What is the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs? Review of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs

history

It was concluded in The Hague on November 6, 1925, entered into force in 1928, and established the "Hague Union". The agreement has been revised several times since its signing, including the 1925 Hague Act, the 1934 London Act, the 1960 Hague Act, the 1967 Stockholm Act (amended and supplemented in 1979), and the 1999 Geneva Act.

The purpose of concluding the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement in 1999 is to make the system more in line with the needs of users and to facilitate the accession of countries that cannot join the Hague Act of 1960 due to their industrial design systems. As of December 31, 2004, the total number of contracting parties to the first four acts was 31 countries; the total number of contracting parties to the Geneva Act was 16 countries.

Components

The Hague Agreement is divided into 5 parts. Including: Part 1, London Protocol of June 2, 1934 (Articles 1-23); Part 2, Hague Protocol of November 28, 1960 (Articles 1-33); Part 3, Monaco Additional Protocol of November 18, 1961 (Articles 1-8); Part 4, Stockholm Supplementary Protocol of July 14, 1967 (Articles 1-12); Part 5, Geneva Protocol of August 29, 1975 (Articles 1-12). The main content of the Hague Agreement is: individuals or units with nationality of any Hague Union member state or with residence or business premises in that country can apply for "international deposit". Applicants only need to apply once to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization to obtain industrial design patent protection in the member state where they want to obtain protection. When applying for international deposit, it is not necessary to obtain patent approval for the design from the patent office of a country first. Only one deposit can obtain protection in several countries at the same time. The period of international deposit is 5 years, which can be extended for another 5 years upon expiration.

my country's situation

On February 5, 2022, the Chinese government deposited its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement (1999). China became the 68th Contracting Party to the 1999 Act and the 77th member of the Hague Union.

The 1999 text will enter into force in China on May 5, 2022.

With the accession of China, the Hague System will now cover nine of the world's top ten economic markets (World Bank ranking).

Starting from May 5, 2022, non-residents can obtain international design protection in China, facilitating business expansion into one of the world's largest and most dynamic markets. At the same time, Chinese companies and designers will be able to quickly and easily seek international protection for their designs in the 94 countries covered by the Hague System as needed, helping to expand into international markets.

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