to joining Etienne Blake,
Justice Carter was the Resident Judge for the St Christopher Circuit in
the Federation of St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis and she has also
sat as a Puisne Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in St
Lucia and Anguilla. Justice Carter practiced in Trinidad and Tobago
and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the course of her distinguished
career, as well as the Cayman Islands, where she appeared at both the
public and the private Bar and held a senior position in the Cayman
Islands Tax Information Authority (now the Department of International
Tax Cooperation).
Following this latter appointment and her subsequent selection by the
OECD as a Country Assessor for jurisdictional compliance with
international tax transparency standards, Justice Carter has
specialised in the regulatory responsibilities arising under international
tax law. With Etienne Blake, she now assists private and institutional
clients in their interactions with the various governmental agencies in
the Cayman Islands that regulate the financial services sector and
advises on all aspects of FATCA and CRS. Justice Carter is also
available to consult with other jurisdictions on developing capacity to
meet the evolving international standards for the exchange of tax and
other regulatory information.
Having returned home to the Cayman Islands, there has been no
shortage of demands on Justice Carter’s time. In March 2017 she was
appointed by the Governor-in-Cabinet as Chairperson of the Labour
Appeals Tribunal and, in April 2017, she was also appointed to the
Acting Panel of Grand Court Judges for the Cayman Islands by the
Judicial and Legal Services Commission. Justice Carter presently sits
in the General Division of the Grand Court as and when required by
that Court and combines this commitment with her advisory work at
Etienne Blake.

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Etienne Blake Partner, Anthony Akiwumi, welcomed Justice Carter to
the firm, noting that they had practiced together as Crown Counsel in
the Cayman Islands almost twenty years ago and commenting that:
“It was apparent at that point that Justice Carter was destined for great
things and so it has proved. By all accounts, she was an excellent
Judge in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. The Eastern
Caribbean’s loss is, however, a significant gain for the Cayman Islands
and, indeed, our growing practice at Etienne Blake.”
If your require expert advice on FATCA and CRS, Justice Carter can
be contacted at marlene.carter@etienneblake.com. For other
regulatory enquiries, including advice in relation to regulatory
investigations and enforcement actions, please reach out to Anthony at
anthony.akiwumi@etienneblake.com.
Enterprising Cayman
Etienne Blake is pleased to announce that the firm has been appointed
as a Cayman Enterprise City (“CEC”) Channel Partner.
CEC is a special economic zone located in the Cayman Islands and
thereby benefits from the excellent regulatory arrangements in and tax
neutral status of the jurisdiction. At the same time, CEC and the
Cayman Islands Government have established a statutory framework
whereby Special Economic Zone Companies can be set up swiftly and
associated employment certificates obtained within 5 days. Together,
these features combine to form an attractive package for entrepreneurs
and knowledge-based industries from across the globe who want to
easily and cost-effectively set up and operate offshore with a genuine
physical presence.
Etienne Blake Partner, Vaughan Carter, explained that, “our
appointment as a Channel Partner was a natural progression for the

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firm and effectively formalises the close working relationship that
already exists between Etienne Blake and CEC”.
CEC CEO, Charlie Kirkconnell, also welcomed the news, stating:
“we have worked with Vaughan for many years and, given his
involvement with the project in a number of capacities, there are few
people, if any, who better understand what we are trying to achieve.
We are therefore excited to be working in partnership with Etienne
Blake and look forward to helping one-another as we seek to broaden
and diversify the Caymanian economy.”
Vaughan Carter served as a Director of the Special Economic Zones
Authority - the statutory body with responsibility for the oversight of
special economic zones in the Cayman Islands - from its inception
through to 2012. He has also assisted CEC with its efforts to provide
education and training to prospective local employees in the tech fields
targeted for business development within the zone, as Chairman of the
Enterprise Cayman initiative between 2013 and 2016.
Should you have any questions whatsoever regarding the opportunities
presented by CEC, Vaughan is available at
vaughan.carter@etienneblake.com. For Special Economic Zone
Company incorporations, please also contact Etienne Blake’s Paul
Parker at paul.parker@etienneblake.com.

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W www.etienneblake.com T +1 345 743 2496 F +1 345 743 2497 E info@etienneblake.com
3
rd
Floor, Bayshore Centre, 31 Warwick Drive, George Town, P.O. Box 2496, Grand Cayman, KY1-­‐1104, Cayman Islands
ANTHONY
AKIWUMI
VAUGHAN
CARTER
PARTNER PARTNER
T +1 345 743 2498 T +1 345 743 2499
E anthony.akiwumi@etienneblake.com E vaughan.carter@etienneblake.com
PAUL
PARKER
MARLENE
CARTER
HEAD OF CORPORATE FINANCE OF COUNSEL
T +1 345 743 2500 T +1 345 743 2496
E paul.parker@etienneblake.com E marlene.carter@etienneblake.com