October 11, 2019

New additions to the Hague Agreement and Madrid Protocol

The Hague Agreement is set to welcome three new countries as Israel, Samoa and Vietnam all deposited their instruments of accession to the Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement. Vietnam was the first of the three countries to deposit its instrument of accession on September 30, 2019, with Samoa following on October 2, 2019, and Israel on October 3, 2019. The Hague Agreement will enter into force in each country three months after the deposit of the accession instruments. 

The Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement allows for submission of one design application to the WIPO in the same language, payable with a single set of fees, registrable in all contracting parties. With 70 current contracting parties to the Hague Union, and 60 member states of the Geneva Act 1999, the three additions will be the 73rd and 63rd respectively, protecting designs in the territories of a total of 85 countries.

At present, it is possible to register up to 100 industrial designs belonging to the same class of the Locarno classification within the contracting parties. The Hague Agreement not only allows for a more efficient registration process but also provides a simplified method of design protection maintenance. As such, the recordal of changes as well as renewals of international designs may be facilitated through a single procedural step within the Hague agreement.

The Madrid Protocol is set to welcome Malaysia as its latest contracting party. Having acceded to the protocol on September 27, 2019, it will officially enter into force in Malaysia as of December 27, 2019. The Madrid Protocol is a cost-effective and efficient method of filing for trademarks internationally. Through a single application in one language and accompanied by one set of fees, a trademark application can be filed in any of the 106 contracting parties to the Madrid Protocol, covering 122 countries. Concluded in 1989, the contracting parties to the protocol represent more than 80% of world trade.  

 

Author: Danielle Carvey
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