What is an international industrial design?
Industrial designs with international status are part of a global registration system where the design is honored in all countries party to the Hague Agreement.
The Hague Agreement simplifies and unifies the number of procedures– such country by country formal examination and publication– needed to obtain international design recognition. The agreement grants title owners the same legal rights to their industrial design as they would normally if the filed design were a national work.
As the application saves you time and money in processing /application costs, seeking an international industrial design title is recommended for entities with interest in various countries participant in the Hague Agreement.
General Charasteristics
- International applications do not require a previous nationalized industrial design title.
- Under one application, entities may register up to 100 design variations.
- Applications are processed by WIPO in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Country-by-country enforcement and legal rights depends on the applicable industrial design laws in each contracting country.