Court Rules Full Trial for Bahamian Flag Copyright

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Attorney General’s Office has failed for a second time to strike out an artist’s copyright claim against The Bahamas government for the use of the national flag.

Bishop James Alexander Darling is seeking $328.5 million in damages over the alleged infringement and an injunction from further use of the flag.

Darling claims that he has held the copyright for the design called Fun in The Bahamas, which he produced when he was 10 years old, since 1964.

He filed a lawsuit alleged breach of copyright in 2010.

The Attorney General’s Office entered a defense in 2020.

In 2021, Acting Justice Tara Cooper Burnside refused to strike out the lawsuit on the basis that it was statute barred.

Last week, Justice Neil Brathwaite dismissed an argument that the Crown could not be held liable for copyright infringement.

Brathwaite said that the case contained a “number of curious features” that needed to be resolved at trial.

Rev. Dr. Hervis Bain Sr. has been credited as the designer of the Bahamian flag and coat of arms.