Apple’s product launches are notoriously secretive. To help keep Apple’s new products (for example, Siri or the Apple Watch) secret during a product launch, Apple first files its trademark applications in Jamaica instead of the United States.

It may be surprising to learn that major U.S. companies are now routinely using this small island country in the Caribbean to protect their trademarks—and the products they’ve worked years to develop. And there’s a good reason: Filing trademark applications in Jamaica can legally provide them with six months of silence before filing in the U.S. and opening the door for competitors to learn and try to emulate their new product or adopt similar branding.