Intellectual Property

The International Protection of Industrial Designs

The Hague Agreement concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs offers designers a simplified means of applying for protection of a design. Through this, a single international application can give protection in several countries. This agreement is administered by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).

The Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement allows for the accession of intergovernmental organisations and the European Commission will accede to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement on 1 January 2008. This will give access to the Hague system for designers in the EU, including of course United Kingdom designers. This will provide many benefits to applicants wishing to register designs internationally; there will no longer be a need

  • to provide translations of the documents,
  • to keep watch on the different deadlines for renewal of a great number of national registrations, and
  • to pay a series of national fees and fees to agents in different countries.

Overall there will be savings both in cost and administration.

This accession allows the designation of the EC in an international registration under the Geneva Act. This international registration will have the same effects in the territory of the EC as a Community design which is administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM).

Applicants will therefore with a single application be able to obtain protection of a design throughout the European Union and also any of the countries which are members of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement.

Neither the UK Intellectual Property Office nor the OHIM is a receiving office. This means that applications for international registrations must be filed directly with WIPO.

The press release External Link on the Commission's accession is available from the Commission's website.

Further information on the Hague Agreement and on which countries have ratified the Geneva Act is available from the World Intellectual Property Organisation External Link.