table of contents
What is the Hague Agreement?
The Hague Agreement is an international design application and registration system that centralizes application procedures that occur in each country and allows one application procedure to the International Bureau to achieve the same effect as filing in each designated country. is.
Compared to the international application system for trademarks and patents, this Hague system can be translated into Madpro, which does not require basic filing and registration, or PCT filing, which does not require national phase and determines the designated country at the time of filing.
As of February 2022, 2 countries and intergovernmental organizations are party to the Hague Agreement, including Japan, the EU, South Korea, the United States, and China (77 countries and intergovernmental organizations are party to the Geneva Act). India, Australia, Brazil, and ASEAN (Singapore, Brunei, and Cambodia have already joined) are currently considering joining. Japan's membership became effective on May 68, 2015.
Furthermore, China joined the Geneva Act on February 2022, 2. The country can be designated from May 5th of the same year. (Not applicable to Hong Kong and Macau)
According to the "Hague Yearly Review 2020" published by WIPO, the number of Hague applications in 2020 decreased by 2019% compared to 1.7 to 5,792, but with China's accession, it is expected to increase again. It is expected.
(From WIPO: “Hague Yearly Review 2020”)
Additionally, Hague applications have the advantage of being able to handle up to 100 designs as one application, and as shown in the graph below, it can be seen that design applications that include multiple designs are becoming a worldwide trend.
(From WIPO: “Hague Yearly Review 2020”)
Flow of international application procedures under the Hague Agreement
Submit application documents stating the design, country, etc. you wish to protect to the International Bureau of WIPO.
・Unlike the Madpro trademark, the trademark in Japan isNo application or registration required in home country.
・It is possible to designate Japan as a designated country for international applications (self-designation).
If there are no deficiencies in the application documents after a unified formality examination by the International Bureau, the application will be recorded in the International Register. This will have the same effect as a regular application to each designated country.
-The filing date of the above international application is the date of international registration..
In principle, from international registrationafter 12 monthsThe contents of the international registration will be published in the International Designs Bulletin.
*For applications filed after January 2022, 1, the standard publication period has been extended from June to December after registration. In addition, you can now choose to ① publish immediately, ② specify a month by month until December, or ③ postpone publication.
[Example of postponement period]
・Maximum 30 months: EU, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, Japan
・Maximum 18 months: Singapore
[Parties that cannot be postponed]
If the specified contracting party includes the following, the publication period cannot be specified for more than 12 months.
1960 Parties, OAPI, Belarus, Belize, Benelux, Brunei, Cambodia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Mexico, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Russia, Samoa, Slovenia, Suriname, Syria, Ukraine, UK, USA, Vietnam
*Please note that it will be released according to the country with the shortest period among the specified countries.
(Example: Application specifying EU (30 months) and US (non-deferral) → publication after December)
The period during which a refusal can be notified is June or December from the date of international publication.
[Example of refusal notification period]
・June: EU, France, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Norway,
Poland, OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization)
・December: Spain, South Korea, Türkiye, Japan, the United States, China, Finland,
Syria, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova,
romania, canada
(*December can only be selected in countries that have government offices that conduct examinations of substantive requirements, including novelty, and countries that have an opposition system)
International registrations are valid for five years from the date of international registration. After that, it can be renewed every five years.
[Example of duration of rights (minimum 15 years from the date of international registration)]
・Up to 25 years: EU, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Norway,
Poland, Türkiye, Japan
・Maximum 20 years: Korea
・Maximum of 15 years: US, China, Singapore, OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization)
*The duration of an international registration is 15 years, but if the protection period of a design under the domestic law of a designated contracting party is longer than 15 years, the term of protection will be the same as that of the designated contracting party.
*The period of existence in Japan isUp to 25 years from the date of international registrationis. However, for cases where the international registration date is before March 2020, 3,Up to 20 years from the date of registration.
merit and demerit
Benefit
- The procedure is simple, as one application can be filed in multiple designated countries and multiple designs (up to 1 designs if they belong to the same class of the International Design Classification). In Japan, international applications containing multiple designs are considered multiple applications for each design, and a Japanese application number is assigned to each design. (In the United States, there is a risk that the design will not be recognized because it violates the requirement of unity. Variation designs may be recognized.)
- Examination results will be available in 6 months from international publication in non-examination countries, and 12 months at the latest in substantive examination countries.
(Representative non-examination countries: EU, Singapore, etc.) - Applicants can apply in a single language of their choice from English, French, or Spanish, reducing the burden and cost of translation.
- Like MadoPro, there is no need to go through a local agent, so costs can be kept down.
- Address changes can only be made to WIPO, so management can be centralized.
- You can choose from a total of four application methods: via the Japan Patent Office or directly to WIPO (by mail, fax, or e-filing). In particular, choosing e-filing can further reduce costs. Masu.
Demerit
- In principle, it will be published in the International Design Gazette six months after the date of international registration (extension may be extended depending on the country, up to 6 months in Japan).Regardless of whether registration is possible or not,The contents of the design application, reasons for refusal, and references to reasons for refusal will also be made public.(In design applications filed in Japan, only registered designs are published). This may create a disadvantageous situation for the applicant. Additionally, there is no secret design system like Japan (designs are kept private for up to three years after registration).
- Once the publication extension period has been set, it is possible to shorten it, but it cannot be further extended.
- Applications cannot be submitted in Japanese.
- Unlike domestic applications, you cannot pay the registration fee on an annual basis.
- Since the fee is paid in advance to WIPO at the time of application, if the application is rejected, it is necessary to request a refund of the registration fee within six months.
*[NOTE]: Additional filing documents may be required, especially for applications specifically designating the United States or South Korea.
Examples of supporting documents for application form [DM-1]
ANNEX I: For submission of oath or declaration of creator of design (USA)*Required if specifying the United States
ANNEXⅡ: For submission of exception certificate for loss of novelty (Korea, Japan)
ANNEX III: For submission of information that the applicant can know about eligibility for protection of a design (USA)
ANNEX IV: For submission of document certifying that the entity is a micro-sized entity (USA)
ANNEXⅤ: Supplementary documents regarding priority claim (Korea)