OHIM joins HAGUE

Lorenzo Litta

It is one of the greatest news for these first days of 2008 for Geneva. The Hague System for the International Registration of industrial designs has got now a new and bright life. During last three years and, more in general, after the birth of Community Design it appeared that the Hague System was going to sleep forever. Now it seems that there will be an opposite trend.

In fact, the possibility to select UE as a Country in the Hague System, will probably create the effect that no-one will file anymore industrial designs directly in Alicante, because it will be cost-effective to pass from Geneva, maybe indicating also other countries.

This is the way OHIM reported the new deal:

EU joins Hague design agreement The European Union's membership of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement dealing with the international registration of industrial designs became operational on 1 January 2008.

Joining the Hague process for designs allows companies, with a single application, to obtain protection not only throughout the EU with the Community Design, but also in the countries which are members of the Geneva Act. The process aims to simplify procedures, reduce the costs for international protection and make administration easier.

Membership follows the EC's submission of its instrument of accession to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva on 24 September 2007. This establishes a link between the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement system, which is administered by WIPO, and the Community design system administered by the OHIM.