This international system, run by the World Intellectual
Property Organisation (WIPO), is governed by the Geneva Act of the
1925 Hague Agreement concerning the international registration of
industrial designs.
The Geneva Act, signed on 2nd July 1999, became fully
operational on 1st April 2004. Eighteen countries,
including Singapore, Korea, Turkey and Switzerland, have become
party to the Treaty. But it is not a truly global system yet: among
the absentees are, for example, the US, Canada, Japan,
Australia and China.
In general terms, the Act allows designers to obtain design
protection in a number of countries through a single international
registration filed with the International Bureau of WIPO, replacing
a whole series of registrations with different national or regional
offices.
This is similar to the EU registration system, which allows EU
designs to be registered throughout the EU by a single registration
with the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM),
based in Alicante.
The Commission believes that signing up to the simplified
procedure embodied by the Geneva Act would lead to a saving of
costs for companies: there would 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.
All this would have a positive impact on research, development
and innovation activities, says the Commission. The simplified
procedure would also facilitate access to protection in third
countries, which would encourage EU companies to trade with these
countries in the knowledge that their designs are protected.
In addition, the creation of a link between the Community design
system and the Hague arrangement would benefit a wide range of
industrial sectors, including textiles, furniture, cars, jewellery
and mobile phones.
In 2004 the Commission launched a consultation on the possible
impact on business of EC accession to the Hague system. An
overwhelming majority of businesses, professional organisations and
Member States were in favour of accession in the near future.
It has now put forward two proposals – the first authorising the
accession of the European Community to the Geneva Act, and the
second giving effect to that accession, in particular by amending
the EU Regulation on Community Designs.
"These proposals will allow EU firms to safeguard valuable
design rights with less bureaucracy while at the same time
encouraging them to trade with third countries in the knowledge
that their design rights are protected,” said Internal Market and
Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy. “I hope that the Council
will now adopt these proposals as soon as possible."
