Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs

Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs
Signed 6 November 1925 (The Hague Agreement)
2 June 1934 (London act)
14 July 1967 (The Hague Act/Stockholm addnl Act)
2 July 1999 (Geneva Act)
Location The Hague
Effective 1 June 1928
Parties 62[1]
Depositary Switzerland (1925/1934)
Netherlands (1960)
WIPO

The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs, also known as the Hague system provides a mechanism for registering an industrial design in several countries by means of a single application, filed in one language, with one set of fees. The system is administered by WIPO.

Instruments

The Hague Agreement consists of several separate treaties,[2] the most important of which are: the Hague Agreement of 1925, the London Act of 2 June 1934,[3] the Hague Act of 28 November 1960 (amended by the Stockholm Act),[4] and the Geneva Act of 2 July 1999.[5]

The original version of the Agreement (the 1925 Hague version) is not applied anymore, since all states parties signed up to subsequent instruments. The 1934 London Act formally still applies between a London act state that did not sign up to the Hague and/or Geneva Act in relation with other London act states (Suriname and Benin in relation to the other London states). Since 1 January 2010 however the application of this act is frozen.

Countries can become a party to the 1960 (Hague) Act, the 1999 (Geneva) Act, or both. If a country signs up to only one Act, then applicants from that country can only use the Hague system to obtain protection for their designs in other countries which are signed up to the same Act. For instance, because the European Union has only signed up to the 1999 (Geneva) Act, applicants which qualify to use the Hague system because their domicile is in the European Union can only get protection in countries which have also signed up to the 1999 Act or to both the 1999 and 1960 Acts.

Contracting Parties (member countries)

All contracting parties to one or more of the instruments of the Hague Agreement are members of the Hague Union. A list is shown below:

Code Member The Hague 1925 London 1934 The Hague 1960 Stockholm 1967 Geneva 1999 territorial scope
OA   OAPI September 16, 2008
AL  Albania March 19, 2007 March 19, 2007 March 19, 2007
AM  Armenia July 13, 2007
AZ  Azerbaijan December 8, 2010
BX  Belgium July 27, 1929-
January 1, 1975 		November 24, 1939-
January 1, 1975 		August 1, 1984[lower-alpha 1] May 28, 1997[lower-alpha 1] Territory also covered by EM
BZ  Belize July 12, 2003 July 12, 2003
BJ  Benin November 2, 1986 November 2, 1986 January 2, 1987 Territory also covered by OA
BA  Bosnia and Herzegovina December 24, 2008
BW  Botswana December 5, 2006
BN  Brunei Darussalam December 24, 2013
CI  Cote d'Ivoire May 30, 1993 May 30, 1993 May 30, 1993 Territory also covered by OA
HR  Croatia February 12, 2004 February 12, 2004 April 12, 2004 Territory also covered by EM
DK  Denmark December 9, 2008 Territory also covered by EM
incl. Greenland (2011)
 East Germany 1949-
October 3, 1990 		May 7, 1989-
October 3, 1990 		May 7, 1989-
October 3, 1990
EG  Egypt July 1, 1952 August 27, 2004
EE  Estonia December 23, 2012 Territory also covered by EM
EM  European Union January 1, 2008
FI  Finland May 1, 2011 Territory also covered by EM
FR  France October 20, 1930 June 25, 1939 August 1, 1984 September 27, 1975 March 18, 2007 Territory also covered by EM
Including all territories
GA Gabon August 18, 2003 August 18, 2003 Territory also covered by OA
DE  Germany June 1, 1928 June 13, 1939 August 1, 1984 September 27, 1975 February 13, 2010 Territory also covered by EM
Stockholm and Hague act: Including "Land Berlin
GE  Georgia August 1, 2003 August 1, 2003 December 23, 2003
GH  Ghana September 16, 2008
GR  Greece April 18, 1997 April 18, 1997 Territory also covered by EM
HU  Hungary April 7, 1984-
February 1, 2005 		August 1, 1984 April 7, 1984 May 1, 2004 Territory also covered by EM
IS  Iceland December 23, 2003
 Indonesia December 27, 1949-
June 3, 2010
IT Italy June 13, 1997 August 13, 1987 Territory also covered by EM
 Japan May 13, 2015
KG  Kyrgyzstan March 17, 2003 March 17, 2003 December 23, 2003
LV  Latvia July 26, 2005 Territory also covered by EM
LI Liechtenstein July 14, 1933 January 28, 1951 August 1, 1984 September 27, 1975 December 23, 2003
LT  Lithuania September 26, 2008 Territory also covered by EM
BX  Luxembourg August 1, 1984[lower-alpha 1] May 28, 1979[lower-alpha 1] Territory also covered by EM
MK  Macedonia March 18, 1997 March 18, 1997 March 22, 2006
ML  Mali September 7, 2006 September 7, 2006 Territory also covered by OA
MD  Moldova March 14, 1994 March 14, 1994 December 23, 2003
MC  Monaco April 29, 1956 August 1, 1984 September 27, 1975 June 9, 2011
MN  Mongolia April 12, 1997 April 12, 1997 January 19, 2008
ME Montenegro June 3, 2006 June 3, 2006 March 5, 2012 succession from Serbia and Montenegro
MA Morocco October 20, 1930 January 21, 1941 October 13, 1999 October 12, 1999
NA Namibia June 13, 2004
BX Netherlands June 1, 1928-
January 1, 1975 		August 5, 1948-
January 1, 1975 		August 1, 1984[lower-alpha 1] June 28, 1979[lower-alpha 1] Territory also covered by EM
London Act incl Dutch East Indies (-1950), Suriname (-1975), Netherlands Antilles (-2010), Aruba (1986-2011), Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Caribbean Netherlands (2010-2011)
NE Niger September 20, 2004 September 20, 2004 Territory also covered by OA
KP North Korea May 27, 1992 May 27, 1992
NO Norway June 17, 2010
OM Oman March 4, 2009
PL  Poland July 2, 2009 Territory also covered by EM
RO Romania July 18, 1992 July 18, 1992 December 23, 2003 Territory also covered by EM
RW Rwanda August 31, 2011
ST Sao Tome and Principe December 8, 2008
SN Senegal June 30, 1984 August 1, 1984 June 30, 1984 Territory also covered by OA
RS Serbia December 30, 1993 December 30, 1993 December 9, 2009
SG Singapore December 17, 2005
SI Slovenia January 13, 1995 January 13, 1995 December 23, 2003 Territory also covered by EM
KR South Korea July 1, 2014
ES Spain June 1, 1928 March 2, 1956 December 23, 2003 Territory also covered by EM
Hague agreement and London Act: Including Spanish Morocco (-1956) and Colonies (1947-1975)
SR Suriname November 25, 1975 August 1, 1984 February 23, 1977
CH  SwitzerlandJune 1, 1928 November 24, 1939-
November 19, 2010 		August 1, 1984 September 27, 1975December 23, 2003
SY Syria May 7, 2008
TJ  Tajikistan March 21, 2012
  Tangier March 6, 1936-
1956 		June 13, 1939-
1956 		now part of Morocco
TN TunisiaOctober 20, 1930 October 4, 1942 June 13, 2012
TR  Turkey January 1, 2005
UA Ukraine August 28, 2002 August 28, 2002 December 23, 2003
 United States May 13, 2015
  Vatican June 29, 1960-
August 4, 2007
Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The Benelux countries form a single territory for application of this act

A list of the Contracting Parties is maintained by WIPO.

Qualification to use the Hague system

Applicants can qualify to use the Hague system on the basis of any of the following criteria:

An applicant who does not qualify under one of these headings cannot use the Hague system. The Contracting Parties include not only individual countries, but also intergovernmental organisations such as the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) and the European Union. This means an applicant domiciled in an EU member country that is not a Contracting Party, such as Austria or the United Kingdom, can nevertheless use the Hague system on the basis of his or her domicile in the European Union.

Application requirements

An application may be filed in English, French, or Spanish, at the choice of the applicant. The application must contain one or more views of the designs concerned and can include up to 100 different designs provided that the designs are all in the same class of the International Classification of Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification).

The application fee is composed of three types of fees: a basic fee, a publication fee, and a designation fee for each designated Contracting Party.

Examination and registration procedure

The application is examined for formal requirements by the International Bureau of WIPO, which provides the applicant with the opportunity to correct certain irregularities in the application. Once the formal requirements have been met, it is recorded in the International Register and details are published electronically in the International Designs Bulletin on the WIPO website.

If any designated Contracting Party considers that a design which has been registered for protection in that Contracting Party does not meet its domestic criteria for registrability (e.g. it finds that the design is not novel), it must notify the International Bureau that it refuses the registration for that Contracting Party. In every Contracting Party that does not issue such a refusal, the international registration takes effect and provides the same protection as if the design(s) had been registered under the domestic law of that Contracting Party.

Duration & renewal

The duration of an international registration is five years, extendable in further five-year periods up to the maximum duration permitted by each Contracting Party.

Renewals are handled centrally by the International Bureau. The applicant pays a renewal fee and notifies the International Bureau of the countries for which the registration is to be renewed.

References

  1. ↑ Party to any of the treaties
  2. ↑ Full texts of the Hague Agreement, Regulations and Administrative Instructions. WIPO
  3. ↑ London Act of the Hague Agreement. WIPO
  4. ↑ Hague Act of the Hague Agreement. WIPO
  5. ↑ Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement. WIPO

External links